精东影业

La Dra. Amelia Estwick entrevista a la estudiante de ciberseguridad Stephanie Barnes

My name is Dr. Amelia Estwick, director of the National Cybersecurity Institute at 精东影业 College. In celebration of International Women鈥檚 Day and Women鈥檚 History Month, I鈥檓 joined by current 精东影业 College graduate student Stephanie Barnes to discuss her experiences in the cybersecurity field. Stephanie is an IT/cybersecurity dual degree student, completing her graduate studies. Previously, she graduated with a BS in psychology from Florida A&M University. After years of working as a direct hire for the federal government and then as a federal government contractor overseas, she decided on a career change due in part to her interest in coding and hobbies involving tinkering with computers. A lifelong learner, Stephanie finds cybersecurity an endless well of puzzles and emerging knowledge that keeps her interested and invested in discovering solutions. I thought it would be a great opportunity to ask Stephanie some questions about her interest in the cybersecurity field.

Q: Why did you decide to even pursue a master鈥檚 in cybersecurity?

A: Well, like you said, I was overseas working as a contractor doing low-level security in Iraq, actually. And I decided that when I came back home that I couldn鈥檛 go back to the job that I had been working, and I wanted to basically change my life. And I had always been interested in technology, but I鈥檇 never really pursued it. So I started teaching myself to code in Python. I did a little bit of learning HTML and CSS. And then I just started doing MOOC classes online and took it from there, and then started looking at master鈥檚 degree programs, because I already had my bachelor鈥檚. So I wanted to move forward.

Q: How would you say your degree has benefited you thus far?

A: I think that when hiring managers look at my resume and see that I鈥檓 on track to get my master鈥檚, I think that it really has helped me, because I鈥檝e had people mention it in interviews. And I think it鈥檚 been really impressive for them, because it shows that I have the go-get-it kind of attitude that they鈥檙e looking for, that I鈥檓 ready to self-start and take it on my own. I don鈥檛 have to have somebody driving me to do anything, because I鈥檝e already shown them that I鈥檓 driven.

Q: You鈥檝e been an active participant in our student chapter of the National Cybersecurity Student Association where you鈥檝e been a team captain. How has that experience been for you?

A: Oh, that experience has been great. I really love doing NCL [National Cybersecurity League]. When I first got into doing it, I did not know what I was going to be doing. I hadn鈥檛 really done any competitions. It was one of the first ones that I鈥檇 ever done. But all the students that participated, they鈥檙e really helpful. The chat has been great. They helped me out a lot.

Q: I鈥檓 so glad that you鈥檝e mentioned the camaraderie because I think it鈥檚 so important in this field to build a network and to build a support team, especially as a woman. Unfortunately, when we talk about International Women鈥檚 Day, one of the themes is to take action for equality and according to recent reports, women are holding only 20 percent of cybersecurity positions. That number is much less when you take into account race and ethnic women holding cybersecurity positions. As an African American woman, how do you think your race or your ethnic background has impacted your cybersecurity career pathway?

A: I feel like I might be lucky in that extent only because of the location where I live. I live outside of Atlanta so there is a good multicultural community, and there are a lot of women cybersecurity groups, both in Atlanta and online. And I鈥檝e been able to connect with a lot of women, and especially a lot of Black women not only online, but in the community. And so I鈥檝e seen a great deal of people that look like me in the workforce. But I know that it鈥檚 still an issue nationwide.

Q: What are some of the skills that you have acquired as an 精东影业 student that you think employers would be interested in?

A: I think people think that employers look basically for employees to know a certain technology, but I don鈥檛 really feel like that鈥檚 the case as much. I think it鈥檚 more so about the attitude that you bring. [I鈥檓] not saying that hands-on skills are not worthy. They are. But there are things that you can learn very quickly on the job. Like, when I first got the first position I held in cybersecurity, I was a junior stock analyst. And I didn鈥檛 know half the tools that I learned while on the job. But because I had a willingness to learn, I think that that is something that鈥檚 really important. I think that鈥檚 something that managers look for, that you have a willingness to learn, that you have an attitude in that you can do it. Like, you can鈥檛 do everything, and we know that. But you鈥檙e willing to reach out and say, hey, I don鈥檛 know this. I think in any position, you need to be able to ask for help, you have to be able to seek help, and you have to have the willingness to learn. And I think that鈥檚 helped me in my career and [to] move forward in it.

Q: What advice would you give anyone pursuing a cybersecurity field?

A: 聽Oh, I would say dive in. Like I said, I started doing just MOOC classes online, taking Coursera classes鈥�I took that course, everything that I could get my hands on. But bottom line is kind of just dive in. Find the small courses first. The small, free things that they offer online and try it. You鈥檒l find the path that you鈥檙e meant to take if you try little bits at any time, if you鈥檙e open to it.