My journey in the IT industry started almost two decades ago. I was supposed to be recruited as an assistant engineer in an aerospace company, but after exploring the IT industry, I found it more interesting. When I was given an opportunity, I made a life-changing decision to embark on a different career path.
My first job was with a SI company as a Sales Engineer, making sales for anything IT-related, a stepping stone into the IT world. After spending more than three years in the SI company, I have worked for ISP, Data center hosting services company and chanced upon an opportunity in a Security focused vendor.
Security was not new to me by then, being in the IT industry for years, but just being narrowed down into doing Security, was a change. Security became part and parcel of my daily life, interestingly, conversations started to change to threat trends, being more vigilant in handling suspicious texts, emails, browsing websites, engaging in social media sites.
There is no need to be concerned of lacking Cybersecurity skill sets in embarking on a Security focused career path. It will become a basic instinct to share with people who may not be conscious or aware of handling threats, suspicious activities within their network and to help them gain visibility into the unknowns, with the knowledge you have gained from the products, solutions and experiences in your daily engagements.
I have seen women switching careers from a non-IT industry to IT Security. It is a steep learning curve, but I believe with perseverance and a good mentor, it will certainly be an exciting and rewarding journey. You will be engaged in one of the top priorities to address in today’s businesses - Cyber Security and find job satisfaction in it. An important role in contributing to the society by safeguarding people and businesses.
