Edward Hartmann

 Let me introduce you to Edward Hartmann. Edward is a Cybersecurity Academy Analyst, who works for Evolve Security. Evolve Security has 2 major functions. They do assessments for hacker prevention along with their education center side. Evolve offers 2 bootcamps, a beginner bootcamp and a OSCP bootcamp. Edward works on the academy side of their business maintaining and improving new learning tools. Edward isn’t a teacher but rather a felicitator. He will try to make sense of any complicated situation that arises and uses that knowledge to help others. Although now he is an accomplished Cybersecurity Analyst, he first started out in the food industry. His father worked in the computer industry when Edward was a child. So, when he got laid from his job in the food industry, he decided to try a new route in the IT/cybersecurity field.

There were a couple of perks to his career change, such as: working from home, increase in salary, stable work, and helping people who are in the same situation. He gets to see people he has worked with and coach them to excel, which is something he enjoys doing. This new position allows him the opportunity to not have to miss the golden moments with his kids and family. Working for startup companies has taught Edward to be patient along with working well under stress. Even with the stressors that come from working in a startup, Edward has had a blast working for these companies. He gets to interface with all students and all departments.

On the flip side there are some negatives to working in Edwards field. There could be multiple different ways to figure out a solution, which can make it difficult to pick the best one at times. This is mostly because the result could require very complex solutions. You consistently must be mentally flexible and have the patience and time to trouble shoot different solutions. The workload is high and the amount of people in cybersecurity is low. Since technology is always changing, you need to be prepared to always be learning. You will always have to keep up with technology and all new technology solutions/programs. Mentors are also very important to have when trying to start your career in the technology industry. Edwards first mentor in the cybersecurity field, was someone he worked with. He was able to gain a lot of knowledge and experience working with him. His mentor kept challenging him and encouraging along the way. Edward keeps in contact with him and suggests finding someone who is capable of being honest and a handworker with knowledge in your field.

If you are planning on going into the cybersecurity field, Edward would like you to keep in mind that you will be learning a lot fast and might get frustrated. Don’t give up or get down on yourself. It will all make sense and be rewarding at the end. You will be putting in a lot of hard work and long hours for the first couple of years, but the reward is huge. Stay on top of current topics and articles to have a leg up on others. When it comes to work/personal life balance he admits he is poor at it. What he is trying to do now to get a grasp on it, is dedicating certain days that belong to his family or friends. He will set some time aside to spend quality time with his wife. She is the one who has motivated and encouraged him to not give up when work has been rough or long. He didn’t feel he was getting burned out until it was too late and he doesn’t want to make the same mistake again.