LSUS SOC hiring two student positions as center places analysts in industry jobs

LSUS SOC hiring two student positions as center places analysts in industry jobs

SHREVEPORT - The ultimate test of any student program that involves hands-on experience is those students landing industry jobs.

For the student cybersecurity analysts manning the LSU Shreveport Security Operations Center (SOC), they are two-for-two in that respect.

Both student analysts have taken the next steps in their cyber careers as Haley Stinebrickner (doctoral program at Central Florida) and Kia Callahan (internship at CSG International) have successfully launched from the SOC.

Now it's time for Ched Wiggins, SOC Lead at LSUS who trains and mentors students, to hire two more students to work in one of only three student-operated SOCs in the state. The LSUS SOC protects the university's network from cyberattacks by identifying irregularities in cyber activity.

"I like that we are starting to put people into industry, especially because the job market is tough," Wiggins said. "For a student to get a degree in cybersecurity and nothing else, it's very challenging to land a cybersecurity job.

"Getting hands-on experience in the SOC plus access to all of the training resources through our partners like TekStream Solutions is a huge advantage."

Wiggins is a hosting a Lunch and Learn on Sept. 17 (11 a.m. in Technology Center Roon 220) to promote the openings and answer student questions. He leads a six-student team.

"We'll cover a typical day in the life of a student cybersecurity analyst, what the training pipeline looks like, and other basics," said Wiggins, who added that students will receive three months of training through TekStream before actually addressing and responding to incidents and alerts. "Students of any major are welcome to apply as research shows that students who excel in critical thinking and curiosity tend to perform better in the cybersecurity realm even if they have a prior limited background in the subject.

"The successful candidate will be curious and have a mindset to dig to the bottom of things while being detailed-oriented."

The only application requirements consist of students being sophomores or higher and being enrolled in any face-to-face LSUS program.

Wiggins did stress that cybersecurity curiosity ideally entails self-study and exploration, like sitting or planning to sit for the CompTIA Security+ exam, the standard for entry-level cybersecurity analysts.

Computer science senior Thien Le fits that mold.

As part of the first cohort of student analysts in April of 2024, Le had already been learning about ethical hacking outside of class and started his position with CompTIA Security+ certification.

In nearly 18 months at the SOC, Le has added valuable offensive certification like HTB CPTS and OffSec OSCP in addition to his SOC experience in incident response and other defensive strategies.

"There are two kinds of students - ones who go to class and study but do nothing else when they go home, and those that do all that but participate in side projects," Le said. "I want to be the second kind of student."

Computer science graduate student Devesh Sarda enjoys ethical hacking, but he's naturally more geared toward defense rather than offense.

"I'm thinking about what kind of defenses I can put up while testing the attack at the same time," said Sarda, who also serves as LSUS's student body president. "I like looking at network maps and determining what our security posture will be and what our firewall rules are.

"What kinds of vulnerabilities do I see? I'm thinking about how to stop people like Thien."

Student analysts exploring and picking defined areas of cybersecurity is one example of how the student team has evolved over the past 18 months.

"Students may be coming in with some knowledge of what you want to do, but (Wiggins) shows you the whole map of how cybersecurity works and all the pathways that exist," Sarda said. "You go in and explore, get the lay of the land, see what parts you like, and then realize that cybersecurity is ingrained in about everything you do.

"I've been here almost a year, and I've gained a lot of knowledge."