Please check out my >>About Me<< page.
First off, thanks for checking out my site. The following is a fairly long post detailing how I found my passion in this career field, and hopefully may give you, the reader, some insight on where I stand as of writing this.
I started my journey in Netsec / Cybersecurity pretty much on accident. While studying at Towson University, I received an email from a department head saying there was an open position as an intern working for the government. The job title was incredibly vague (Information Technology Management Trainee). Being an IT student, I figured this could be a great experience. Upon my phone interview, I was asked the question “Why are you interested in Cybersecurity?” — I was totally caught off guard by this question because I had no idea it was for a Cyber role, let alone any knowledge to go off of! That’s not to say I wasn’t interested in Cyber, however. The response I gave — which is true to this day, was something along the lines of, “I joined the Marine Corps because I wanted to be apart of something larger than myself. I wanted to defend my country and stop those who wish harm against it. As the world is shifting from a physical battlefield to a digital one, I think it’s important we focus on cyber defenses and I want to be a part of that.”
The more I have learned and read, the more I’m realizing defending against attackers is absolute uphill battle, however we should never give in. As soon as I was hired, I realized I needed to do everything I can to learn more and become a competent professional in the NetSec world. I joined my school’s Collegiate Cyber Defense Team, quickly earning a spot in the competing team for the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, and participated in many CTF’s throughout my time on the team. Additionally, I pursued my Security+ certification and passed on my first attempt, I’ve attended a SANS course (Sec 504) and was grouped in a rag tag team of individuals who no one thought would win — we did! And I have attended multiple BSides conferences to learn more.
TL;DR: I accidentally stumbled upon this career path and I am very passionate to learn more and put my skills to good use.
