my_j0urn3y_1nt0_cyb3rs3cur1ty.blog

     Most of my training and education has been in science and labwork, specifically biology. I got my bachelor's degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from UIUC and got my first professional lab job shortly after that. I worked in the pathology lab for an international preclinical testing facility based in Japan, though I worked at the campus in Washington state. I loved that job. The work was interesting and the people were lovely. We mostly did necropsies, but my department was responsible for the entire pathology process from the time the specimen was collected to the neatly organized slides of tissue samples reviewed by the pathologist. It was challenging, unique, and a very refreshing break from the corporate world.

     I went to school at a time when the personal computer was becoming more affordable for the average household. I learned typing in middle school and learned to code in FORTRAN and Visual Basic in high school. Computers just made sense to me. I built my first computer in high school, mostly to play World of Warcraft, which has just been released. When I started college, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I liked to draw, but I also liked math and science, and I was pretty good at both. Do I make a career out of art and have science as a hobby, or do I make science my career and art a hobby? This was the question I wrestled with throughout high school and college. It seemed absurd to me to ask a 17 year old to decide what they wanted to do forever, but going to college was just what you did after high school. So I did. I mostly did the basic - organic chemistry, calculus, etc, but I experimented with figure drawing and creative writing classes as well.

     I went to school at a time when the personal computer was becoming more affordable for the average household. I learned typing in middle school and learned to code in FORTRAN and Visual Basic in high school. Computers just made sense to me. I built my first computer in high school, mostly to play World of Warcraft, which has just been released. When I started college, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I liked to draw, but I also liked math and science, and I was pretty good at both. Do I make a career out of art and have science as a hobby, or do I make science my career and art a hobby? This was the question I wrestled with throughout high school and college. It seemed absurd to me to ask a 17 year old to decide what they wanted to do forever, but going to college was just what you did after high school. So I did. I mostly did the basic - organic chemistry, calculus, etc, but I experimented with figure drawing and creative writing classes as well.

     When I transferred to UIUC from the local community college I attended, I settled on Molecular and Cellular Biology. I decided I'd be a scientist and fill in the rest of my life with art and other creative endeavors. I taught myself how to use HTML and CSS around 2008 or 2009 and even had a freelance web design business for a short period. After college, I decided to move from Illinois to Seattle in what would turn out to be the best decision I ever made.

     I have always been the tech gal for my friends and family. Like I said, computers just made sense and I was good at figuring out what I didn't know. Fast forward to 2024 when I decided on a career change. I had heard some stories about Penetration Testers and it sounded like the most amazing job I'd ever heard of, so I did some research. Since I had no formal education and no work experience, certifications seemed like the way to go. In just 3 months or so, from the end of July to the end of August, I signed up for, studied for, and passed the CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+. I am currently working through the Practical Ethical Hacking course from TCM Security with the goal of taking the PJPT. In this blog, I will attempt to document my journey to becoming a penetration tester with full honesty and transparency. It was hard for me to know what was good advice and what wasn't amidst the chaos of countless cybersecurity YouTubers, many of which saying vastly different things, though there was some common ground. 

     I want to post new skills as I learn them with screenshots, detailed descriptions, and maybe even a video or two. I'll do a few catch up blogs to explain what I've done so far. I'm really excited about this. It feels like the right path for me, and every new piece of information I learn just confirms that belief. I hope you're as excited as I am, so lets just get to it!