This article will shed some light on my personal journey into the workforce. Here I share my experiences, things I felt helped me, and initial observations.
How I felt about cyber security when I started my degree
When I received an offer I felt relieved. Although cyber security was included in my course structure, I didn’t perceive it as a career I would pursue. In fact, I avoided the idea of being involved in cyber security. The main reason for this was my father. Before anyone gets ahead of themselves, my father never discouraged or attempted to sabotage any potential career path. He was very supportive of me throughout my studies. However, he has had a career in information technology (IT) since the early 1980s and from my understanding, was relatively well known. As advanatgous as this could be for me, career wise ,I never wanted to live under my father’s shadow.
Non-traditional methods of study
Competitions & hackathons:
I find competitions and hackathons rewarding challenges, which encourage out of the box thinking. The Sydney Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge is a huge reason I have pursued a career in cyber security. This competition was initially brought to my attention via an email sent by my university. After a few weeks, one of my friends asked if I wanted to compete with her. Together we recruited a team (three security studies students and one IR/politics major student). We also required a coach who was an academic or an individual with experience in cyber and/or IT. Too intimidated to ask any of the lectures at university, I inserted my father’s information under the “coach” section…Click here to read full article.
