Practitioner in Progress, Set A Goal

You are not an expert yet but you need to be intentional about gaining the experience required for the job.

Starting something new can be overwhelming especially in a field as fast-paced as cybersecurity.

And now you have the opportunity of having your first cybersecurity experience and you are panicking because you do not know what to expect? Don’t worry , a lot of us have been there. Your first cybersecurity experience is going to involve a lot of learning and confusion . You are not supposed to be an expert and that is the reason you were not hired as an expert.

However, your employer do have expectations and the one way to meet their expectations is to set a goal for yourself ; Learn how to learn on the job and learn fast!

Yes , learning fast. You are going to:

Google a lot of acronyms,

Figure out who actually knows what ,

Understand internal policies ,

Slowly connect the dots between what you have learnt and what is actually happening,

Feel lost and overwhelmed Then finally,

GETTING IT ALL!

I mean, you’re in your first year, maybe two. Everything is new and you’re trying to prove yourself, learn fast, keep up, and maybe even catch up. The First years aren't about mastery . It’s About Momentum and your job isn’t to be perfect. Your job is to show up, stay curious, ask better questions each week, and reflect on how far you’ve come.

You’re not “just” a noob. You’re a practitioner in progress. And this is where it all starts to take shape; learning on the job

How Do You Learn on the Job?

There are several ways to do this;

1. Own a few tools, don’t try to master everything: Start with 1–2 tools: Wireshark, Splunk, Nessus, etc. Get good at understanding what they do and why they matter.

2. Take messy notes: Your brain won’t remember everything. Use Notion, OneNote , whatever works. Document what you learn, mistakes you made, and how you fixed them.

3. Pair reading with doing: Don’t just watch tutorials. Open your home lab and do the thing!.

4. Ask questions , the right way: Don’t just say, “This isn’t working.” Try, “I’ve tried A and B, and it returned this. I expected X but got Y. Can you help me understand where I’m off?”

However, In your bid to learn a lot , you may encounter burnout because you will find yourself working/learning extra hours . This is what you should avoid ; Burnout!

Burnout doesn’t always feel like a crash at first.

Sometimes it feels like ambition.
Like hunger.

Many people burn out trying to break in. But here’s the thing: this industry needs you here for the long game. We need people who stay sharp, not just sprint to get in, only to flame out.

So be kind to yourself. Go hard when you have the energy. But step back a little when you don’t. Understand yourself and know what works for you.

Remember,

The best professionals are the ones who learned to stay steady. Not just sprint fast and flame out.