Are You Making a Security Career or Working a Job?

In his first column as CSO's Career Catalyst, Michael Santarcangelo outlines three essentials everyone needs to consider to make security work more than just a job

By Michael Santarcangelo, The Career Catalyst

April 08, 2010 — CSO —

Have you ever wondered about the difference between a job and a career? I have.

As a result, I have spent the last decade considering the difference between practitioners and professionals, jobs and careers.

How do you define security professional? Check out CSO blogger Dan Lohrmann's thoughts on the topic in Lohrmann on GovSpace

Along the way I have been honored to train thousands for successful careers as Certified Information System Security Professionals, founded the Security Catalyst Community and developed the Catalyst Career Compass" program. In fact, I'm working with a group of amazing people right now to re-launch the Security Catalyst Community and incorporate a guild, complete with a mentoring program (look for details in a few months). Seems a focus on professionalism and career success has always interested me. Now I have the opportunity to share ideas and strategies for career success in this column.

Why me?
I have cultivated a unique blend of skills and abilities: I am a professional speaker (with the capability to teach others), a published author and have over a decade of experience forged in the trenches. Over my career, I have contributed time and effort to advancing the profession through service to (ISC)2 and CompTIA. Most importantly, I am human catalyst focused on harnessing the power of people; in fact, I hold a degree in Human Ecology (go Cornell!).

When pressed, I explain the role of a catalyst in three steps:
1. Observe, absorb and actively engage to learn and experience as much as possible
2. Step back to process, distill and probe deeper with questions to uncover what matters
3. Connect with people, where they are, and communicate what counts.

As a catalyst, I am able to guide a journey that goes beyond finding a job and earning a paycheck to a more rewarding path of developing a successful career. While we can explore the finer points of finding a job, I see this as an opportunity to do more: we can seek out examples of career excellence and amplify the good.

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We are fortunate to be in a profession of great impact; with that comes great responsibility. As we engage on this journey, I hope to explore the difference between professionals and practitioners as we cultivate the skills and aptitudes the changing landscape demands.

A few years ago, I shared some collected ideas in a keynote and workshop titled Are you making a living, or a life? Adapted to the focus of making a career instead of working a job, allow me to share three concepts from my own experience:

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