Author Archives: Gianna Barnes

About Gianna Barnes

Cyber Forensics and Information Security Student, Data Analytics Student, Class of 2019

Available IT Internships

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There are two new information technology internship opportunities available:

The Allegheny County Airport has an IT intern position available in Pittsburgh, PA. Requirements include:

  • Must currently be enrolled in school as a second year (or above) undergraduate from an accredited four-year college or university in Information Technology, or a related field
  • Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher

Responsibilities include:

  • Exposure to day-to-day technical maintenance on server, computers, and phone equipment
  • Assist service personnel in the configuration of hardware and peripheral components, such as monitors, keyboards, printers, and disk drives
  • Assist and/or be exposed to diagnosing, troubleshooting, and resolving hardware, software, or other network and system problems and replace defective components

For more information and to apply, click here.

SAP Software Solutions also has an IT internship available in Pittsburgh, PA for their Student Training and Rotation (STAR) program.

Requirements include:

  • Currently enrolled in a degree seeking program at a university local to the Pittsburgh area
  • Pursuing a relevant Bachelor’s degree in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field of study
  • Interested in pursuing a long-term internship schedule with full-time hours while on summer break and/or co-op, as well as part-time hours during the academic year

For more information and to apply, click here.

Help Desk Specialist Positions Available

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Questeq in Coraopolis has part-time positions available for help desk specialists. The help desk specialist is the first point of contact for administration, staff, and faculty from school districts in the area seeking technical assistance for desktop and network issues. As a help desk specialist, your main requirements are:

  • Strong communication skills
  • Ability to provide technical assistance over the phone
  • Good problem solving skills
  • Ability to multi-task
  • Knowledge of common operating systems and software applications
  • Ability to work a minimum of 10 hours per week and maximum of 30 hours per week

This position pays $10 per hour. If interested, please contact Mr. Gary Hoffman at ghoffman@questeq.com.

How to Prepare for a New Semester

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Spring semesters are always hard. After having a month off to celebrate the holidays, it can be difficult to get through the remaining 4 months until summer break (or, for some of you, graduation). Since we are on our second week of classes, I thought I would share some ways that I like to prepare for a new semester:

1. Use your planner!

My planner is my best friend. At the beginning of the semester, use your class syllabi to write down when every assignment and exam is due. I use this one. It includes monthly pages as well as weekly pages. I write assignments, meetings, and appointments in the monthly pages, then re-write the same stuff in the weekly pages with more details. Then I put a check-mark next to the things that I have completed.

2. Make a schedule, and stick to it.

Use your syllabi to create a weekly schedule. In the schedule, you should include your work schedule, class schedule, and study sessions to allow time for completing assignments and studying for exams. You should also include time for things like going to the gym, class/work meetings, and any other events or appointments that may come up.

3. Organize your workspace.

Being a college student doesn’t allow much time for cleaning. However, if you’re anything like me, it can be impossible to get work done in a cluttered space. Every week, I like to take about 15 minutes to organize my desk. It’s so much easier to do my homework when I can easily find the books and papers that I need.

4. Stay healthy. 

Try not to get stressed. It’s so important to make time for yourself. Plan days where you can go to the gym, cook dinner, or go out with friends. If possible, make at least an hour for yourself every day to do things that YOU want to do.

Good luck everyone. Just remember, a little bit of planning and preparation can go a long way.

Preparing for a Career in Cybersecurity

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Most of you are probably preparing for careers in cybersecurity. I myself will be graduating this Spring with two degrees in hand. But as I start thinking about graduation, I have to ask myself: is this enough? Will my degrees get me where I want to go?

In short, the answer is probably yes. Cybersecurity professionals are in high demand these days. However, I don’t just want a career in cybersecurity; I want to land my dream job. After conducting some research, I found a great article by Forbes magazine on how to start a lucrative career in cybersecurity. Here are 6 ways to jump-start your career in this field:

1. Don’t specialize just in security.

The best security professionals are well-rounded individuals. Even if you are great at the security side, you should sharpen your skills in other departments. It would be beneficial to learn the fundamentals of data networks, gain experience with multiple operating systems, or become proficient in multiple scripting languages.

2. Network

Get to know as many people in your industry as you can. Go to on-campus events, make friends with your professors, attend career fairs. Knowing many people in your industry can help you greatly when it comes to finding a job.

3. Start studying up on IT basics.

Learning IT fundamentals is an important part of having a successful cybersecurity career. Pay close attention in your classes that teach these fundamentals; they may not be the most fun, but the information that you learn will benefit you immensely.

4. Earn some certifications.

The Security+ certification is a good place to start. This shows employers that you can handle the job duties of a cybersecurity job and that you know the fundamentals. Your Computer Network Security course should provide you with the opportunity to take this exam. The Network+ certification is also in high-demand.

5. Show initiative in your own time.

Self-learning and experimentation is critical. Many employers will ask you about your home lab: what kind of systems you are running, the level of security, what work you’re doing. They want to know what you have learned in your own time.

6. Hone your data analysis skills.

Any cybersecurity expert should have the ability to notice trends in large amounts of data. It’s worth it to take a course it data analysis to gain these skills.

Hopefully after reading this article, it will inspire you to get a jump-start on your career. But one of the most important things you can do is never stop learning! Get as much education as you can. Fill those big brains with all of the knowledge you need to be successful.

If you would like to read the full article, click here.

Source: Laurence Bradford, Forbes Magazine. How to Start a Lucrative Career in Cybersecurity.

 

Firefox 63’s Enhanced Tracking Protection

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The newest update of Firefox – Firefox 63 – comes with a new feature called Enhanced Tracking Protection. This feature prevents against privacy-invading cross-site tracking cookies. This feature blocks cookies and storage access from the third-party cookies that are most commonly associated with privacy-harming behavior.

To enable this feature in your Firefox browser, enter your Privacy & Security settings and click on Content Blocking then check the box labeled “Third-Party Cookies”.

The one downside to this feature is that it can cause some sites to crash. However, you can disable the blocking on a site-by-site basis.

Other new features coming with Firefox 63 include the ability to have the browser mimic the light or dark theme used by the operating system, and Siri shortcuts for Firefox on iOS (for you Apple fans).

Source: https://thenextweb.com/tech/2018/10/23/firefox-63-will-prevent-cookies-tracking-you-across-sites/

STEM Career Fair – Thursday October 25th

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Students seeking internships and full time positions for Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Information Technology should attend the STEM career this Thursday, October 25th!

The career fair will be held from 1pm-3pm in the John Jay gym. Please dress in your business professional clothing.

Employers attending the career fair include: CGI, CGL, Equipment and Controls, FedEx Ground, FedEx Services Information Technology, Highmark Health Solutions, Larsen Design Group, Precision Castparts Corp. (Timet), RebDev LLC, Seegrid, Thermofisher Scientific, and Trinity Industries.

TSC Blaze Pizza Fundraiser

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Top Secret Colonials (TSC) will be hosting a fundraiser at Blaze Pizza this Thursday, September 20th from 5:00-9:00 pm. If you bring in the attached flyer, Blaze Pizza will donate 20% of all proceeds back to TSC. Come out for some great pizza and support a good cause!

Blaze Pizza is located at 290 Settlers Ridge Center Dr. Robinson Township, PA 15205

 

Hire UP Technology Job Fair

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Hire UP is hosting a technology recruiting event for students studying IT, computer science, business, engineering, and traditional sciences. The event is open to all students and job seekers. There will also be two new features to this year’s job fair: a workshop entitled “LinkedIn and Your Career” and a professional photographer taking headshots.

Location: University of Pittsburgh, William Pitt Union, Kurtzman Room (main floor), 3959 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Date: Tuesday, November 13th, 2018 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Register here.