Jim, you were in the supply chain field for over 15 years - admittingly you were at the top of your game and had a future within that field. What catalyst made you take the opportunity to transition to cyber?
Basically, I was buying elevator and escalator parts. I hated it. I just never wanted that to be my career. But you know, 15 years into it and that’s kind of how it progressed. I always wanted to be in IT for as long as I can remember, and I did a few things to try and break into the field - just never happened. I was passed up for promotions and passed up for opportunities to get out of that department, I wasn’t happy there - but I was so good at my job, they wouldn’t let me leave. So I was in a tough spot. So when the supervisor role came open in that department, I interviewed for the position and basically they told me that there was no chance I was getting in it. Well that finally meant it was time for me to go.
That must have been a tough transition but exciting at the same time, since you would be pursuing the career path you always wanted. Can you share about your initial role in IT that led to your current cyber role?
I got into this field because I wanted to always continue to learn, you know. I mean, when I was in supply chain, it was like, “Okay, I’ve seen that relay 1000 times, I’ve seen that fuse 1000 times, it’s like I want something new every day.” While I was getting my degree, I was applying to hundreds of jobs to get into the field. Eventually there were two roles, network admin and a cybersecurity position presented to me, and I had the Network+ certification that qualified me for both positions but no job experience. I ended up accepting a help desk position in a 24/7, 365 contract role at a call center. Six months later the network admin role opened back up and I was able to share my NCL experience. I shared that I used Wireshark, Packet Capture...all these tools that demonstrated I had the skills for the promotion. And I got it!
You mentioned that NCL enabled you to showcase your skill set, especially due to the tools that you learned and utilized in the competition...how did you bridge the gap between participating in the NCL Competition and real world application?
I actually put the Scouting Report on my resume as a job. The interviewer looked at it on my resume and then they were asking me questions about it. And that’s when I got to tell them, “This category I did this, this and this, that category, I did this, this and this.” If there was anything that I could do to give me just that one little bit of up over somebody I took it. And that’s actually kind of what happened. It was me and one other person that ran the service desk; we were both in line for that network admin role. And because I had the Wireshark experience, that’s what made me go above that other person. I don’t think I would have gotten the role if it wasn’t for the NCL Competition and the experience I gained from competing. I learned so much in the competition. I really do believe that it was the springboard for me to land that network admin role.
You represent the path that many of our NCL members have taken - transitioning from a totally different career and leading with passion to make a difference in the cybersecurity world. What advice would you give to someone who isn’t sure if they should compete in the NCL?
I say just go for it. It’s going to be a learning experience that you’re not going to get in a classroom. You’re doing these hacks and you’re cracking these passwords and you’re looking in these logs for all this stuff - you can’t really learn that in a typical classroom setting. So the real world experience that you’re going to get from the NCL is something that you just can’t replicate. I really feel that that competition was a springboard into “Yes!” This is really what I want to do. Yes, this was super fun. Yes, this was super challenging. But I learned so much in the competition.