Cybersecurity Careers & The Importance of Mentorship

What is Mentorship?

First, let us define what a mentor is. A mentor is a more experienced or knowledgeable person who guides and nurtures the development of a less experienced protégé. As a person with three mentors concurrently, I have found this type of relationship helpful. At the beginning of our relationship, we strictly focused on certain competencies I was stuck on—cybersecurity, for example—but then it became a climate where I felt comfortable seeking wider advice regarding business ideas, professionalism, and networking.

Mentorship allows mentors to share their working experiences to encourage mentees to achieve goals within their chosen fields. The relationship should be mentee-driven, with clear expectations and goals mutually agreed upon with the mentor.

Some Topics that May be Helpful During your Mentorship:

• Cybersecurity
• Networking (IT & people)
• Work-life balance
• Business
• Retirement

Here are two key traits of a mentor you should always look for:

1. A mentor is a seasoned professional who formally guides a less experienced person in their professional endeavors.
2. A mentor should always have the mentee's best interest in mind and tailor their mentorship style to meet that person’s needs.

In summary, mentorship is a mutually beneficial professional relationship in which an experienced individual bestows wisdom, knowledge, and expertise to a less experienced person while, at the same time, perfecting their mentoring skills

How to Get the Most from your Mentorship

Having a mentor is a great choice, but it is very important to choose the right mentor for your career goals. Here are some key tips to getting the most out of this experience. 

Maintaining a supportive and friendly relationship while guiding a mentee professionally is a key sign of an effective mentor. When looking for an effective mentor, make sure they can understand your clear goals. You could provide them with anything from a rough draft to a detailed career plan. An effective mentor should understand the best paths to help you reach your goals—placing the cement on your road toward greatness.

During my year as a Western Governors University (WGU) student pursuing my undergrad from 2022-23, I was under mentorship from a great guy called Thomas. In WGU, there is a system in place where each student is provided with a program mentor. You can’t choose your first program mentor but you can request a change. The mentor will be experienced in the same background you are majoring in. I went for a business degree with a minor in Information Technology Management— Thomas was well-versed in that area. In the next few sentences, I will explain why I am thankful to have an effective mentor like him during my tenure.

I contemplated dropping my undergrad and giving up on cybersecurity multiple times. The number of emails and calls I exchanged with Thomas was crucial to getting me where I am now! He told me that life gives you road bumps and you just have to get past them. Thanks to his mentorship, I persevered and walked the graduation stage in New Orleans last year.

An effective mentor should stay on track and keep within the scope of what you've set out to achieve together during your mentorship, but remember that you can always re-focus the conversation if you feel it necessary.

Cybersecurity and Mentorship

To circle back to the theme, mentorship and cybersecurity careers go hand in hand. A cyber mentor can help you up your security game when it comes to soft skills, technical skills, and professional skills.

There are so many fields within cybersecurity like penetration testing, threat-hunting, and cloud security. Read our blog posts on the different red team roles and blue team roles for more insight on what's out there. 

Great mentors can help you dig into technical subject matters that you find interesting for your career.

Building up your network will broaden your exposure to more sources of employment, a greater perspective on topics, and a vast network of professionals—a few of whom could become mentors. If you have a LinkedIn or Discord, tap into your network. You will gain more expansive pools and different perspectives to draw from, rather than being alone in this competitive market. Using social media to follow or connect with influential people and those you look up to is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse and could create an organic way to strike up a conversation in the future! Just tread carefully with this – interacting with their public posts and getting involved in discussions in this way is a good place to start, but beware of sending a DM straight off the bat, as that could make a bad first impression. 

A mentor could be a colleague or even a family member. Not only that, but online cybersecurity training platforms like Security Blue Team have a huge, engaged community of professionals you could become a part of, giving you the opportunity to hear real-world cybersecurity stories!

As someone who enjoys traveling, meetups and conferences are another great way to find cybersecurity mentors. I recently attended Black Hat USA, which gave me the amazing chance to connect with so many people I respect in the field. Free time and budget permitting, look into events like these—I can’t recommend them enough!

The Truth about Security Mentorship

Before you embark on your journey of finding mentors, I recommend that you read and understand a few points. I truly believe everyone should have a mentor in their life, no matter the subject (financial, career, or health).

Mentorship does not guarantee a job - Yes, mentorships can lead to fruitful opportunities, but they shouldn't be considered the same as a job application. 

Mentorship won't last forever - Mentorships can be long- or short-term. Some people don’t find them useful anymore after they secure their dream job or complete their goals, and that's perfectly fine!

Your mentor is human - Be mindful that your mentor has a life outside of teaching you. Do not take it personally if they need to cancel a session or prioritize other things.

You can have multiple mentors - I have three at the time of writing this. Different perspectives can be helpful, so keep that in mind.

Mentorship can be for juniors or seniors - It does not matter what stage you are in in your career, there is always room for growth. Mentorships are available to us all!