Security Manager's Journal: A chance to hire a security engineer causes some angst

Computerworld -

Trouble Ticket

At issue: The state's pay structure works against hiring people with needed skills.

Action plan: Hope for the best and plan for the worst.

Working for a state government certainly has its ups and downs, and I've been down now for a long while. I've told you about the state's budget cuts and hiring freeze and about my department's chronic understaffing. We were overdue for some good news, and I finally got some.

The word came down from on high that we can hire someone to fill a position in my department that has been open for months. I certainly felt good about that. We've all been crunched for time in the department, with projects falling way behind schedule. I've had so much on my plate that I've been feeling as if I'm not really accomplishing anything.

A long wish list

But as one songwriter said, just when you're thinking you've finally got it made, bad news comes knocking at the garden gate. Unfortunately, the downside has already made its presence felt.

Over these past few months, I have had a lot of time to think about what kind of person I want to fill that position. I don't need another network, Windows or help desk person. I need a security engineer. But the kind of person I want is not going to work for the salary the state is able and willing to offer.

I need someone who has Cisco security experience; someone who is familiar with PIX/ASA firewalls, VPN configurations, intrusion-detection and -prevention devices and the Cisco MARS event- correlation appliance; someone who understands why NetFlow data is important. I need someone who can see the big picture and who fully comprehends why we have to do things the way we do. It's a tall order, and the state hiring system works against filling it.

In this state government, a person's demonstrated skills are pretty much irrelevant in determining salary. What matters is the grade level of the position. That grade level has an associated pay range, and there is no variance.

So, here I am with an impossible task. I want to hire someone with top-flight skills for very little pay. I'm left to hope that someone within the state system has been looking for an opportunity to move up the ladder — someone who already possesses the skills we need but hasn't been recognized for them.

Or maybe I'll chance upon someone in a position to follow my path into state government. I moved to this state for family reasons and took a huge pay cut to work for the state.