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

Computer and Information Research Scientists

Computer and information research scientists invent and design new approaches to computer technology and find innovative uses for existing technology[1]

Entry Level Education – Masters degree

2019 Median Pay – $122,840 ($59.06/hour)

Job outlook – 16%

What they do: Invent new computer tools, invent computer languages, improve software systems, design experiments, publish their findings and present at conferences

Where do I start: Learn a programming language… or 10. There are free/paid resources such as codecademy, udemy, freecodecamp

Where do they fall in the NIST[2] – Research and Development under the Technology R&D Specialty Area

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

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

The same way that minimum wage varies by state (despite a federal minimum), people in different areas can make more or less money doing the same jobs. For Information and Security Analysts, there are a wide variety of industries and geographical variations that go into the average salary. The industries with the highest concentration of Information Security Analysts are Financial, Computer Services, Data Processing, Telecommunications, and Enterprise Management. You may find it interesting that although those are the highest concentration of Information System Security Analysts as recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2019, the industries with the top pay are completely different. While the job description and duties may stay the same, not all industries value Analysts the same way. Similarly, pay discrepancies may also vary based on Location.

https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151212.htm#st

As the BLS shows, variations in wages differ not only by industry but by location. Information Analysts get paid more in New York and New Jersey than they do in Virginia and California.

https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151212.htm#st

This information has implications for your job search. Once you’ve decided to become a Information Security Analyst, decisions such as industry and location can affect how much you can get paid. If you have flexibility in terms of your location selecting industries that value the role can result in much higher salaries over time.

https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151212.htm#st

My background is in Computer Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering to be exact. I have worked the last 10-15 years in Quality Assurance performing system audits, software testing, writing documentation including test plans and test scripts, and identifying levels of risk within the organizations I have supported. While it was easy for me to pen point the required tasks that I performed to support my task of getting a Project Management Professional certification, I found it a bit more difficult to identify tasks that I performed specifically within the Cyber Security space. That task is made a bit easier by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 1800-181 NICE Framework. The NICE framework identifies tasks that are frequently included as being part of a cyber security work role. Advise senior management on risk levels and security posture for example (T0003) is an integral part of being a Privacy Officer or Privacy Compliance Officer, an Information System Security Manager and a Communications Security Manager three highly sought after roles within the Cyber security space. Through this resource I am able to translate the skills that I have been doing for years, into demonstrated work experience to support the shiny new Cyber security job I want. Once you have identified your Cyber experience you can provide specific examples of times you had to advise on risk or update your resume to target your career change. If you don’t have the skills for the target job you’ve identified in the Cyber security field you can see what type of experience you need to get in the door. Black Girls Hack will be tying the NICE Framework with the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational outlook to provide What Can I Do cheat sheets that show various job categories within Cyber and what you need to do to get in those jobs.

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

Computer Network Architects

Computer network architects design and build data communication networks, including local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and Intranets.[1]

Entry Level Education – Bachelor’s degree

2019 Median Pay – $112,690 ($54.18/hour)

Job outlook – 5%

What they do: Network Architects design and build communication networks. They help develop the design of the network and what network tools and devices will be used for the design.

Where do I start: Learn Networking

Certifications: COMPTIA Network+

Where do they fall in the NIST[2] – Network Operations Specialist under the Network Services Specialty Area

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

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

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are approximately 5.3 million people in Computer and mathematical occupations. Of that number only 25.8% are Women, and only 8.7% are Black. For Information Security Analysts during this same time frame there were 125,000 people reported. Of these 17% were women and 15% were Black. Women are grossly underrepresented in Computer related fields representing 23.6% of other computer related jobs with Black women representing only 12.7%. Black Girls Hack was created to help show Black women and girls the job prospects in Cyber Security, people in the field who look like them who are doing the jobs, and provide training and resources to help reduce the gap in the Cybersecurity field.

https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm