Scope in network security

Hi all,
I m a new member in this site which i find very informative.
i am working in mumbai as a network security administrator from past 5 months with a reputed MNC.And this is my first job.
i want to know wheather i should jump to development side or continue with my job. Is there ample growth in this field now. I like my profile here. But i m only confused wheather i will be able to earn more in future or become stagnant at this salary only.
Please help me out. I m confused. :

I remember the first time I posted a question like this... Since then there have been a steady amount of the same posts. (or very similar)

First and foremost do something you find intresting. You don't have to "love" it.. But if you want to make the most out of it you can't dislike what you are doing. You won't be top notch and that means a lower salary.

Second, I can't speak to your specific area. (Mumbai) But in general network security administrators make more then developers. They are in higher demand and there are fewer of them, to scale.

If this is your first job.. then yes there is room to move up. With 2 or 3 years experience you can get a better job, get a cert or 2 and even a better job. There is alot of room between entry level and Sr. Admin level.

If you want to do really really well in the Security Area i would also do some Development Studies in your spare time. I am trying to make a move into Penetration Testing and the programming side of things would have been very usefull for me so i am finding that i need to learning programming techniques (which will also be useful to write my own exploit code)

Cheers

If you want to do really really well in the Security Area i would also do some Development Studies in your spare time. I am trying to make a more into Penetration Testing and the programming side of things would have been very usefull for me so i am finding that i need to learning programming techniques (which will also be useful to write my own exploit code)

Cheers

Totally agree with this, understanding how an exploit works gives you a unique idea about how to defend against them. And writing your own is the ultimate understanding.. but it might be a little much if you have only been in the industry a few months

Smurf,

Which language(s) are you going to learn?

I'm curious myself. I find the Penetration Testing extremely interesting and I'm sure its very much in need. I believe Sahir is very into penetration testing and has done some serious work on it.

When I login to securityfocus.com, norton.com ect... to keep up on trojan and virus releases, the name of the virus's intrigues me. I see the code and I'm interested even more on how it works. But I'm definitely not a programmer, if anything I struggle with programming. But I think if you know the security side (i.e. networking, hardware ect...) and you know how to program. That can be a wicked combo for penetration testing.

Smurf I know your qualifications are very high, so if you picked up the programming side of things ...thats quite a force. I'd say 6 digits worth , wouldn't you agree hehe

ZiPPy