Next time add it to the list to the top. Everyone here can edit the article, since it is a wiki.
I just did it for you now 
Keep it clean and classy lads
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U have to learn Low levels in college, before taking on pen testing.
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I agree, except for the college part. College ,as a whole, is a corrupt waste of money and, most importantly, time. With intelligent use of the internet, one can find everything one needs to teach themselves. Also, find a good hackerspace or something.
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The best way to learn is to be self taught. IMO. Self taught hackers often run circles around somebody who just took the class, because they have a passion and drive to learn their topic.
College is a necessary evil for many, since jobs often require degrees, now a days especially.
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I think it’s only worth going to college for two reasons:
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You need access to equipment you would otherwise be unable to access, financially, legally, or otherwise, such as the Large Hadron Collider, or a lab full of deadly microbes.
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Your professional requires some kind of state license, like medicine or law.
In the Computer Science field(which is incredibly broad, I know), specifically, things like software development and InfoSec, smart companies will hire smart people who are willing and capable, despite a degree. The Computer Science degree’s base is strong, which is why using MIT OCW and other easily available e-books are a great way to acquire said fundamentals.
I think I read that 60+% of software developers are self-taught. College is just…meh, nowadays. Who wants to subject themselves to Diversity Requirements and other brainwashing crap?
Be smart and motivated. Get yourself some skills. Find a non-stupid company that doesn’t confuse Symbols and Things and prove to them you are smart, motivated, and have skills.
That’s what I’ve done and am currently doing. It’s how I got my current QA job, picking up great skills like probing web applications and embedded systems for bugs, using Wireshark to perform real-world packet analysis, etc.
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Now that I am getting ready to graduate soon with a Comp. Sci. degree I have started to see that the companies have been talking to are more impressed at what I’ve taught myself (literally all my knowledge on networking and security) then what I learned in class. @Bowlslaw Is absolutely right , but there are places that use the degree to thin out the stack of resumes and the chances for research I have gotten are better than what I could have done myself. I think it depends on the person and what they want out.
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I would assume it’s the more “intense” technical fields, like malware research and cryptography, right? Malware research requires an enormous breadth and depth of skills and how to apply theory, and cryptography requires specialized mathematics knowledge and a thorough understanding of higher mathematical theory(for example, number theory) which are very difficult to learn yourself.
And yeah…massive companies like Google kinda has to. I wonder how many applications they get per year.
Actually I often read and heard people talk about it as well that they might prefer people with a good CS degree over someone who pursued a degree like “IT-Sec” or “Net-Sec” for the sole reason that CS lays a broader foundation and makes people gather different experiences and approaches to things.
Also thinning out people obviously takes place but would you prefer someone with a malware research degree and some work experience or someone with a classic CS degree with similar experience.
I wouldn’t know which one to take until after a personal conversation
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Would recommend Reversing: Secrets of Reverse Engineering by Eldad Eilam. I have nearly finished reading it, and it has been a fantastic source.
Add an Amazon link to the wiki then!
In college at a liberal arts school and am “subjected” to diversity requirements. They’re annoying and take away from my technical education, but I do think I become a more well rounded and socially conscious person.
All physical infiltration links are down.
Here’s some suggestions to replace them.
CovertInstruments is the Lockpicking Lawyers shop/business.
This is another cool Lockpicking Company, based out of Canada
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