But what if I don't want to process large data sets for the NSA?
RE: But what if I don’t want to process large data sets for the NSA?
You can use the same skills for PRIVATE INDUSTRY ( and they’ll pay you better IMHO ).
That is ok it will be in the cloud so you won’t know it is for the NSA.
Big data is HUGE right now (pardon the pun). Big data and BI are THE buzzwords in IT. Teradata is a player in this market and is making big data a corporate watchword.
What they’re trying to accomplish is wholesale cataloging of your life for both business security AND marketing. For instance, in the financial industry, your card purchases are cataloged and put into massive data warehouses where your spending habits are analyzed and presented to corporate leadership to watch for trends and new business opportunities. This data is also used for fraud detection and prevention.
If you’ve consistently spent money in the same area, the card company assumes you live, work and play in that area. If, however, your card is swiped at a POS three states over and there’s no record of you traveling (airline ticket purchase or fuel purchases on major roadways between point A and point B), they flag that purchase as potentially fraudulent. Likewise, most fraud-suspect websites are usually blocked even if you are the one making the purchase.
This is good and bad, really. It’s great for the protection of your account and your hard-earned money. It’s bad because the marketing is going to be tailored to what you’re buying, and you’ll be flooded with spam you don’t want. This, however, has been going on for over a century, so it’s really business as usual.
Linux is a highly marketable skill as well. I’m a lowly admin on the Linux front. I know how to get around and follow online write ups. The real money is in scripting and automated systems management. Word to the wise: if you’re learning Linux, practice on Fedora or CentOS. If you want to play with RHEL, do so, but RHEL can’t be updated without a subscription; and since RHEL is the most common Linux distro in corporate IT, it’s best to play with the distros designed off the same kernel (Fedora & CentOS).
Then you just need to be an expert on Little Data.