Why you should choose a career in cybersecurity

For many people who decide to switch careers and venture into an entirely different field, after spending several years working in a particular industry for many years, it can be a scary endeavor. This is the kind of position I found myself in a couple months ago when I decided to leave my job as a Transportation Manager in one of the largest trucking companies in the US.

After about four years in a job that offered little in the way of professional development, or career progression, without the willingness to relocate, I decided that enough was enough. In all fairness, when I started at that company, I was fresh out of military, coming off of the back of numerous deployments and long periods spent in the field, away from family, on different continents around the world, and I had welcomed the idea of sitting in an office and doing the same thing over and over again. The change in pace was great for me but it didn’t take long for that feeling to wear off.

I quickly realized that even though I left the military and no longer had to be on the go 24/7, and constantly in that mindset, I still wanted to be challenged, to learn, to push myself and to grow. As a transportation manager there is so much you can learn, before you master your role and become stuck on a carousel, just watching the clock and counting down the hours until you go home, and get up the next day to do it all again. Thus began my search.

Why cybersecurity?

I don’t have a background in computers, nor do I fancy myself particularly tech savvy. As a matter of fact, I got my first computer when I moved to College to read for a BA in Media and Communication. However, through the years, as our lives became more and more saturated with technology, i became increasingly interested in how these devices we rely on for so much, work.

So it seemed only natural for me that when I decided to look for a new challenge, that I pursue something that I would at least find interesting, present numerous opportunities for growth, relatively easy to transition into and offer a good financial return on my investment. I began by reading as much as I can and the more I read, the more fascinated I became with just how many paths there were to pursue, but more importantly, I was surprised at how seemingly easy it was to get started.

There are numerous traditional schools that offer degree programs and certifications in a number of fields and there are creditable strictly online institutions that offer free and relatively inexpensive courses to get started. This is not to mention the hundreds of people who are so passionate about tech, and cultivating interest in the field, that they create entire channels to teach people, free of cost, how to get started in tech. The sheer energy and enthusiasm around the field, coupled with a growing need for staffing organizations and agencies with qualified people, convinced me that this is a path to pursue.

I looked at many different options and could have easily decided on one or the other, but I settled on Cybersecurity, because it seemed the most interesting to me. Aside from the idea of being a hacker (the ethical kind) and being able to do, and understand things that regular people do not, I was reminded daily of how grossly unprepared we are for the challenges of navigating cyberspace without putting ourselves and the people and things we care about at risk to bad actors. More and more I was hearing, and witnessing, how criminals with this particular skill-set do not care who they target and hurt as long as it gets they what they want.

What am I signing up for?

I learned of ransomware attacks on Hospitals where all their data and systems were compromised/captured by hackers who refused to release it unless they are paid. We’re talking about doctors unable to access patient records, or be able to use life-saving technology to treat patients. I also learned that more often than not, these hackers are paid by these medical institutions, for the mere fact that the prioritize their oaths to take care of the sick. So much so, that some even have dedicated entire budgets for these payouts, in the even that they are hacked. Now it baffled me that people could be so cold and heartless so as to target the most vulnerable among us, but I was also encouraged by what I saw as a major push to recruit and train cybersecurity professionals to combat this ever-present, and ever growing threat. I just needed to know where to sign-up.

The journey begins.

Enter Fullstack Academy. This Immersive Software Engineering and Coding bootcamp located in New York City seemed to tick all the boxes as to what I was looking for — a location close to home, a Cybersecurity program that prepared me to enter the workforce as soon as possible, a curriculum designed for people who have zero background in tech and professional coaching and mentoring. I was committed to making the transition as soon as possible so even though they offered a part-time option, I was prepared to leave my job and attend full-time. This is how convinced I was that I was doing the right thing, and approximately 4-weeks into the program, I have been vindicated in this regard.

I feel challenged at every step of the way. The sheer volume of information that is available and coming at you daily can feel overwhelming at times, but it presents a great opportunity for me to absorb as much as I can. It also means that with so much information available, the number of paths that I can pursue and specialize in, paths that are still developing as the technology landscape evolves, are enumerable. I’m encouraged by the fact that I will have no choice but to keep learning and improving if I mean to make a success of this.

My goals keep evolving the more I learn and the more I am exposed to how necessary this business of cybersecurity is. However, at the core, I want to be proficient enough that I am contributing meaningfully to the advancement of the field with my work and more importantly I want to be one of the good guys on the forefront of this battle for our data and personal information that has become the source of so much conflict and given birth to burgeoning industries. I am truly excited about what the future holds and hope to make it a little bit safer for all of us.

How do you get started?

If you stayed until the end of this post and are as intrigued about the exciting field of cybersecurity as I am, and would like to explore it as a possible career path, or maybe even just to make yourself aware of the dangers that exist and necessitate these professionals, then there are many ways to go about it.

A quick google search (e.g. What is cybersecurity?) is a good place to start. That is sure to set you on the path to figuring out why this matters to you — and believe me it should. You will learn about different types of attacks that have occurred and how they’ve affected ordinary people like you, and hopefully, you will pick up on some of the amazing tools that exist to protect yourself. Feel free to check out podcasts that specialize in talking about cybersecurity to ‘regular people’, without all the technical jargon. The offer a wealth of information on past and current threats, and usually provide advise on how you can go about securing yourself and your valuable data.

For those who are interested in pursuing cybersecurity as a career path, check out a couple of the Bootcamps that exist and see if that is right for you. Their usually accelerated learning programs are good for people who would rather not pursue a 4-year degree, or for people who are busy and only have a couple hours per week to to commit to studying — as is the case with some part-time programs. Numerous Colleges and Universities are also beginning to Cybersecurity as a dedicated field of study so for young people who are still considering Majors, this could be an interesting field to get into. If you are currently employed, speak with your employer and see if the have any programs that offer a path into the field. Many employers are investing in having their own cybersecurity team on-site, and have been offering to either pay for Certificate Exams if employees choose to self-study, or even paying for employees to attend one of these Bootcamps.

Whichever path you choose, just know that the cybersecurity field is filled with passionate people who are dedicated to providing support to anyone who wishes to enter into, or learn about the field. They collaborate behind the scenes and work tirelessly to build the tools that enable us to mount a resistance against those who would use technology to take advantage of their fellow citizens.