I began drafting this post, sharing my experience of venturing into the world of cybersecurity – a field that I’m truly passionate about. However, after attending a recent networking event, I’ve decided to take a different approach.

Prior to, I had never heard of BrainStation—the host of the event. BrainStation is a tech education company that offers various programs and events to help people gain skills in tech, data science, and digital marketing. NOTE: This post is not an advertisement for BrainStation as I haven’t personally used their services. I came across their “Starting and Building a Career in Cybersecurity” event while looking for things to do in my area. Despite months of self-study, I was hitting a mental roadblock, and I thought maybe it was time to step out of my comfort zone and make some real connections.

What struck me immediately was the incredible value of connecting with people. Arriving about 15 minutes early, I struck up a conversation with two other attendees who were also waiting for the event to kick off. Now, as an introvert, I usually feel invisible in new social settings, so saying hello, introducing myself, and explaining why I was there felt like a personal triumph already. Small wins are still wins.

During the panel discussion that followed, one of the panelists, the Directory of Security Engineering at Justworks, echoed the sentiment I had felt since I walked in. It’s cliché to say this but the universe was talking to me. Communication and the ability to connect with others are skills that can make or break any career. Whether I ultimately find my “dream” job in cybersecurity or not, the power of making people see me and hear my story will undoubtedly yield results. Hearing others’ stories made me feel less isolated in my journey. We’re all capable of achieving our goals; we just need to chart our course and support each other by opening ourselves up to it. The morale boost from this event alone made it entirely worthwhile. So, my advice to you (and myself) is this: get out there!

I established new connections, expanded my LinkedIn network, and walked away inspired to write my very first blog post. To anyone on a similar path, be it a career change or the pursuit of your passion, I’m right there with you. I’ll be sharing my learnings as I progress.

I’ll end with this, one of my new connections said this to me as I was leaving the event: “Let’s keep in touch. Let me know if you think of anything or want to work on a project together to show people how awesome we are!”. If that’s not motivation after meeting someone for the first time, I don’t know what is.