Technical Mindset

Hello world! I’m Han, a Cyber Security Practitioner who made the career change from retail worker to Cyber Security Specialist in a little under 2 years. I’m here to share my .02 cents on going from zero to cyber security with no prior experience or degree required. I’ll share some obstacles I’ve found that need to be overcome in cyber security, and why YOU can overcome those obstacles, too.

Zero to Security

Scenario: I’m a meat cutter at a retail shop, and boy is this job boring. I want to do more for my family, my community, and myself. I see the tech industry booming, but do I really need a 4 year Computer Science Degree? I don’t want to get into Student Debt, hate traditional schooling, and I don’t want to commit to 4 years.

This was my scenario, and below you’ll find the most important step to take to begin your journey.

Solution?

Mindset!

The first major obstacle you must overcome is to have to right mindset. I was uncomfortable with spending time doing something I wasn’t sure would pay out, but I took the leap of faith and jumped in. I changed my mindset from a passive “What if?” to a proactive “Let’s see what happens”, and this is essential in the tech industry. Let me explain: It’s impossible to keep up with everything in technology, much less in cyber security. You WILL be thrown into situations in which you have no idea what’s up from down. It’s 100% okay to not know the solution off the top of your head. What you do to find the answer is the key to success. I’ll use 3 examples below to demonstrate what I mean, using both mindsets.


Situation 1:

Apply for your first technical job.

What if?

What if I don’t get accepted? What if I don’t get a callback? What if I’m no good at this job?

⋅ Take a breather, and apply anyway. You never know unless you apply, and don’t let yourself be the decision maker for the hiring manager, that’s what they’re there for. Switch gears into…

Let’s see what happens…

Let’s see what happens when I apply. I wonder what kind of questions they’ll ask? Maybe I’ll learn something during the interview that I can study up on for future interviews!

⋅ Take that leap of faith and apply! This is the hardest step for getting into the tech industry. Don’t sell yourself short, and apply to anything that interests you. If you get no replies back, have someone peer-review your resume or study up on subjects that are consistently requested for on the job postings. Maybe go to virtual conferences and network with others.

Situation 2:

Setup a network environment you’ve never heard of before. This could be anything from connecting workstations to a domain, to creating GPOs to map drives on a share server.

What if?

What if I mess this up? What if I can’t find the solution? What if I’m way over my head, and I don’t belong in tech?

⋅ Take a breather, and remind yourself that there is an answer to this problem. It’s okay to not know it off the top of your head. Use our best friend Google to search for potential answers to your problem, and then switch gears into…

Let’s see what happens…

Let’s see what happens if I build a domain using method X, then try Y and Z. Nope! That didn’t work. Maybe if I do A, then B and C… okay, now we’re getting something.

⋅ You’ll learn something new when presented with a previously unknown answer to a situation you had no idea about. Now you’ll have experienced that situation, and also have learned about a new feature, application, or programming language to help you with in the future.

Situation 3:

You have to get XYZ certification in 6 months for that promotion you’ve been wanting. Where do you begin?

What if?

What if I can’t pass? What if I waste 6 months for nothing? What if I don’t belong in tech?

⋅ Breathe, research the certification, join a Discord community and make a study plan. Switch gears into…

Let’s see what happens…

Let’s see what happens when I use study routine A, then try out B, and C. Hmmm… I don’t like study routine A, I think I’ll just stick with study routine B and C.

⋅ No better way to start studying, than to just start studying! We are fortunate in that most technical certifications are international, meaning no matter where you are in the world, you have a community at your fingertips who’s walked that path before.


Okay, but how?

This sounds awesome! How do I start? You can start by jumping right into the community. Join a discord channel, follow a YouTuber, lurk on the subreddits. We’ve all had to overcome (and continue to) overcome this mindset obstacle, but you don’t have to do it alone. Some awesome communities to join are below:

Reddit:

  1. SecurityCareerAdvice
  2. CyberSecurity
  3. ITCareerQuestions

Youtubers:

  1. NetworkChuck
  2. TheCyberMentor
  3. JohnHammond (No relation to Jurassic Park)

Podcasts:

  1. TheCyberWire
  2. DarkNetDiaries
  3. RiskyBiz

Once you’re in the right mindset, we can begin to get more specific on how to start. There’s no wrong way to start, and the beautiful thing in our industry is that since everything is interconnected, everything you learn can be used even if you pivot into another domain within cyber security.

Summary/TLDR;

We’ve learned that the most helpful thing to start in cyber security is your mindset. Change your mindset from a passive “What if?” to a proactive “Let’s see what happens…”. This is applicable to any aspect of security, whether it’s for applying to jobs, troubleshooting technology, or studying for certifications. This will take you out of your comfort zone, and will help you grow exponentially! The following posts from my blog will be more specific in regards to what worked for me once I had achieved the right mindset to begin thinking about a career in security.

Remember that security is a practice, a continuous journey. Destination: Growth.

Written on January 3, 2020