Connections
I’ve been thinking about connections a lot lately. Connecting with people is a huge factor in keeping ourselves healthy of course. I’ve been thinking more on how they can bring a little hope to people who are struggling with the terrible current job market - and specifically in the space that I work in, cybersecurity.
Some hard work and a lot of good fortune has allowed me to work in IT and then in cyberscurity with several great organizations. For most of the last 10 years that’s been with organizations that are part of US critical infrastructure, a fascinating space where it’s impossible to get bored. For several of those years I had a side gig working as an SME/learning facilitator on an MIT course for adult students who wanted to transition into a career in cybersecurity. That is some of the most rewarding - and fun - work I’ve ever done.
My partner, Brenna Meyer, and I are trying to do just that kind of thing with Cyber Sherpas. I wrote just a few words earlier today on magic pills vs community and connections when people are trying to get that first foot in the door, land their first entry level gig in cyber:
If you have any interest in that area yourself, I hope you might take a look at that, at Cyber Sherpas.
I don't know if this is relevant or if it helps but I'm putting together a lecture/session for my local Junior College web dev class and I've had a lot of fun seeing if AI can put me out of a job building sites for me (hint: it can't but dayum does it make it easier and more fun).
The bar is low to play with this stuff and happy to share the deck when I'm done or go through it with whoever. It could easily be turned into a lab for hands-on.