How to Become a Security Engineer

Security engineering is a sub-discipline of computer programming. The field covers a variety of subjects, including online banking, secure access sites and Internet copyright protection. Some of the people working in this field aren't trained as engineers or computer specialists, but are just people with a knack for computers and problem solving. If you want to become a security engineer, there is a traditional route you can follow.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Bachelor's degree in computer engineering, computer science or a related field.

1. Study for a degree related to computer work. You have a variety of options when it comes to choosing a major, so be sure that the one you choose includes instruction in different operating systems and programming languages, as well as encryption and website development. If you're particularly computer literate, you may be able to major in something unrelated to computers and simply get a minor in computer science.

2. Look for opportunities to work at the information technologies department at your university. Many schools hire students to work behind the help desk or with website content development. See if there's a position to help work on the school email server, because this field will often deal with security and data encryption.

3. Try to set up an internship with the network department of a financial institution. Banks almost always employ security engineers to help set up and monitor online transactions. You will probably have to intern at a regional or state branch in order to work directly with security management.

4. Consider setting up your own security business. You can run this type of business regardless of where you live because you'll have a worldwide market. You may also find a security engineering position that lets you telecommute to work.

5. Go back to school for your master's or doctorate degree. There are many universities around the country that offer advanced degree programs in security engineering. Students in these programs often get to do security work for branches and departments of the government.

Tips & Warnings

• A referral rewards system can be a good way to help get clients to recommend your business to other companies when you're first starting out.

• Some security engineers start out as computer hackers and end up working for the companies whose systems they once broke into. This activity is still illegal and is not a good way to become a security engineer.

• It may be difficult to run your own security business at first. Income may be infrequent until you can build up a reliable group of clients.