Microsoft sponsors security career guide

A nonprofit organization with help from Microsoft has created a "career guide" to spark interest for the information security profession among high school and college students.

The guide was distributed last month to more than 3,500 school counselors, administrators and educators at education conferences and has been made available online, the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, or (ISC)2, said this week.

Microsoft sponsored the 35-page guide, which is titled "Decoding the Information Security Profession." The booklet offers a description of information security, typical jobs, titles, industries and organizations, professional requirements, certification options, typical salaries, career outlook, and a listing of schools, education facilities, certification companies and other resources and associations.