My main career goal is to eventually become a penetration tester for a triple letter agency ideally the NSA, CIA, FBI or DEA. Eventually, I hope to move up the ladder and become the Chief Information Security Officer or CISO. I am also very interested in either joining the Space Force as an officer or supporting it by working with the Space Force as a civilian. Although I am not used to the military lifestyle, I am extremely interested in supporting our government or military as a civilian.
My desire to go into cyber security started with the influence and support of my parents and teachers. Growing up, my mom and I would wait for my dad to finish teaching his computer science class. After he finished his class, my dad and I would talk to my mom and I about how his class went and how their coding projects were going. At the time, I had no idea what computer science was but I thought it was so cool and I wanted to be just like my dad. At the age of 5, coding was already a big part of my life. During the summer of 7th grade, my mom sent me to my first Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) camp for girls. I was hesitant to go at first because I thought STEM jobs were only for boys and I didn’t want to do a boys job. After the first day of learning about software development and coding apps it sparked my interest in coding again and I was able to talk to my dad about all the code I learned. My mom continued to send me to STEM camps throughout middle and high school. During my senior year, I took an Ethical hacking class with Mr. Bobby Duque and I absolutely loved it. He taught us how to use Linux, Terminal, and even how to use wifi routers to hack into computers! That was the point where I sealed the deal and wanted to have a career in cyber security.
To achieve my goal of becoming a penetration tester or working in the government, I plan on interning at a government or cyber-security job this upcoming summer. I have applied to the FBI, NSA, and plan on applying to apply for an internship with the DEA as soon as there is an opening. This would allow me to get experience and hopefully a foot in the door as many of the job positions I am looking for require a good amount of experience. Currently I will graduate with a bachelors of science in computer science- security science in 2024 after which I will take the necessary courses and exams to get the proper certifications to become a penetration tester. As long as I’m working a high-paying job, able to become financially stable, and give back to those who supported me and helped me along the way, I will be content with the path that I go down.