As a teenager, I used to watch Cyberchase on PBS. My parents noticed my interest and enrolled me into computer classes and robotics courses where I continued to build a passion for cybersecurity. However, it wasn’t until graduate school where I began to consider cybersecurity as a viable career. When a professor from the Information Science department came to speak to my class, he emphasized that cybersecurity was a technology field where you did not necessarily need a science or engineering background. He also elaborated that the field was lacking minority and female representation. I decided to apply for the Information Science graduate program a few months later, was accepted, and chose cybersecurity as my specialization. During my time in the graduate program, I had the opportunity to present my research findings at the 2016 Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) conference. All of these positive experiences solidified my desire to have a career in cybersecurity.

One of my first professional jobs after undergrad was at Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as a Business Analyst. While I was working full-time at FDIC, I was also enrolled in graduate school for my Information Science degree.

After completing my M.S. in Information Science, I got a job in NYC at a financial institution in their technology rotational program. I completed 3 rotations in the following departments: business analysis, security awareness and data engineering. When I was on the security awareness team, I absolutely loved it because the role combined my communications skills and cybersecurity knowledge. As a Security Awareness Analyst, I researched and planned events for National Cyber Security Awareness Month, ran monthly phishing campaigns, and created regular cybersecurity communications. I also was a freelance Video Host for Cybercrime Magazine where I interviewed technology leaders and C-Suite executives about security awareness training and cybersecurity best practices at their organizations.

My next job was as a Senior Technology Analyst where I did a lot of technical troubleshooting and incident response duties that included frequent system testing, running code scripts, and pulling SQL logs. Soon after, I was offered a position at eBay as a Security Awareness & Training Lead. In this role, I worked closely with the CISO, CIO and other executives on crafting global communications, developing security initiatives and enterprise awareness programming. Additionally, I represented the company internally and externally during speaking engagements.

These experiences provided the opportunity for me to implement security strategy on a global scale and adequately prepared me for my current position as founder of Nigerian Techie, my own security consulting company. Nigerian Techie focuses on publishing educational content and cybersecurity information through various speaking engagements and social media platforms. Nigerian Techie also specializes in tech career consulting by assisting historically excluded individuals with resume review, interview prep and negotiation skills.

The technology field has extremely limited representation of Black men and women with an average of only 1-3% of Blacks holding tech roles at Silicon Valley companies. As an active member of the security community, I have been able to network with other Black women technologists and serve as a mentor to those seeking to enter STEM fields through various inclusion initiatives.

Besides technical aptitude, I believe communication skills, flexibility, and emotional intelligence will help an individual to excel in cyber leadership roles. Additionally, having executive presence and the ability to boldly present various issues to different levels of leadership is also important.

Don’t be afraid to take risks for the advancement of your career! When I moved to NYC, Ohio and the SF Bay area for work, I didn’t know anyone in these places but that didn’t stop me from taking any of the positions and, as a result, my career has progressed. Also, make sure you have an online portfolio of your work to show prospective employers. Based on the position you are seeking, examples of your work could include sample code, projects or communications (exclude any proprietary information and company names). An online portfolio serves as a great way to display your professional wins and demonstrate what you’re capable of accomplishing on the job.