Whilst I am relatively new to the Cyber Security industry, I continually hear about how difficult it is to navigate into even if you currently work in IT, and how impossible it is if you don't. My experience of attempting a change of career I would say supports this to a degree but I would also highlight that it is achievable. Cyber Security as an industry definitely provides numerous hurdles to overcome but I would honestly say that it is achievable with the right attitude and dedication. How do I know this? Mainly because I have scaled that peak, I managed to secure a Cyber Security role without any prior IT experience or degree.
One thing I do want to point out is that this blog is not for the purpose of blowing my own trumpet but is aimed at helping others navigate the difficulties I had to overcome and sharing my experiences both good and bad in order to help others achieve their goals. Too many good people walk away because they find it too difficult, leaving the Cyber Industry to complain about the lack of candidates for their vacant positions.
So where do I start? I think as with anything, its best to start at the beginning. I hope by sharing my own journey it helps you enter what is a fantastic industry with unlimited opportunities. My aim with this post is to help people understand my journey and why I have made the decision to work towards a Cyber Security career.
My Own Journey to Cyber Security
I grew up in a small town in South Wales called Port Talbot. Its main source of employment was the steel works, where if you knew someone "who could get you in" you were "set for life" supposedly. Unfortunately for lots of people that hasn't been the case due to the shift in the steel industry to other countries. It was never a place of great opportunity but it is my hometown.
I entered employment straight from school, I wasn't mature enough to think any further than how I earn money now. I tried numerous starting paths including training in electronics, then as a personal trainer. The money wasn't great as a trainee on a government funded NVQ so I decided to start work full time in a local electronics factory. That lasted about a year before I decided it wasn't for me although I didn't know what was? One of my friends, who was younger than me had made the choice to go to college and study Leisure and Tourism so why not go along for the ride? I spent 3 years (1 for a foundation course, and 2 for the advanced) and didn't finish my advanced qualification. Whilst at college I worked part time in a local pub and then eventually got a second bar job in one of the town centre bars and this led me to stop attending college. I think the main reason was that Leisure and Tourism wasn't right for me either.
Eventually I moved to a full time position in the town centre bar and enjoyed earning some real cash. This very quickly progressed into a lower level manager position where I relocated to Bristol, England. I spent about 4 great years living my best life, earning a decent salary with no outgoings and spent lots of time partying with students (sounds tough I know). I worked in a few of the pubs in and around Bristol and eventually was appointed to a Deputy Manager position at one of the South West of England's flagship sites.
At the end of the 4 years I was yearning for my next promotion which was a site of my own as a General Manager. That wish took me to Central London where I managed 2 sites in my time there. Not bad for a first appointment, my first site was in Marble Arch and then later Holborn. I considered myself relatively successful at the time as the sites were achieving records sales on a regular basis. I decided to move on to something new where I could gain some new experience and managed a 3 bar operation off Tottenham Court Road, also in Central London for a short 6 month spell with another company.
Nine and a half years had passed before I knew it. I will always look back on my time in London in particular with fond memories. I had very high disposable income, was in my 20's and had the privilege of living in one of the worlds greatest and most vibrant cities. Alas nothing lasts for ever.
I was getting to an age where I felt I needed to start to think about settling down, despite the income London was and is an expensive city to buy your first home and I just couldn't do it at the time. This coincided with a decision that I no longer wanted to work in bars or pubs anymore so the natural place to look where my skills were transferable was retail and in particular food retail. Along came Krispy Kreme.
An opportunity came along to join Krispy Kreme in a new store opening back in Bristol, it was a step back in salary but it was an exciting expanding brand that ticked all the boxes for me in terms of career progression, so after a discussion with my partner at the time we went for it. I worked as a Retail Manager then General Manager where my responsibilities extended from retail to also include logistics, warehousing and factory production. I held that role for 4 years but started to get a little stagnant despite the extra non-curricular responsibilities I was being given to aid my development. I decided that I was going to look else ware. A few conversations took place with my regional director and they had another new and exciting opportunity for me as the New Store Openings Manager. This was a role that hadn't existed for a few years and was an opportunity to move away from an operations role and be part of the holy grail that is moving from operations to a head office role. Nine to Five, Monday to Friday working, why would I not?
There were some great challenges and achievements in my 5 and a half years. I completed Prince2, opened numerous record breaking sites including the worlds biggest ever Krispy Kreme opening in Dublin in 2018. The problem was that I only enjoyed the role for 2 years if I am being honest. You see, right the way through my career to this point every step had been with the driving aim of how do I earn more money? Where does the next promotion come from? I looked back over my time and whilst I can be very proud of my achievements, I was never truly happy. A new relationship had started, my first son came along and I was never at home due to being all over the UK and Ireland. We had bought a house I rarely spent any time in, I missed numerous milestones of my sons development, and worked for a company that all of a sudden provided very limited opportunity to develop any further. Krispy Kreme had expanded dramatically over those five years and no one felt it more than me. Over one hundred store openings and I felt forgotten within the organisation. Despite the head office employee count dramatically growing I was a one man band, I wasn't part of a team and spent most of my days travelling and staying in hotels. I looked at my situation and thought what am I doing? It was time for another change.
I went on the job hunt not really knowing what direction I wanted to go in again which resulted in me not really gaining any traction and as had happened at various points in my career I didn't really know where my future lay. I started doing some research into various potential options including HR among others and didn't really feel they would be career's that would excite me for the next 25 years. I naturally gravitated towards IT with my research and started to drop the other options. I was highly confident IT was where I belonged. The more research I did the more Cyber Security excited me but I felt that it would be too advanced as an industry for me to enter. Then I came across a training provider that delivered a package that supposedly would provide you with the training required to enter Cyber Security. I spent about 3 months pondering if I could I make this work. I had to consider two things 1) Did I believe I could learn the content enough to gain the certifications and 2) Could I accept that in order to move into Cyber Security I would have to take a significant pay cut? I took the plunge....and was highly excited about it if a little nervous but it was up to me to deliver. It was a gamble with a family and mortgage but luckily I had plenty of support.
So all that was left was the small matter of working my way through 4 qualifications. As you can likely guess as I am here posting that I successfully navigated this whilst working full time, traveling weekly and trying to be there for my family as much as I could. It was tough but well worth the commitment as I knew with every days study I was doing the right thing. I loved learning the content and it motivated me even more.
Once the qualifications were in the bag, all that was left was to find my first role. This was the biggest challenge of them all by far. Ironically Covid 19 hit and I was made redundant. I would honestly say I wasn't hugely disappointed as it played into my career aims. I was lucky enough to receive a redundancy package which allowed me to throw everything at getting that first Cyber role and man did I need it. It has been incredibly tough to find opportunity but it definitely is possible. Despite not having a degree, despite not working in IT, despite having spent my career in a non related field I managed to find a fantastic company with Norm. who recognised my passion, commitment and potential.
There we have it, the aim of my posts will be to hopefully make it easier for others to navigate the challenges that we all recognise are there. I am hoping that by being open about what I felt I did well and where I made mistakes, it will act as a guide and motivation for those trying to enter Cyber Security.