97 Things Every Information Security Professional Should Know

Chapter 94. Research Is Not Just for Paper Writing

Vanessa Redman

The shy worker with glasses sits quietly in the corner, and when they feel like they have listened to enough wrong answers around the room, nonchalantly mentions what no one else has previously thought of: “The problem is with the Windows IA-32 architecture implementation; the kernel cannot reconcile what it is supposed to be accessing.” Cue blank stares from the others in the room. Then the crowd cheers. The company is saved. So goes the legend of the all-knowing InfoSec professional.

For many, this perception is what keeps many from entering the industry. One might feel they are already too old because they needed to have started learning about computers when they were a child; however, there are plenty of examples of talented people who started later in life. Toni Morrison published her first book at age 40; Johnny Ramone started his band at 26. The reality is that no one is the Cyber Savior. No one knows everything there is to know about cybersecurity, and if they say they do, be wary. Information security is an incredibly large subject. So what can make you stand out among the crowd? The passion of independent research.

Most companies understand that you will not show up for an interview or your first day of work knowing all the answers. In fact, many tech companies now focus their interviews on your passions ...