Cybersecurity networking event brings career insights to classroom
At a recent "speed networking" event, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵs and practitioners discussed career paths in cybersecurity and what employers are looking for in a candidate.
Cybersecurity networking event brings career insights to classroom
¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵ’s College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) partnered with the Cincinnati chapter of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) to host a “speed networking” event. Eleven companies participated, including practitioners from The Kroger Co., U.S. Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Great American Insurance Group, Siemens, and Procter & Gamble. Each table was assigned a different cybersecurity career path, such as security operations center (SOC), or governance, risk, and compliance (GRC). After ten minutes of talking with a cybersecurity professional, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵs rotated to the next practitioner, and so on. Dr. James Walden, Professor and Director of the Center for Cyber Security, and Cole Ciambro, Vice President of Cincinnati ISSA, were some of the key organizers of this event.
This event gave ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵs the opportunity to network with potential employers in a lower-stakes environment. Students heard from experts in the field to help narrow down what interests them and prepare for career fairs or interviews in the future. “This is a nice way, both for ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵs talking about possible career paths, but also to meet people who might potentially hire them for an internship or full-time job as well,” Walden said.
¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵ alumnus and entrepreneur Cole Ciambro shared a similar sentiment on the event. “When you'll hear someone speak that's literally in your field, that has done it before, and they're in a place where you probably aspire to be one at one point in your life, it's probably worth it to get out and go listen to that speech, or go take part in that event, or whatever it might be, because that's the most hands-on experience that you're going to have.”
Ciambro got into cybersecurity through SecurityScorecard, where he was a regional sales manager, operating over the Ohio Valley. After working there for three years, he joined a startup called Push Security. With this experience, he has brought fresh ideas into ISSA and shares his passion for bridging the gap between ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵs and professionals by hosting these ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵ events across multiple universities. “We're continuing to try to find ways to bring value to the community, but doing so where we're also helping out the younger generation,” said Ciambro.
One of the ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵs that benefited from this event is Tyler Peters, a Miami ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵ who graduated this month with a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity and a minor in computer science. When talking to the practitioners, he was able to gain insight into what employers are looking for from ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵs. “They all told us that they put a lot less focus on certifications. Rather, they want to know what you do for personal projects. So they all want to see that you're monitoring your whole network. You have intrusion prevention and detection systems set in place, you configure your firewalls, you monitor your traffic, you analyze your packets.”
It is always a good idea to do some preparation and research before attending a career development event. “Do your research ahead of time on the companies you are interested in, but also have something interesting about yourself," said Peters. "Even the classroom gives opportunities for things to talk about, like projects or presentations. Take classes seriously and think about putting some of these projects on your resume.” Bringing extra copies of your resume will also help to get your name out to companies," he added.
Cybersecurity is a growing and developing field with many different opportunities and career types. ISSA partnering with ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵ for ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵ events will help ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈÊÓƵs interested in cybersecurity to get involved and feel prepared when the time comes to start applying for jobs.