How to Break into a Career in Cybersecurity – EP 13
Do you like problem-solving? Are you good at breaking things down and building them back up? Cybersecurity may be a good fit for you!
My guest today shares the training you need, how to break into the career path, and her tips on building a career as a military spouse.
Remi Cohen is a Senior Threat Intelligence Engineer at F5, where she is the technical lead for the enterprise Threat Intelligence Program. At F5 she has written for F5 labs on reverse malware engineering and other Threat Research topics. Prior to F5 she worked for a large national laboratory conducting vulnerability assessments, as well as an analyst for the US Department of Defense. Her specialty areas of research include mobile vulnerabilities, Industrial Control Systems, and Eastern European threats. She holds industry certifications including the CISSP, GIAC GREM, Security +, and C|EH as well as a Master’s degree from New Mexico State University in Industrial Engineering and a Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Government from Georgetown University. Remi is a founding member of the Western Washington Women in Cybersecurity Chapter and is a passionate advocate for bringing in and keeping women in Cybersecurity.
Things we discussed in this episode:
- What is cybersecurity?
- Opportunities in cybersecurity
- What training do you need?
- Are certifications worth your investment?
- Personality traits that are needed to work in cybersecurity
- What typical teams look like
- Career trends on the horizon
- Working in the defensive versus offensive sides of cybersecurity
- Breaking into the career path
- The importance of communication about your career with your spouse
- Remi’s tip: “Never short change what your career can be because your spouse has such a dynamic career”
Meet Laura:
Laura Briggs is empowering the freelance generation. Through her public speaking, coaching, and writing, she helps freelancers build the business of their dreams without sacrificing all their time, family, or sanity. Laura burned out as an inner-city middle school teacher before becoming an accidental freelancer with a Google search for “how to become a freelance writer.” Since then, she’s become a contributor to Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and Writer’s Weekly. She worked for more than 300 clients around the world including Microsoft, Truecar, and the Mobile Marketing Association. She’s delivered two TEDx talks on the power of the freelance economy for enabling freedom and flexibility and how it’s being used to address the technical skills gap in the U.S. Laura is the host of the Advanced Freelancing podcast, a sought-after public speaker on the gig and digital freelance economy, and a freelance coach focused on aspiring six-figure freelancers. Laura’s books, courses, and coaching have reached over 11,000 people.
As a military spouse, Laura is passionate about serving her community and founded Operation Freelance, a nonprofit organization that teaches veterans and military spouses how to become freelancers and start their own business.