Member-only story
How ChatGPT Got Me Coding Again
From Avoidance to Automation in Just Two Weeks
I’ve been putting off learning certain tools for years. Bash, PowerShell, Python — they all felt too much like programming, and programming always felt like something other people did. Even though I work in cybersecurity, I kept these scripting languages at arm’s length, like Dracula avoiding garlic.
Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that.
I didn’t take the usual path into tech. I started as an English major, writing papers in WordPerfect. I landed a job at WordPerfect Corporation, and that launched me into IT. Over the decades, I’ve earned more certifications than I can count — CNA, CNE, Master CNE, CNI, LPIC, Project Management, Security+, HITRUST, CrowdStrike… and eventually, a master’s degree in Cybersecurity in 2021.
But scripting? I still avoided it.
I once worked on an oilfield rig in Bakersfield, California, where my drill pusher asked me, “Whatchou wanna get all knowed-up, fer?”
It was meant as a joke — but it stuck. Because in this field, especially in cybersecurity, getting “knowed-up” is exactly what you have to do. That quote even became the title of a past article I wrote [linked here], and it still rings true today.
