Should I work in cyber security? Advice from women in the industry
Some of the leading women working in Symantec dispense the advice they would give to a woman considering a career in the cyber security industry.
The annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference (GHC) begins today (October 4) in Florida.
Founded by Dr Anita Borg and Dr Telle Whitney in 1994, the GHC is the world’s largest annual gathering of women technologists from around the world.
In honor of this event, and considering that just 11 percent of the global cyber security workforce is female, we asked a range of women working in a variety of roles in Symantec:
“What is the one piece of advice you would give to a woman considering a career in the cyber security industry?”
Aleatha Parker-Wood, Senior Principal Research Engineer
“There’s a lot of excellent advice out there for women in tech around leaning in, learning to negotiate, and so on, which I’m sure I don’t need to recap. However, one piece of advice that has been important to me, and I don’t see discussed nearly enough, is the importance of making time to learn, to play with technology, and to say yes to bigger tasks.
As women, we’re often the ones called upon to take on all the little things that are otherwise left undone, in and out of the office. It’s easy to drown in a sea of trivial tasks, and not make the time you need to develop professionally. You can outsource your laundry and cooking, and someone else can review that document or plan the next team outing, but only you can take a Coursera course, learn to make an Arduino robot, or work early mornings and lunches on that secret feature prototype you’ve always wanted to do. Say no to some of the things that don’t matter, and give yourself the gift of time to grow.”
“It’s easy to drown in a sea of trivial tasks, and not make the time you need to develop professionally”
Gillian Cleary, Senior Software Engineer
“My advice is directed to those who are in their last year of university and are unsure about what to do next. Being a software engineer gives a lot of flexibility in career choices. There is work in pretty much all industry sectors: finance, telecoms, security, gaming, healthcare and so on. If a job becomes stale, it’s very easy to move and learn something new. Forming relationships with peers in all of these industries means job opportunities are always presenting themselves. I personally have no concern that I will ever be without work.
Regardless of what your primary degree is, there is an avenue into a computer science career.
For example: In Ireland (where I am based), there are many IT diploma courses that run for a year and give a great introduction to computer science. This one year qualification is enough to find a job in software engineering. The prerequisite for such a course is a primary degree in any other discipline. Approximately half of the women I have worked with over the years have a primary degree in something other than computing. For a little extra study time, a solid career in computer science can be achieved.”
“I personally have no concern that I will ever be without work”
Akshata Rao, Senior Software Engineer
“My personal experience has been that women often tend to feel that their depth of knowledge is insufficient and put themselves down. As the area of cyber security is vast and constantly growing, it’s very easy to fall into this trap of self-doubt.
My advice is to stay confident about the skills you bring to the table and be just as assertive about your thoughts. Cyber security is a really fun line of work with a lot of varied opportunities. Knowing that your work makes someone’s life a little safer will keep you going for a long time in this career.”
“Women often tend to feel that their depth of knowledge is insufficient”
Julie Weber, Senior Manager, Platform Engineering
“I can only speak from experience, and I don’t know if anyone will be able to relate.
What helped me is that I ask questions, a lot of questions, possibly dumb questions (who’s to say?) whenever I get the chance. I am not ashamed of being ignorant: every piece of knowledge has to be new to you at some stage, and it builds up. I would be ashamed of being aware of my ignorance, and not doing anything about it.
Some people react defensively (as if I am questioning their presentation or trying to ambush them), some react snobbishly (“That’s the industry standard, but I wouldn’t expect you to know that”), but the vast majority just answer the question, they even seem happy to help.
Also, none of the stereotypes are necessary to have a reasonably successful career, e.g. you don’t have to work 70 hours a week, or be good at networking, or manage your career. You can take in all the advice, figure out what you’re good at, what you want to get good at, what you like doing, and drop the rest.”
“None of the stereotypes are necessary to have a reasonably successful career”
Leonie Philip, SQA Engineer
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions until you understand. It’s alright to be wrong or not understand the first time. It can be intimidating to be surrounded by senior engineers. So, for instance, if you see a logical error in the code, get it clarified instead of second guessing yourself.”
“Don’t be afraid to ask questions”
Melissa Chouikrat-Marcinkowski, Senior Enterprise Security Engineer
“My number one piece of advice to women considering a career in cyber security is to be bold and open-minded.
When working in tech, women are constantly under scrutiny. Women’s representation in tech is so low that when engaging in customer discussions the surprise and suspicion on the customer’s side is perceptible: our profile deviates from the usual baseline, if I may say, and we have to work harder in order to gain their trust.
So, why being bold?
Good professionals working in cyber security and who happen to be women are, of course, cyber security professionals like any other, and I believe that boldness is an essential trait of any cyber security professional. One should not be afraid to rock the boat and challenge the customer’s beliefs around how robust and solid their security posture may be when it clearly is not. We are here to educate and make companies safer, hence we simply cannot be afraid to say things the way they are, even if the news may come across as unpleasant. As with any other science, always back your analysis and opinion with facts and stats that are relevant to the customer’s industry or specific environment.
Be open minded
The reality of cyber security is multi-faceted. In my current role I work with a wide variety of profiles and professionals from different cultural backgrounds. Open-mindedness can lead to a constructive discussion and debate with the customer. Be ready to be challenged, and never take things personally: every day my colleagues and myself engage in discussions with CISOs and data/system owners, and we are well aware that the first 15 minutes of these discussions will essentially be the customer trying to get reassurance that we are actually qualified to have this infosec discussion with them. It can be annoying sometimes, which is why I try to be as open-minded as possible in order to make the discussion as constructive and efficient as I can. I stay positive and very often have a good laugh afterwards with my colleagues discussing some of the questions touched on during the call.”
“Be ready to be challenged, and never take things personally”
Meg Layton, Director of Engineering, Cyber Security Services
“The number one piece of advice is to be flexible. Technology moves so fast — each new innovation leads to new opportunities: opportunities previously unexplored or even unimagined. The career that I have now did not even exist when I started out in this world. If you remain flexible, you can take advantage of opportunities that come your way.”
“The career that I have now did not even exist when I started out in this world”
Catherine Barry, Principal Security Infrastructure Administrator
“My advice would be to ignore the stereotypical view of technology. If you are good at solving problems and like figuring things out then a career in technology would be ideal. There is a place in IT for everyone — you don’t have to be a genius. Technology is used everywhere, so the industry choice is vast and career paths very varied.”
“There is a place in IT for everyone”
Leyla Bilge, Senior Principal Research Engineer
“My advice for a woman considering a career in the cyber security industry is to be sure that she is very self-confident and ready to fight with all the prejudices the very man dominant sector has against women. This is definitely not a very encouraging comment but a person that really loves the field and wants to advance her career needs to be aware of the facts. Once you believe in yourself and can prove your abilities with your work, cyber security is one of the best sectors you could work for. It is a very dynamic sector. Due to the obvious race between the attackers and the defenders, the problems change very often. Therefore, you are never bored and stuck with projects that don’t change for years and years.”
“Once you believe in yourself and can prove your abilities with your work, cyber security is one of the best sectors you could work for”
Linda Brennan, Global Director, Production and Fulfillment Readiness
“Understand your worth and be visible. Spend time with a friend who works in sales to really understand what customers in the industry value. Ensure at the interview stage that you get to tell the hiring panel how you will add value to the customer base.
Make sure you negotiate your hiring package and that there is a career path for you. Ensure you have a coach, a mentor, and, most importantly, a sponsor.
You already have the desire to become part of this industry so the qualification is a given, but having a network and access to soft skills is critical.
To quote Patty Azzarello: “Visibility is not about being political, self-serving, or lacking humility. It’s about being effective and building credibility. And you can’t be credible if you are invisible.”
Also make sure you become a support for other minorities in the industry.”
“Ensure you have a coach, a mentor, and, most importantly, a sponsor”
Juan Yin, Software Engineer
“‘Stay hungry, stay foolish.”
This was Steve Jobs’ ending comment in his Stanford commencement address in 2005, a very good suggestion for students, and, I think, it is also suitable for tech women.
A career in the technology/cyber security industry will involve a lot of new knowledge that will keep changing day by day. To do better work, updated technology/skills will be required for both men and women employees. As tech women, a lot of balance needs to be considered between work and family: sometimes women may sacrifice their learning time to family time and ignore the importance of new skill learning. I do recommend to keep learning, and to keep curious in your work for all the new tech changes. Only people equipped with updated skills can have success in their career.”
“I do recommend to keep learning, and to keep curious in your work for all the new tech changes”
Swati Chilka, Principal Software Engineer
“Don’t ever be intimidated by the men-to-women ratio in the tech industry. Believe in yourself, be confident, grow your skills, and there are lots of opportunities for women to grow in the industry. We have the power to change the numbers and encourage more women along the way to follow their dream as well!”
“Believe in yourself, be confident, grow your skills”
Gillian Bell, Sales Engineering Manager
“My advice would be: be brave and bold. Cyber security is a really interesting and rewarding industry to be part of. It shouldn’t matter your gender; if you’re passionate about technology go for it and be the best you can be.”
“Be brave and bold”
Anitha Iyer, Senior Director, Software Engineering
“Recently published statistics state that women represent 11 percent of the workforce in the cyber security domain. The small representation presents a big opportunity for young women who want to grow, thrive, and excel in a field that requires a wide spectrum of knowledge and curiosity to learn.
Don’t hold yourself back; let your intuition guide you in looking for patterns, and arrive at solutions to difficult problems. Do not forget to collaborate, and let your social instincts propel you in creating the networks that will help support and sustain your career. Most of all, have fun while you’re at it. Find your passion in chasing the elusive bugs, outsmarting the hackers, and staying ahead of the curve
Good luck!”
“Let your social instincts propel you in creating the networks that will help support and sustain your career”
Eleanor O’Neill, Senior Director, IT Mergers and Acquisitions
“What an exciting time to be joining the technology/cyber security area. Technology is increasingly playing a role in everything we do: powering our homes, our health services, and our industries, whether this is through the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, smart cars, or smartphones. Never has the world been more connected. The rate of change is phenomenal. If you are a person who is excited by change, then this is the right industry for you. In five or 10 years you will probably be working in areas we do not know about yet.
I am working in the technology industry for 30 years, and there is no relationship between the world of work I joined and the work and environment I work in now. It has been exciting and empowering to work in an environment that can take you anywhere in the world and where opportunities are forever broadening. I have had the opportunity to work in mainland Europe and the U.S., with multinational American corporations and indigenous companies.
My advice to those considering joining this world would be:
· Grasp every opportunity
· Do things out of your comfort zone, whether it is a new project , embracing a new technology, or giving that presentation
· Take the opportunity to experience many different roles
· Don’t be afraid to ask for help or support. You will find there are always people more than happy to mentor someone starting in their career.”
“If you are a person who is excited by change, then this is the right industry for you”
Symantec will be at #GHC17, come visit us at Career Fair Booth 2577.
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