My Journey From the Air Force to Cybersecurity

COMMENTARY
After I stepped foot onto Mountain Dwelling Air Power Base in 2003, I had no method of realizing how a lot my technical and leadership skills would flourish over the course of my profession within the US Air Power — however I did know I had discovered a gaggle of disciplined, mission-driven people who have been all working towards a standard aim. And that was particular. 

When it got here time to transition out of the military final yr, I used to be confronted with not solely leaving the department of service I had devoted my complete skilled life to but in addition having to seek out who I used to be and what profession path I wished to pursue for myself. That is no straightforward activity once you’ve been entrenched in a team-oriented setting for years at a time — in my case, 20. I used to be afraid I might by no means discover that sense of neighborhood once more … till I discovered the cybersecurity area.  

The place It All Started

I attended neighborhood faculty for a couple of yr earlier than I enlisted within the Air Power and commenced working as an information upkeep technician. I finally built-in with the Air Power’s community crew, the place I acquired my toes moist in IT. Over the following 10 years, I labored on small clandestine networks as much as enterprise-level, earlier than the army shifted its focus to securing networks.  

The additional I ventured into securing domains, the stronger my ardour grew for that space. Throughout my time stationed at MacDill Air Power Base, I labored for the Joint Communications Assist Component (JCSE), and one in all my supervisors approached me concerning the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification from ISC2. He noticed that I had what it took to take a seat for the examination, and I started the method. 

5 Letters and 600 Podcast Episodes Later

The CISSP certification was not solely a testomony to the exhausting work that I had put in all through my profession, but it surely additionally served as a key to my development within the area. It modified my place within the sport and my accessibility to alternatives. When having a dialog with these extra senior than me, I felt assured and extremely revered with the burden of that CISSP by my identify. 

I consider to at the present time that the CISSP is what led me to with the ability to safe my first job within the company world, and acted as a launching pad for my podcast, “The Different Facet of the Firewall.” That podcast has grown my community monumentally, and having that validation by my identify makes it straightforward to have conversations with everybody from entry-level professionals to CEOs of main firms. We’re now greater than 600 episodes into the podcast and counting. Nonetheless, the journey to get to the place I’m at present hasn’t all been rainbows and butterflies. 

The Highs and Lows

One of many simpler elements of creating the military-to-corporate transition was the networking side. Throughout my time within the army, I had labored with phenomenal purchasers who supported me even after I swapped lace-up boots for a go well with. Even supposing I used to be searching for a job at a traditionally dangerous time for the tech business (the early 2023 layoff wave), my connections landed me a job at an information privateness and safety firm in Georgia.  

My boss at this firm was a US Marine veteran, who was capable of lead me by what ended up being the toughest a part of my change to company life: the lingo. I needed to be taught to elucidate how the technical expertise I gained within the army translated to be relevant to the purchasers I used to be working for within the non-public sector. Having somebody to information me by that transition from the army to the company world who knew learn how to break me out of my army jargon consolation zone was life altering. 

Why Cyber?

I extremely encourage anybody transitioning out of the military and searching for a mission-driven line of labor to discover the cybersecurity area. With the speed that rising applied sciences and the risk panorama are evolving, the demand for cybersecurity professionals is at an all-time excessive. It is a mission-driven, significant line of labor that coincides along with your service branches’ objectives to guard, defend, and create a safer world.  

Discover entry-level certifications akin to those by ISC2, trainings and bootcamps that may provide help to get a foot within the door, and do not quit if the transition to the company world is not seamless. Cybersecurity is a area that gives continued alternatives to extend your expertise, be taught from these round you, and make adjustments which have a direct influence on securing our more and more digital world. As veterans transition into civilian life and look to seek out secure, fulfilling careers, I encourage them to present cybersecurity a shot. It is the place I’ve discovered my tribe once more, and I am endlessly grateful for the individuals and packages that helped me alongside the best way.