Careers to count on
TRAINING: A six-week driver-training course is recommended before testing for a commercial driver's license. -Dan Gilgoff
TECHNICAL SECURITY
SLEUTHING WITH THE KEYBOARD KOPS
After September 11, many companies, suddenly worried about lax security, fired their information security specialists who drafted corporate cyberpolicy. At the same time, however, managers started doling out raises and job offers to the keyboard-tapping operators who actually implement firewalls and investigate electronic break-ins--the so-called technical information security specialists.
"It's a total growth industry," says Steve Gibson, an online security expert who heads a research corporation in Laguna Hills, Calif. Gibson finds that U.S. businesses are waking up only now to the risk that "corporate espionage, night watchmen taking bribes, and employees leaking secrets have all transferred from the physical to the electronic world."
One somewhat quirky benefit of the job: Security techies get to snoop. "It's fun finding a way to hack the system," says Larry Perry, chief operating officer of Network Security Corp., "and then finding a way to plug the hole." That challenge isn't likely to dissipate soon, at least not with fears of cyberterrorism on the rise. "As long as there are unscrupulous people," adds Perry, "there's no shortage of information security jobs."
PAY AND PERKS: $35,000 to $45,000 to start. Experienced specialists earn $60,000 to $90,000. Work has puzzle-solving potential.
TRAINING: Some colleges offer courses in information security; a computer science degree is a plus. Experience is more valued than classroom hours, but national training centers like the System Administration, Networking, and Security Institute offer certifications that can bump up salaries by $10,000 or more. -D.G.
SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST
A BALM FOR THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE
Rosario Pesce has been busy since September 11. First, the Cicero, Ill., high school psychologist "found all of our Arab students to make sure everything was OK with them," he says. Then, as part of a national crisis team, he traveled to the Family Assistance Center set up for World Trade Center victims at New Jersey's Liberty State Park. There he saw a wrenching scene: Families looking for remnants of lost loved ones were instead picking up urns that contained remains from ground zero.
September 11 upped the demand for Pesce's work, which has long included advising students grappling with depression, running support groups for pregnant teens, and testing for learning disabilities. Pesce, who was the national school psychologist of the year in 2001, also helps negotiate personality conflicts between students and teachers. It's no secret that many schools are already hard pressed to find teachers and counselors. And the rise in depression among adolescents and added federal money for mental health counseling has boosted demand for school psychologists as well. The profession, moreover, is facing an imminent brain drain as nearly one third of school psychologists are between ages 51 and 60, according to a recent survey, and thus approaching retirement. "If you're looking for a job where you'll make a difference and have great security for the next 25 years, this is it," says Ted Feinberg of the National Association of School Psychologists.
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