I had many jobs before getting into digital: I was an office manager, worked in an indie-cinema and as a wedding photographer. But, I really started getting into it when I became a Digital Anthropologist for a charity. I saw how advancing technology was impacting the most vulnerable people in society by not considering their needs or ability (also known as the Digital Divide). I wondered how I could influence change from within and I decided the best start would be to teach myself how to code, so that’s what I did!
I believe it was my anthropology degree that helped me stand out from other candidates, giving me the drive to keep tech human-centric.
When I decided to retrain at age 30, cybersecurity teams weren’t ready to take on people with non-technical backgrounds so I had to find another way in. Hence my self-taught software development. However, these days there are great cybersecurity bootcamps which I’d have loved to have been around at the start of my career.
I’m still glad I did it the way I did it because we need more people in digital industries that don’t follow the traditional path. That way we can better reflect our customers.
I can categorically say I have no regrets about doing a BA in English Literature and a Masters in Anthropology over a Computer Science or a Cyber Security qualification. I offer more value when I can speak more holistically about the digital journey, rather than just the technical aspects. Sometimes I get asked if I’d have liked to get into tech at a younger age, but really, I needed those career experiences first. My past makes me a better techie today.
I’m building a security operations function for ASDA. ASDA was previously owned by Walmart who handled all their security but since we’ve been bought and are now returning to be a UK company again, the whole organisation is doing a massive digital transformation in preparation for our final handover day. It’s known in various circles as the largest ‘start-up’ project in Europe and I’m delighted to be a part of such an exciting opportunity and a chance to create a leading edge and innovative security function.
In my remit, I’m building out our SOC, Incident Response, Network Security, DevSecOps, Security Engineering, Cyber Consultancy and Security Awareness programme.
I adore my job. Its fast pace at the moment with all that needs to be achieved but it’s an incredible once-in-a-career opportunity to set up a security function for a well establish brand.
I love that because security touches all areas of the business, I get to learn about all aspects of the business in a way that other tech functions don’t really need to do. It appeals to be because I love to keep learning and that is pretty much a requirement in cybersecurity because the threat landscape is always changing!
I love that because security touches all areas of the business, I get to learn about all aspects of the business in a way that other tech functions don’t really need to do. It appeals to be because I love to keep learning and that is pretty much a requirement in cybersecurity because the threat landscape is always changing!
Don’t listen to haters and believe in yourself. Ultimately I know if I get bored of cybersecurity, I can pivot to something else. The possibilities are endless in terms of types of jobs within the digital world.
