First, most forensic and recovery work is done at a more specific device and driver level than Linux typically can "see". This knowledge and skill is usually acquired "on the job" or "in the clean room", so degrees and certs are usually irrelevant. Drives are complex computer systems of their own that manage space allocations an error encoding/decoding at maximum speeds that usually preclude the overhead of an operating system. Physical aspects of drives are critically important also, so software knowledge alone is just not relevant. Seagate was big on nitty gritty uses of SCSI for their high-end drives when I was doing drive chip development stuff about 8 years ago. Linux can be a useful tool or tool development environment for drive stuff, however. Most tools are made in C or C++ and are pretty specific, and many custom scripted operations are used. Second, to get a job in "IT" as a newbie who is "conversant" in Linux, I strongly recommend that you get some "informational interview" contacts in very big firms like Honeywell and Medtronic.. maybe Blue Cross and Thompson Reuters. Those have a large enough staff to hire perhaps a dozen "interns" quite often, and there are often temporary overloads or big projects on rush schedules that can use more "arms and legs" just to get basic fetching, setup, installing, and screening stuff done. Knowing ABOUT how those teams work and having your name and availability known by technical hiring folk will get you started. Once in, you'll probably be kept on. After just a little such experience, you can get a job anywhere. Chuck > -----Original Message----- > From: tclug-list-bounces at mn-linux.org > [mailto:tclug-list-bounces at mn-linux.org]On Behalf Of Jason Hsu > Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 11:20 AM > To: tclug-list at mn-linux.org > Subject: [tclug-list] Forensics, sysadmin, and other Linux-related > careers > > > I am seeking a position as a computer forensic/recovery > specialist. (I would appreciate any leads at Kroll Ontrack.) > The world of Linux opened up a world that was completely > invisible to me in my Windows-only days. I now know that a Linux > live CD can be used to rescue data from an unbootable Windows > installation. I also know about the various forensic/recovery > live CDs and even started the forensic edition of Swift Linux. > > As a result of working on Swift Linux, I now have experience with > Bash scripts. > > Are there other career paths I should consider? I've heard that > I should consider becoming a systems administrator. What do you > think of this career? What are the best ways I can get relevant > experience? (I'm thinking along the lines of setting up an old > computer at home as a firewall or server.) > > Are there other career paths I should consider? > > -- > Jason Hsu > Creator of Swift Linux > http://www.swiftlinux.org/ > > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > tclug-list at mn-linux.org > http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list