There was a time when the secret services recruited their spies almost exclusively from Cambridge University, but in these more enlightened days, they just put an ad in the papers like any other employer.

This last weekend, several papers carried a full page advertisement from MI5 - which didn’t give much detail but invited readers to go to www.mi5.gov.org/careers for more information.

Unsurprisingly, it turns out there are plenty of roles vacant at the moment for information security specialists - ranging from penetration testers to network forensics specialists and security architects.

Regular viewers of “Spooks” on BBC TV will know exactly what’s required, or course. As the job ad says “Ours is a fast-paced environment, so you must be flexible and able to adapt to ever changing priorities, including working out of hours at short notice when required.”

Salaries aren’t bad either for some roles - as an infrastructure or application architect, you might earn £80,000. However,  a lowly network forensices analyst might have to start on £27,250 - on the same rate as a carpenter (yes, they’re looking for carpenters too), except that the carpenter gets paid for any overtime.

If you’re tempted to apply, however, don’t tell the world, no matter how much you might be tempted. As the ad makes clear “Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.” Also applications can take up to six months to process, so don’t hand in your notice quite yet.