I am not going to lie. I started this blog project to get exposure. There I said it. I had run into the vicious cycle of needing experience to get a job, but I couldn’t get a job to get the experience. Don’t get me wrong I hope I can help someone along the way, but I needed a way to get myself noticed. I needed a way to show my story and who I am. A way to show what I was working on and what I continue to work on.

Blah blah blah…

At the risk of sounding like a cover letter or resume objective, here is some boring background and context. So, I have around 15 years of experience in banking, sales and customer service. I had multiple positions from teller to banker to supervisor. At one point, I honestly thought I was going to be in banking for a lot longer. At the time I saw all my friends complaining about working nights and weekends so I thought… what is closed at night and on the weekends? Boom… a bank. The pay was good. The benefits were good, but I didn’t like where I was going. Where was I going?

Why?

So, what made me question the path I was on?? Family, I realized that my family is my purpose. That is my why. That was so important for me. Why am I leaving a good job to start over again? Why am I deciding to go back to school? Why am I risking my confidence and status in an industry in order to become the “low man on the totem pole?” That is the first thing I learned, my why. I suggest to find yours as soon as you can. Everyone’s is different and I believe it may even change at times.

Mistakes will be made…

The first mistake I made was my expectation on my job after I graduated. I should have done more research into what it takes to get started in Cybersecurity. That could be a whole other post, but I assumed the typical timeline of school, graduation, then job. This industry is different. It is one thing I love about it. I have to keep learning. Everyday is different. I have to put in more effort. It is challenging and this is another reason I started this blog (saying that is still so weird to me).

I was so scared to take my first job. I was new to the industry, in my mid 30s and I had to do all the dirty work. I took a step back in pay in order to be happier in what I did everyday. Be prepared for this. I hjope you don’t have to, but just in case. Dial back the budget, because you become a different person when you like what you do everyday. To me, that is worth more than buying lunch everyday, fancy coffee drinks in the morning or the occasional happy hours. It will be a grind, but use your why. Be patient and continue learning. This is big!! Find an area of the industry that you are interested in and learn about it, read about it, watch videos about it, etc. There is so much free content available. It is okay if you learn you don’t like it, move on to another area that interests you.

Less people, more computers…more mistakes

When deciding what industry I was going to get into, I thought “where can I not deal with as many people?” I know it sounds bad, but hear me out. I was so submerged in selling that I was tired of dealing with people. Another mistake, It wasn’t the people that I was frustrated with, I was tired of selling. I was tired of the same thing everyday. I needed a challenge.

Once in the industry I learned that my customer service skills not only translated, they were and are my advantage. I found that this is a part of our industry that needs improvement and that is what I can bring. We do not sit in corners in a dark room by ourselves, but hey getting away in the server room for a little while is quite nice. Give it a try. We need to relate to the people we help everyday and we need to be able to relay what needs to be fixed to our team.

Man, where is my coffee??

I feel like I could give so much more on this, but hey I need more coffee. This is just part of my story and I hope to continue telling more. Everyone’s story is different and I hope that at least one person can relate to a part of mine. This was a tough time in my life and I am glad I went through it. It gave me more confidence in myself and I learned a lot… about the industry and, more importantly, about myself. Thanks for giving me a little time of your day. Let me know if this helped in any way. You can do it. Just be patient.