Information Security - know anything about it?

I've just been given an offer to do an MSc in Information Security at Royal Holloway College London. I hear the job prospects and starting salaries are great, and people whom I know are already doing it or have done it, are happy.

Does anybody know anything about the profession? What it's like in the long run? I'm thinking of specialising in Cyber Security. I'm a bit on the fence; I'm a Biomedical Scientist but I'm not interested in the subject anymore so am looking for an alternative. InfoSec seems like a good move, but I don't know if I'll enjoy it so the job/money prospects are enticing me at the moment.

Of much relevance:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22450544

[timwilky]

When you consider a businesses intellectual property can be worth millions, loss can destroy the company etc. No wonder forward thinking companies are willing to pay to protect it.

Nobody likes to scream that they have lost anything, or even been attacked. My own company has established an information security dept recruiting from specialists, all government trained. The dept head reporting directly to the CIO.

It is an interesting field. But I should think you would end up either in a global company, one of the few large consultancies or worse case a civil servant.

I'm a software developer by trade and I have an interest in security. That being said, there is a vast gap between learning to use the tools of the information security trade and actually being able to discover new or non-trivial exploits on your own.

I personally wouldn't hire someone as an information security expert who didn't have a long history of on the job training to back up any supposed qualifications.

That being said, I'm quite sure plenty of businesses pay the money to contract in someone who knows the tools and can tick the box on the security audit.

[TEC]

Originally Posted by allantheboss

... I hear the job prospects and starting salaries are great ....

Dunno so much about salaries but the job prospects are a lot better than they used to be with more and more larger companies realising they cannot hide screw ups from share holders any more