Gatekeepers in the industry continue perpetuating the myth that you have to be a tech unicorn to enter and thrive in this industry.
It cannot be said enough: they are loud and wrong.
Since this narrative dominates our social media feeds, many women avoid trying or downplay their own valuable transferrable skills that could be used to help move security programs forward.
While some roles require specialized technical skillsets, many just need people who can communicate well, use common apps, identify security gaps, propose solutions, influence others, and see projects through to completion.
There’s technical debt in almost every org to demonstrate how these missing skillsets impact program maturity.
If you or someone you know is trying to transition from another industry, find a role that complements your current skillset with challenges that will facilitate professional growth.
What you don’t see on the timeline is people admitting that IT Project Managers, Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC), Policy Analysts, and other team members are just as important (if not more) to security programs as the tech rock stars on social media pedestals every day.
Instead of discounting your experience, curate some talking points from what you already know and articulate how that can be used to add value to your next role.
If you want to go into GRC, write out your applicable prior experience.
Same for IT project management. Every team needs people to manage their technology deployments, refreshes, and technical janitorial services.
I’ve been saying that we need to reclaim the narrative around “soft skills” and call them what they are: power skills.
Because the people who move through the ranks and gain the power to make or influence hiring decisions did not do so by knowing the intricacies of firewalls or vulnerability management tools.
They moved up by honing their power skills and adding value (well #notall, some just failed upwards).
Regardless, it’s time you owned your power.
Many of you also never considered defending essential services: electricity, water and gas. Your local utility companies are hiring. Most of them still offer pensions & discounted employee stock plans.
If you don’t have a heavy tech background, check out GRC, IT project manager, and policy analyst type roles. While everyone is competing for the next high pressure tech role, the aforementioned roles tend to enjoy high salaries without production issue headaches.
I’m about securing and growing the bag. Therefore, my 2021 content will be about using investing to close our own pay and wealth gaps.
Are you registered for my free Sip & Stocks101 talk this Sunday?
Topics include:
-Overcoming The Fear of Getting Started
-Intro to Trading for Income
-Performing Risk Management & Due Diligence
-A Defined System To Get You Started
-Sample Investing & Trading Plans
-Curated List of Apps & Resources
-$GME & $AMC case studies
And much more.
This is a 101 level talk for beginners. After studying and going down rabbit holes for the last year, I’m bringing you what I’ve learned so you’ll have a plan to start executing immediately.
Bring your beverage of choice and let’s get you started on the path to closing your own pay & wealth gaps via investing on Sunday.
Topic: Sip & Stocks 101-February 14th
Time: Feb 14, 2021 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
@KeirstenBrager is a Sr. Security Consultant specializing in ICS/OT, @tribeofhackers contributor, and was one of Dark Reading’s 2018 top women in security quietly changing the game. She is also the author Secure The InfoSec Bag: Six Figure Career Guide for Women in Security. She produced this digital book to help women negotiate better pay, cheat on their main source of income (diversify), and fire bad bosses.
