How to Survive Your First Few Years in Infosec: Career Advice for Junior Cybersecurity Practitioners (and the Managers Who Lead Them)
Moderator: Lesley Carhart
Panelist(s): Andy Ellis, David J. Bianco, Katie Nickels, Sara Pickering
Many of us look up to Lesley Carhart @hacksforpancakes as a brilliant cybersecurity practitioner but she's also a coach and mentor whom people often turn to for advice.
Recently, she was approached by someone relatively new to infosec who is having recurring, serious panic attacks in his new role when he makes small and very normal errors in his security role. After exploring where this came from in his previous job, we uncovered a really abysmal and abusive management situation which, if he'd had any guidance, he should have reported to HR. In his current role, he had no idea that he should be asking for performance reviews on paper and sincere career goal guidance. He doesn't have an idea if he is doing well or not, and what his managers' expectations are.
Lesley got to wondering, how many new people in cybersecurity are being gaslit and taken advantage of like he was? We can be particularly vulnerable because we're very focused on technical skills and not people or business.
This session will focus on how to succeed in business as a technical person. It will also be a gut check for managers.
Topics will include:
- What is your responsibility as an individual contributor, and what is your manager's?
- Red flags in corporate life
- Building and tracking a career and self-improvement plan
- When situations can be remediated, and when it's time to go
- What business skills are helpful in dealing with bureaucracy, and some ways to acquire them
