Real-Life Decision Making
You have to be decisive if you want to become a computer systems security analyst. That is because a computer system resembles a maze, and you may have to walk through all of it before you can find a security flaw. And any maze has a number of paths, which may dead end.
"You have to be able to identify when you are not going anywhere," says Justin Funke. He is a computer systems security analyst. "You can literally spend weeks going down dead ends. So you have to know when to say, 'This is not working,' and try something else. So you have to decide what you are going to do, and go for it."
You also have to be decisive when you decide on a security system, or on the type of information you volunteer to others.
And the consequences of a wrong decision can be significant. If you cannot fix a security problem, or if you create one by revealing sensitive information, you may end up hurting the bottom line of the company for which you work. And if that does happen, you run the risk of losing your job or contract.
You are a computer systems security analyst. You just agreed to install a new security system for a major company. The project will take about three months, and there is a chance that the company may contract you for a longer period of time.
But when you arrive at work, the head of that company's IT department insists that members of his staff get a chance to watch your work during that time. And that could be a problem. Because it gives them a chance to take a look at a new security program you developed for your own purposes, and do not have a copyright for yet.
What do you do?