Have you ever sat back and thought What is my dream job and how do I get it? I know I have. After thinking about it, on my walk into the office this morning, I think I’ve come up with the ideal job for me – Information Security Conference Columnist. I know the job doesn’t exist but wouldn’t it be amazing if your job was write about the goings on at a security conference for the readers of a major IT publication? You could interview attendees about their experiences at the conference and their likes, dislikes, or suggestions on how to make it better for next time. You could talk to the presenters and panelists about the latest trends in information security, the newest exploit or discovery, or what advice they might have for aspiring professionals. You could talk to the vendors about their new products or services and how they feel their solution will help address challenges.

What would be the requirements for such a position?
First and foremost, you’d need to sell the idea to a major publication that would be willing to back your endeavors in return for the quality articles you plan to deliver to them. You’d need to make sure they covered flights, hotels, food, conference fees, and any incidentals (i.e. taxi’s, parking, etc.) or ensure that they will pay you enough to cover the aforementioned expenses. Obviously this will be the biggest hurdle because without the backing, you’re just a writer without an audience.

Ideally you’d want to have your base of operations near a major airport, or at least an airport that offered good connecting flights. Depending on your tolerance for travel you’d probably want to situate yourself somewhere in central North America to reduce the average flight time to and from conferences. This kind of job would require extensive travel and your support system (i.e. spouse, kids, dog, etc.) would probably appreciate the occasional stop over back at your HQ.

Finally, you’d have to love the themes supported at these conferences. If you’re doing this job for money your readers simply won’t benefit from your articles. Your readers should be able to live every cool new exploit release, sexy new product, or exhilarating talk as if they were sitting right there beside you. If you don’t want to write about what you’re experiencing…why would your readers?

Hopefully an editor at a major publication reads this post and says to themselves “Wow, we need to hire this guy to do exactly what he’s talking about for our magazine!” In the meantime, I’ll be sitting by the phone, waiting for their call. 😉