How I Did It

No, this isn't a post about how to pull off a bank heist. Rather, having just passed the GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) exam with a 94/100, I'd like to throw some tips for those who desire this respected certification. The exam is 180 multiple choice questions covering 3000+ pages of material, so unless you can say you know all this stuff, you have your work cut out for you!

1. Set a goal for when you'd like to have everything done. Officially set this date using the SANS Portal. When you've spent the money and set the date, you're more likely to take it seriously and get it done.
   
2. Skim your course books at least once. Read the titles and anything that looks important (italicized words, key terms, lists, questions, etc.). After getting familiar with the structure of the content, go back and read each section in detail, making notes in your preferred format (I use Google Docs and the margins).
3. If you have SANS OnDemand, answer and review all the assessment questions, making sure you understand each one.
4. Make your own personal index of important concepts and where they're located. Consider alphabetizing this list.
5. For memorization, try applications like Anki and Mnemosyne. These are designed for optimized learning and are great for burning those technical details into your brain.
   
6. Take the practice tests on the SANS Portal site. Make any adjustments necessary to ensure you'll be able to answer all 180 questions within the 5-hour time limit, and that you won't be driving yourself nuts looking through all the material for an answer during the actual test. Don't expect to be able to just rely on your printed material just because it's open-book. Focus on knowing it. Besides, that's the main goal, right?
7. Search Google for "cheat sheet site:sans.org" and "security+ cheat sheet".
   

Consider using these recommendations, give it your best effort, and expect nothing less than an A. After all, the scores are published online and you want to be able to brag to as many friends / family members / potential employers as possible!

Does anyone else have any recommendations?

My Self-Education

Having recently graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy and Government (dual majors) from The University of Texas at Austin, and having decided to enter the IT industry with little formal technical education under my belt, I've been thinking a lot about how to learn all the technical material necessary for me to succeed. I've thought about getting a B.S. in Computer Science, but have decided that if I were to get another formal degree, it would be an M.S. or a 2-year degree from a good technical college. So far I've attended a SANS SEC-401 bootcamp and attained two certifications (A+, Network+). I'm currently working on two more (CCNA, GSEC) as well as a self-education curriculum involving a variety of both print and online resources.

For now, I've decided to create a Reading page on JoshuaRieken.com. This page houses my reading lists and will help to track my progress. I'm sure I'll come up with further ways to track and showcase my self-education process.

Here We Are, My Friends

So this is it--the long-awaited blog. Long-awaited by me, anyway.

Basically, this will be a place for me to spill out my various techie ruminations. I'll be following the advice of security professional Antonin Chuvakin and will do my blogging for me. Of course, that's not to say that I don't want community interaction, which is in fact the whole point of making a blog rather than, say, a personal wiki. So please, feel free to comment, constructively criticize, destructively criticize, and compliment-- you're always welcome here (unless you're a hacker looking to take over and deface my blog, in which case I politely ask you not to do so).

More to come--and soon!