Dear Career Adviser:

I have a bachelor's degree in computer science and business and a master's in computer science. I also have three years of government IT experience in computer security design. I'm interested in computer forensics. What opportunities are there for me in private industry or consulting?

-- High Crime

Dear Crime:

Your three years of experience in the security area put you well ahead of the curve as security moves from a subject that's of interest only to the Department of Defense and becomes an area of mainstream concern and spending, says John Stubbs, vice president and national practice leader of the network integration practice at Ciber Inc. in Greenwood Village, Colo. You just need to decide where you want to put your experience to work.

The difference between security and forensics is the occurrence of a crime, notes Stubbs. Both areas are interrelated, since there are always new tools and new hacks happen every day although they often remain undiscovered for a while, so the detective work, and hence the forensics, could begin as much as six months after a crime is discovered. Nonetheless, the area you want to concentrate on goes beyond firewalls, virtual private networks and antivirus software to true security systems architecture that engages security at the root level of a company's applications and processes.

As a consultant, you would be quite valuable if you understood products from companies like Securant Technologies Inc. in San Francisco or Netegrity Inc. in Waltham, Mass., and knew how those tools integrate with directory or metadirectory services.

You also need to understand privilege management the process of granting people access to a system, public-key infrastructure and digital certificates. Assessment and penetration services are also hot areas, says Stubbs. For companies to understand what to fix, they need to understand where they are.

Dear Career Adviser:

I hold bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science and have five years of work experience, including three in the U.S., where I'm a permanent resident. I'm experienced in application development in C, C++, Java, XML and HTML.

I have worked on a variety of applications, including an order/product/billing tracking system, a client tracking system and an employee management system. I want to advance to a senior or team leader position. How do I do that?

-- Questioning How

Dear How:

A year ago, a person with three years of programming experience and a master's degree in computer science could find senior programmer or team leader positions, says Talia C. Rodriguez, a technical recruiter at Attract Professional Staffing Inc. in San Jose.

However, a strong academic background and just a few years of programming experience, or learning a slew of new languages, won't help you make the jump today because you're now competing with hundreds of other candidates who have similar backgrounds and similar software and systems expertise. If you sincerely want to upgrade your career, start thinking about the qualifications that make a person a strong leader, beyond simply writing code, says Rodriguez.

If you haven't done so already, start taking on more responsibilities in coordinating with other members of your team. Then be sure your r