The Grass Is Greener
17th July 2022
Is the grass greener on the other side of the fence?
Some say the grass is greener where you water it.
But what if that grass was inside a tiny glass box with no one around to cut it?
No one to answer its questions. No one to challenge its intelligence.
No one to collaborate with nor learn from. Perhaps the grass doesn't want to be in the glass box and maybe it wants to be grass in the metaverse.
Maybe its about the tiny glass box limiting possibilities.
Perhaps all the grass needs is a bigger box so it can grow taller before feeling constricted.
As you might have already guessed, this isn't about the grass anymore. It's about me and how I had outgrown the role at my soon to be last job.
I started feeling like I needed a change back in late 2021 but being in my mid-twenties with a girlfriend and a mortgage I had to weigh up what was realistic.
I couldn't go to college, not university, nor an apprenticeship because a pay decrease of that magnitude would mean I couldn't pay my bills especially in the current climate.
So what do I do?
I figured that the industry that had taken my fancy was tech. Not only is it constantly expanding with every single new innovation but a job in tech solves my discontent in my current job, which is career prospects.
They're a million and one different types of roles within roles in tech and the avenue that I had in my sights was cyber security.
Before I had my epiphany that cyber security was the way to go I started learning to code after being inspired to start by listening to a podcast called Learn To Code.
It was extremely helpful listening to someone explain the terminology and processes before I had even downloaded a coding environment. Somehow listening to a podcast made the initial learning curve feel not quite so steep.
So I jumped in, downloaded SoloLearn from the App Store and got to work learning python as it's quickly becoming the most popular language around (although it is very heavily debated).
I nailed the fundamentals but hit a few road blocks when the programming went to the next level.
I was set back but thought I'd like to learn a coding language that allows me to be creative and I can start from absolutely nothing and keep adding to it to make it better and better without having to spend years crafting a programme.
This was when I thought about coding a website from the ground up. Now I know there are a plethora of website building services but to me it wasn't about having a website, it was about building a website. So using SoloLearn I taught myself HTML and CSS and coded this very website that you are reading this blog on today.
The possibilities are endless. You can make it as simple or as complex as you like and to me this was incredibly appealing.
After building my first website I began stirring because I wanted to keep learning but I knew that becoming a full stack developer wasn't where I wanted to go.
That was when I stumbled across two podcasts called Hacked and Darknet Diaries. It was finding these podcasts that induced my eureka moment. Cyber security is what I want to do.
Like anything in tech there is such a wealth of knowledge on the web for FREE and it was with the use of these free services that allowed me to scratch my itch. It really did put an all you can eat buffet of knowledge right in front of me for FREE.
The only cost was my time and energy and for me that trade was a steal!
My favourite of all the platforms to hone my cyber security skills is definitely Try Hack Me. You can go from zero to hero with them on various learning paths with anything from basic rooms for beginners to advanced CTFs (capture the flag).
I'm no hero yet though believe me but I have so much still to get my teeth into even being months down the line of completing various rooms each week.
At the time of writing this I am in the top 5% of over 1.2 million users on Try Hack Me.
After I had discovered cyber security it hadn't eluded me that I had absolutely no professional experience in IT so I thought it'd be best to get a few certifications under my belt to bring me up to speed. These included; CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+.
I am just about to take my first exam and I have learned everything I know about the course material from one guy on YouTube called Professor Messer. The guys a legend. There is no one else out there providing this kind of material at least not to my knowledge.
And yet again it's FREE. Now it's best to use other resources in addition as well as practice exam questions etc but initially I learn from him and then do additional research on Google.
In amongst all this learning I had been told to start applying for jobs immediately by NetworkChuck. After all what's the harm? The worst thing that could happen is you don't hear back and that's a price I could live with. So I began peppering my CV out on indeed.
I was applying for all sorts and yes that meant applying for jobs I knew I wouldn't get but that was a decision of the employer to make.
There was even one job interview that may or may not have been for a senior department in the government that I may or may not have been selected to progress to the performance based section of the interviewing process. To which I failed miserably. It was laughable.
I was simply not an expert coder. I wasn't even an intermediate coder. Still ain't.
But for me it wasn't even about being seriously considered for a role out of my league. It was more about once I had applied, it was out of my hands. A little bit like buying a lottery ticket and imagining what it would be like if you won and what you would spend the money on.
And just like the lottery the odds were substantially stacked against me.
You'll be unsurprised to hear that there were several jobs I didn't get after progressing to the performance based section of the process but it wasn't a wasted effort because with every interview I endured I believe it was getting me battle ready for when I had the opportunity to apply for a job that fits my skill set.
After months of applying for jobs it was beginning to feel like the same old merry-go-round but my focus never wavered. I kept on revising for my first CompTIA A+, I stayed on my learning path on Try Hack Me and I kept applying for jobs. Then I received an email from Craig the Managing Director of the company I had applied for.
He invited me to attend a remote interview with himself and the Technical Director. Although I had some reservations about the interview because the job advert was mysterious because it didn't contain any of the company details at all. Little did I know that all would be revealed shortly. During the remote interview Craig and Andrew told me more about the company that I had applied to work for.
The company is Global Technical Solutions Limited with two sub brands of Connect Digital Security and CloudTech24. These are established IT companies that provide traditional IT support, cyber security services as well as fully managed cloud support services. I was in disbelief. This was perfect. I had been working at this for almost a year and now it's staring me in the face. My foot could finally be in the door.
The interview went really well and I proceeded to the final interview and again it went really well. Usually I loathe interviews but this one just felt right. After a couple of days I heard back from Craig and he offered me the job of Cloud Technician. I was blown away. I really couldn't put in to words how I felt when I read that email. A wise man once said “luck is when hard work meets opportunity” and I do feel incredibly lucky.
Here's to my new career in tech.