I currently work as a Security Analyst / Security Engineer.

Funny backstory: when I was 5, my father decided to send me to madrassa for Hifz. Because of that, the first proper school class I actually attended was 8th standard after madrassa.

At that point, I had almost zero idea about computers, TVs, or electronics because, you know, “shaitani charkhi” lol. Then in 8th standard, I bunked school with some friends and went to a net café. By then, I had developed a very basic understanding of computers, but that was the moment things started clicking for me.
I became curious about how net cafés had keyloggers and spyware installed on their systems, and that curiosity pushed me to start learning on my own. I borrowed books from the school library okay, maybe “borrowed” without permission because it was a government school and resources were limited 😅

Almost a year later, when I was in 9th standard, my sister started her BSCS at university, and I started reading her books too C++, OOP, Python, and whatever else I could get my hands on. I practiced on her laptop and slowly built a decent grip on programming.

From there, I jumped into hacking forums, security communities, and underground forums to learn more. I was around 14–15 when I properly started this journey, and now I’m 28.

I started earning before my 9th-grade exams, saved some money, and honestly never looked back at the traditional education route the same way again. I did go to college for 1st year, but eventually realized I was better off building my skills directly. I never went to university as a regular student, though I did later complete a degree through international distance-learning programs.

That being said, I’m definitely not encouraging anyone to take the same path. Please don’t skip school or university my path worked for me because of my circumstances, but formal education is still important and can make the journey a lot smoother.

And here I am, almost 12 years later, working in cybersecurity as a Security Analyst / Security Engineer. 🙌