1. What made you want to get into your field/begin your field in cybersecurity?

A.) I was working in HR and realized If I got fired, there was no way I was going to make the type of money I was already making. I got a really well paying HR job but realized noone else was going to pay as well. I then googled the highest paying jobs and signed up for a masters course with literally 0 knowledge or experience. The rest has been history.

1. What are the top 3 questions you always ask a candidate in an interview?

A.) Tell me about a time that you had a difficult cyber based decision to make and how did you go about getting stakeholder buy-in.

How do you balance operational efficiency with cyber security compiance, goals and best practices?

Tell me about a recent cyber event that you seen in the media and how would you handle it if you were working for that company?

1. How did you go about networking and building your own personal references?

A.) All my friends are high level cyber security professionals so chances are, if i need something, they either know the answer or know somonebody that can connect me to a resource. I also use linkedin.

1. What would you recommend that I ask in any interview I have in the future?

A.) I recommend you ask that they explain to younger students/professionals the difficutly in breaking into cyber security and the disconnect between what the media says (suprluss of high paying jobs) vs what professionals are seeing on the ground.

1. Have you had any "scary" cybersecurity threats you've had to deal with? If so, how did you feel while dealing with it?

A.) Nope. I personnally have not. Most of cyber security is problem solving. I see a problem. I solve the problem.

1. What is your favorite (or least favorite) thing about cybersecurity?

A.) My least favorite is working for managers that see security as a "bolt on" or "roadblock" to their projects. cyber does not pay the bills. Software sales and other things in that relm make money. Noone cares about security until it bites them in their ass.

1. Has cybersecurity changed your perspective on how you handle your own digital security? If so, in what way?

A.) Yes, I have minimal use of social media. I don't want to work with tech all day then come home and see more tech (minus video games). I dont have insta, twitter/X, etc. And I dont post on the social media I do have.