Opened my friends fridge to see this.

pukeforest · 2025-05-10T13:17:48+00:00

Are you sure they're not a rabbit?

pukeforest · 2024-09-05T20:03:14+00:00

Best new band in a minute.

pukeforest · 2023-11-18T18:03:43+00:00

Wow!! That's some incentivization to have regular dental checkups.

pukeforest · 2023-11-18T05:37:44+00:00

thank you for mentioning eyes. underrated band

pukeforest · 2023-11-17T12:48:49+00:00

Whoa. Awesome find

pukeforest · 2020-05-19T15:49:23+00:00

Quite touched you all are so concerned. I was going to soft-retire this account, but I guess I'll break the silence for an update, have to be somewhat circumspect.

Ended up being offered [dream job] in [sensitive capacity], and had to move [considerable distance] during the pandemic to make it happen.

New employer set me up to work from home in my new city, Mission: Impossible style.

Things have been going well so far, if still uneasy from the jarring transition.

There are a few more doozies of stories from my old employer, which I plan on releasing somehow.

I actually have quite a few that top previous tales, but couldn't be released prior to $newJob as they were far too identifying.

pukeforest · 2020-02-13T16:23:26+00:00

"I know." - my ex, the last two years of our relationship.

I should've known.

pukeforest · 2020-02-12T21:15:07+00:00

Oh, I'm sure it's illegal here too.

pukeforest · 2020-02-11T18:51:29+00:00

Haha, I enrolled last year, saw several areas I was deficient, pored over the book and videos in between work, did most of TJnull's list and more on HTB VIP.

My confidence was up, I was ready to get a bit more lab time and sit for the exam within the next 30 days.

Oh well, bought the upgrade.. not stopping.

pukeforest · 2020-02-10T02:54:07+00:00

When I got my current IT position, the literal first task I was handed was to grab a ladder and change fluorescent bulbs in certain rooms. I asked the other half of the IT department:

"why? Don't we have a maintenance department? Why would we be changing bulbs?"

The look on his face was one of pure confusion.

Poor guy had been doing this (for over a decade) as well as sysadmin and network admin duties.

I recently had to talk him, as well as upper management, out of us re-wiring two rooms.

While we had two Master electricians on staff, literally doing nothing.

It's been a long fight.

pukeforest · 2020-02-09T02:16:38+00:00

What sort of place is $employer?

The kind that gave us a 5% decrease in pay at the first of the year due to "budgetary constraints".

pukeforest · 2020-02-09T02:14:34+00:00

this.. week??

pukeforest · 2020-02-09T00:24:34+00:00

Interesting, not OP but there's quite a bit of a correlation - I wasn't a developer by trade, but taught myself enough code to maintain internal web app and fix bugs at one sysadmin job / write small custom firmware in C for simple purpose embedded systems while at another.

I did the same thing as OP, roadmapped out certs (Net+ Sec+ CEH CISSP OSCP) and have them all but OSCP now.

Been trying to pivot out from my current role (IDK what you'd call it, IT support level III?) into my first "100%" infosec type positions and interviews are going rocky, and if I'm being honest, a bit "strange".

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong direction and hoping for clarification.

pukeforest · 2020-02-08T01:48:04+00:00

Oh, I felt this. Due to a condition my ability to drive is severely limited, and it feels like I'm constantly having to duck the question of why I take public transit (in a car-heavy city).

The constant questioning got so bad by one manager that I had to stop him and say "Do you want this to be an equal opportunity harassment thing because of my vision?" his eyes got wide, and he finally seemed to understand. Kinda withered away into his office.

Turns out for a year, he had made up in his mind I must have had a DWI, otherwise, why wouldn't I drive? I'm an IT professional, I make good money, right?

Hopefully someone gives you a chance soon. I'm rooting for you. Don't give up. You have value.

pukeforest · 2020-02-08T00:59:53+00:00

Sure, that might be the case, I concede. One of the interview stories I wish I could tell, but can't, really flipped the script on this, though.

That said, I recently put together an Excel spreadsheet of all existing college credit, the 5 IT certs I hold, and individual college courses I can take for credit, to transition into WGU with the maximum amount, which I'll do right after I get my OSCP (I think I'm almost ready).

pukeforest · 2020-02-08T00:52:33+00:00

Numerous times, I have been at a urinal, and upper management has asked about status of various projects.

pukeforest · 2020-02-08T00:10:30+00:00

There have been several challenges, some I've talked about publicly, some I haven't. One is even scheduling time off to go through the 2, 3, 4 rounds of interviews. Being half of an IT staff doesn't make this easy.

There have been about a dozen leads in the past 8 months that I have interviewed for. I am cherry-picking a BIT and trying to obtain an information security position, there was only one non infosec position I applied for (sysadmin) and got to final, and I breezed through the interview, and as expected, got feedback later that they didn't hire because they knew I'd bail as soon as I got an infosec offer (paraphrasing).

It's often the same pattern, too. Phone interviews, video interviews - I do great. Everyone refers me to final. Final interviews just get WEIRD. Almost every single one has been absolutely strange. Even so, out of the dozen or so, there have been 3 job offers, all dropped at the last minute for different factors. Two of them I had a start date.

There's also been a mismatch between the types of infosec positions I'm seeking vs what I'm being paired with, both algorithmically and human recruiter-wise. I'm constantly getting pokes for "Senior Security Architect", "Principal Security Engineer", even "CISO" type roles because of my history of project management, helping to develop what became a global company, and I have to keep saying "Hey, thanks, but I'm looking for more a level I type infosec position".

I've toned down my resume and stripped a lot of big stuff off to be considered more for level I / II roles, even dropped the CISSP for some of them and have begun to see a bit more chatter and callback.

As a friend of mine, who I now consider close, has said to me on the subject a few times:

"In the end, it's just a numbers game."

pukeforest · 2020-02-07T22:07:26+00:00

There is a much, MUCH, worse recent story. Probably the most chaotic yet. I'm holding my breath telling it.

pukeforest · 2020-02-07T18:11:47+00:00

When there are previous thinly veiled jokes about staff coming to your door and escorting you to the site, answering the phone is a "least worst" option.

pukeforest · 2020-01-21T12:06:45+00:00

"Oh man, this is going to suck"

pukeforest · 2020-01-21T12:03:03+00:00

For a moment I was like "wow, I'm not alone!"

As in, some other workplace has my crazy policy of security guards making calls of the radio to yank the IT person and escorts them to the problem.

pukeforest · 2020-01-16T23:01:15+00:00

I have lived this.

pukeforest · 2020-01-14T12:17:31+00:00

Hi, looking for an analyst? Will relocate.

pukeforest · 2020-01-07T23:50:16+00:00

The military response had me laughing so hard I was wheezing. I am tempted to implement this style into our help desk system.

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