I posted a few days back about some transition going on with me. So, I got some ’splainin’ to do. Well, here it is. I am changing jobs. I know, what’s the big deal? But this is more than a job change for me. The last few years as an Information Security Manager have made me realize that the technical side of my job, though still a good part of what I do, is starting to fade into the background. As I get more and more resources in place and grow the security infrastructure, I am starting to focus more and more on personnel manangement and security maintenance, with the project and technical work becoming much less frequent. Basically, my skills is sufferin’. And they are suffering at a time in my life where I just can’t afford it. I am only 34 years old (today, in fact - happy B-day to me!!), so I think the move into management is not for me yet. Maybe it never will be,but I definitely know it is not the time now.
So, I decided to make a change. I wanted a job where I would get to see different technologies and get to be a lot more technical. However, I wanted to stay in security and not go out into another technical job that pushed me back into network engineering. So, I started looking a while back to see what was out there. I did not put a lot of effort into it. I figured if it was supposed to happen, then it would happen.
Well, it did. On Friday, I accepted a position as a Security Engineer with a security reseller and consulting company. Basically, it is a pre-sales engineering job with a lot of consultation, design work and some implementation work. There a couple of reasons I decided to make the move: 1) I believe this will keep my technical skills up, and 2) it is going to allow for a lot of freedom that I have been looking for.  This is the company’s first permenant presence in Houston, so I will be starting the office (we will be bringing in a sales person in a couple of months - any sales people looking for a job, shoot me an email at m1a1vet-at-infosecplace.com).  That is exciting to me.  And I will be able to work from home for a while, so I will be seeing more of my family. Basically, I am excited about this, and I think it will be good for me and my career.
I guess I should tell where I am going! The company is Accuvant. 
I will spare you the marketing hype, but I can say that they are a top-notch security company. They have some really quality folks over there, and I know I will learn a lot from them. I have worked with them over the last year or so, and my experience has been nothing but positive.
Just to explain, the reason I am making such a big deal about this here ay An Information Security Place is because this move might have a big bearing on my blogging. I have worked for VAR’s before, but my view of the security industry is likely to change quite a bit. I have spent the last three years as a security manager, sothat will always be there and will affect my thinking. But I take my blogging very seriously (though I have a great time doing it), so I have to recognize that this is going to affect what I blog about and how I see issues.
I know many people read my blog because they are security practitioners and they like that I have the same viewpoint. I promise those people that I will do my best not to betray those views. Security management is a part of me. But I will also be seeing things from the reseller perspective. I think that will give me a fresh outlook that will only add to what I can think and write about.
So, that is what’s going on with me. I plan on always keeping this site and my Computerworld blog going strong, but please understand if I have some dry times in the next few weeks as I move over. Thanks for reading. Please stick around and see the things that are to come.
Vet
