In race for jobs, this degree pulls ahead

In race for jobs, this degree pulls ahead

SPECIAL SECTION: EDUCATION TODAY - Chicago Tribune Suday 18 Sep. 2005

By Leslie Mann
Special to the Tribune
Published September 18, 2005
The MBA that Marla Frank received in the 1980s had been her ticket
to a job as a financial analyst. But in 2000, Frank thought it was
time to reinvent herself. Her goal: to become a network security
consultant.

Even before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Enron, network
security was a growing field, as computers became as ubiquitous as
No. 2 pencils. So Frank took classes part-time while continuing to
work, and in June received a master's degree in computer information
and network security from DePaul University.

Now, Frank said, she has a degree that's "much more marketable. And
I'll be in a field that's intriguing to me. I love the detective
part of it."

Network security is one of the hot degrees for today's graduate
students, say college administrators. Most of these degrees target
one of two categories: emerging fields such as network security and
existing fields with current personnel shortages.

 

For now. Computer Security is definitely the hot subject at the moment. But in 10 years, it will be something else. Databases and networking have both been through this process before.