Software developers create the applications or systems that run on a computer or another device. [2].

Entry Level Education – Bachelor’s degree

2019 Median Pay – $107,510 ($51.69/hour)

Job outlook 22%

What they do: Software developers create applications using programming languages to solve complex problems.  They work in computer design and services and create programs that fix problems or that can be used to fix problems.

Where do I start: Programming languages such as Java, C++, Python, Cobol, C#, and Go

Where do they fall in the NIST[2] –Software Developers fall under the Software Development Specialty Area.

[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm

[2] https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-181.pdf

I’m getting a head start on tomorrow, tomorrow’s (Sept 22nd) world domination plan topic is Networking. Networking is one of those foundation level things that you’ve got to be strong in for a lot of the higher level cybersecurity options. For me i’m studying for the Network+ as well as trying to master subnetting. I’ve got some Network+ resources including a few text books from Humble Bundle, a Network+ Course from Wiley Efficient Learning as well as one of YouTube’s influencers Professor Messer who also helped me pass my security+ exam.

• Wiley Efficient Learning Network+ Course – (from Humble Bumble but course is offered by Wiley)
• CompTIA Network+ Review Guide: Exam N10-007 (Humble Bumble)
• CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-006, 3rd Edition (Humble Bumble)
• CCNA Routing and Switching Complete Study Guide: Exam 100-105, Exam 200-105, Exam 200-125 (Humble Bumble)
• Network Security Bible, 2nd Edition (Humble Bumble)
• Cisco Networking Essentials, 2nd Edition (Humble Bumble)
• Network Attacks and Exploitation: A Framework (Humble Bumble)
• Microsoft Windows Networking Essentials (Humble Bumble)
• Professor Messer YouTube
• Udemy Subnetting Fundamentals
• Udemy Python for Network Engineers
• classcentral.com Computer Networking Courses including (The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking, Peer to Peer Protocols and Local Area Networks and TCP/IP and Advanced Topics to name a few)

Information security analysts plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems. [2].

Entry Level Education – Bachelor’s degree

2019 Median Pay – $99,730 ($47.95/hour)

Job outlook 31%

What they do: Information security analysts plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems.

Where do I start: Security+ shows foundational security knowledge

Certifications: CEH, Certified Information Security Manager, Security+, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Where do they fall in the NIST[2] –Information System Analysts can fall in the Systems Development and Systems Analysis Specialty Areas

[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts.htm

[2] https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-181.pdf

Today’s world domination plan topic is Ethical Hacking. I’ve been fake studying for this forever. (maybe your judgement will lead to motivation, bring it on). Out of all the things Cyber I learn about, I’m most interested in Ethical Hacking so I spend a lot of time on EH related things. I’ve got a lot of resources (and enthusiasm) on this topic so here goes.

• Matt Walker’s All In One CEH Exam Guide
• Pentester Labs
• Udemy CEH Exam Questions
• Udemy Penetration Testing
• Udemy (Linux and Windows Privilege Escalation)
• Udemy Advanced White Hat Hacking
• ITPro.tv CEH
• tryhackme
• hackthebox

Computer programmers write and test code that allows computer applications and software programs to function properly.[1]

Entry Level Education – Bachelor’s degree

2019 Median Pay – $86,550 ($41.61/hour)

Job outlook – 9%

What they do: Computer programmers or Software Developers write and test code that allows computer applications and software programs to function properly.[1] Computer programmers also create apps and help to create and maintain systems.

Where do I start: Learn a program

Certifications: There are several developer related certifications but the best way to show your work is a portfolio such as a GitHub page or other collection of your work

Microsoft Technology Associate Developer

Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer

Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Developer

Where do they fall in the NIST[2] – Software Developers fall under the Software Development Specialty Area

[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-programmers.htm

[2] https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-181.pdf

Database administrators (DBAs) use specialized software to store and organize data.[1] They develop and administer databases and or data management systems [2].

Entry Level Education – Bachelor’s degree

2019 Median Pay – $93,750 ($45.07/hour)

Job outlook  10%

What they do: Database administrators (DBAs) use specialized software to store and organize data.[1] Data can be stored in a local network or in the cloud but regardless of where the data is stored it needs to be secured.

Where do I start: Learn about a database

Certifications:

IBM Certified Database Administrator – DB2

Microsoft SQL Server database certifications

Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL Database Administrator

Oracle Database 12c Administrator

Where do they fall in the NIST[2] – DBAs fall under the Operate and Maintain and Data Administration specialty areas.

[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/database-administrators.htm

[2] https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-181.pdf

Today’s study topic is on GIT. I don’t have a lot of variety for Git topics but what I do have I’m going to share. Amazon kindle has a Git tutorial called Ry’s Git Tutorial. It’s rated almost 5 stars and it’s FREE. It’s 140 pages. Pearson Advance also has a course called Git Essentials. They offer classes for free now and again and this was one I picked up. Git also has a tutorial on their website as well as some videos. There are lots of paid books available on the topic on Amazon but I like my books free or close to it.

As part of the What Can I Do series, I have been advocating for you to take inventory of your KSAs (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) and tasks as they apply to your existing areas of expertise and use them to find areas within Cyber that you have existing experience. The NIST SP 800-181 framework was designed to help define the tasks and knowledge areas that are needed for the cyber security professionals in the workforce. If you’re considering doing a career change or focusing your efforts in school to get a career in Cyber, start with what you know and expand from there. The What Can I Do posts are meant to show roles in cyber security that you can take your existing KSAs to show your experience doing the work. Documenting your areas of experience are only one part of your killer interview, the other is showing areas that you have been working on that may not be demonstrated in your existing work experience. My recent inventory and my goals for world domination showed that for the types of jobs that I plan on claiming, I needed to expand my KSAs. For me, while I have experience in technology, information assurance, development, risk assessment, and project management I need to expand my experience in other areas. To game-plan those areas I developed a list of 10 things I wanted to work on to help increase my KSA. Enter the World Domination Plan (Dramatic music plays in the background). My world domination plan includes 10 areas that I want to expand my breath of knowledge and gain practical experience. Those areas (for me) are Infrastructure, Cloud Computing, Linux (refresher), Certified Ethical Hacking, Python (Scripting languages), Git, Networking, Web Development, APIs, and a Java Refresher. I set up reminders on my calendar on a rotating 10 day schedule where each day I work on one of those 10 items. My goal, is to document practical experience, a portfolio if you will, of the areas I have gained experience outside of my existing role. What does that even mean??? So today was python day 050. Today I’ve been reading my Python 3 Object-Oriented Programming pdf book on my kindle (from a past Python related Humble Bundle) and working on implementing a game I like to play in Python. I like variation in my learning platforms so I’ve got a lot of different resources I use to supplement my Python learning including Codecademy (free trial and then student discounted monthly or annual price… I caught a deal for 119 for a year), ITPro.tv, Python bootcamp on Udemy, Python ethical hacking (another humble bundle gem), and Python for networking engineers (humble bundle). I set up an account on Github and my code is available as I’m working on it. As I take on additional python projects (my next one is to come up with a program to figure out how much I spend on GrubHub a year) my Github account will show my mastery of the python language, my ability to document my code (don’t look for that on my game right now), and my ability to tie in multiple technologies (programming, Git, APIs, VisualStudio for Coding). My plan is to share with you my plan for each of my 10 areas so that you can get ideas for how you can supplement your work experience and show you have more skills than you’ve learned at your job(s).

Mathematicians and Statisticians

Entry Level Education – Master’s degree

2019 Median Pay – $92,030 ($44.25/hour)

Job outlook – 33%

What they do: Mathematicians and statisticians analyze data and apply mathematical and statistical techniques to help solve problems[1]. While mathematicians can work in education or for finance companies, they can also work for the federal government and in the private sector with engineering or consulting companies.

Where do they fall in the NIST[2] – T0057 which is the design, development and modification of software systems using scientific analysis and mathematical models, T0392 Utilize technical documentation or resources to implement new mathematical, data science or computer science methods are skills that are utilized by Software Developers, Security Architects, and Data Analysts

Where do I start: STEM, specifically Math. Calculus and Algorithms are necessary for this type of work.

[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/mathematicians-and-statisticians.htm

[2] https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-181.pdf

One of the most frequent questions children are asked by well meaning adults is “what do you want to be when you grow up”. I wanna be like Mike when I grow up, they might say. I am going to be the next Viola Davis or Issa Rae. No, you got that, I’m going to be like Tiger. Younger kids might want to be a princess, or a ninja, a ballerina or even a doctor. But before kids have the cognitive ability to form for themselves what they want to be, they are influenced by what they see on TV, in movies, on YouTube or in the news. Prior to the age of Obama, there may not have been a lot of little black children saying, “I want to be President.” Michelle Obama had me thinking whether I wanted the smoke involved with going to law school. Doc McStuffins (albeit fictional) has inspired more than a few future doctors. It is hard to believe that you can be something where you don’t see people like you in that space. Our kids need to see Black people in the C-suite. They need to see Black engineers, and hackers and developers, and scientists and mathematicians. There are 3 black people who are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. They are all men (Davis, 2020).When was the last time you were asked your favorite basketball player? Now how about your favorite Engineer? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology had its first Black graduate in 1892. It gave its first Civil Engineering degree in 1917 (25 years later) (Kershner, n.d.). Throughout that time the engineering discipline was dominated by white men. In 2019, Engineering occupations have only 15.7% women, and 6.8% Black. White men still represent over 77% of the engineering profession (Statistics, 2020). That is why it’s important to see Black people in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.  

Lack of Diversity in STEM fields doesn’t start with diversity training, it isn’t fixed with diversity programs, its fixed by encouraging young black (and minority) boys and GIRLS to engage in Summer STEM camps, to focus on practical applications of math besides handling finances, and to engage in robotics and computer programming and engineering at a young age. It starts in early childhood education. From 2006 to 2016 the number of Black people in undergraduate education increased from 1.82 million in 2006 to 2.11 million in 2016. For comparison, the number of White people enrolled went from 9.2 million in 2006 to 8.6 million in 2016. Of that 1.8 million Black people, 1.2 million were Black women. The number of women enrolled in engineering programs went from 65,169 in 2006 to 135,414 in 2016. For context the number of all undergraduates in engineering programs went from 379,004 in 2006 to 624,096 (NSF.gov, Undergraduate enrollment in engineering programs, by enrollment status, sex, ethnicity, race, and citizenship: 2002–16, 2020). Although women represented 56% of students enrolled in undergraduate education, they only represented 21% of students in engineering in 2016. And while Blacks represented 12% of the 2016 undergraduate enrollment, they only represented 5% of the engineering students (NSF.gov, 2020). What this says for Women and Blacks in STEM is that while they are well represented in undergraduate education, the number of women, and black women specifically in the pipeline to STEM fields is severely lacking. To begin to fix the disparities in STEM fields children need to see more women and minorities in STEM. They need to know that we have amazing men and women in cyber (Shout out to Lisa Jiggetts of Women’s Cyberjutsu and Marcus J Carey of Tribe of Hackers) and amazing Black Women in Mathematics and Data Science (Shout out to Kim Martin at Netflix).

To address the lack of diversity in STEM, we need to see more Black STEM heroes. We need to see them on the Boards of companies, and the executive suites of Fortune 500s. But most importantly when they get there, they need to use their influence and resources to reach back and create programs that expose children to STEM at an early age. Representation matters because there are those of us out here who wanted to be a hacker when we grow up and we need a face and a name for our vision boards, for our “who’s your favorite engineer” conversations and for our #goals.

Davis, D.-M. (2020, July 21). One of the only 4 Black Fortune 500 CEOs just stepped down — here are the 3 that remain. Retrieved from BusinessInsider.com: https://www.businessinsider.com/there-are-four-black-fortune-500-ceos-here-they-are-2020-2

Kershner, K. (n.d.). Famous Black Engineers Throughout History. Retrieved from howstuffworks.com: https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/famous-black-engineers.htm

NSF.gov. (2020, September). Undergraduate enrollment at all institutions, by citizenship, ethnicity, race, sex, and enrollment status: 2006–16. Retrieved from NSF.gov: https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf19304/data

NSF.gov. (2020, September). Undergraduate enrollment in engineering programs, by enrollment status, sex, ethnicity, race, and citizenship: 2002–16. Retrieved from NSF.gov: https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf19304/data

Statistics, B. o. (2020, January 22). Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. Retrieved from BLS.gov: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm