These Students Are Preparing to Be the Next Leaders in IT

Five students tell us about why they chose IT and the new pathways that this field of study has opened up for them.

What is most exciting to you about pursuing a career in IT?

Because this career is always changing due to new technology, there is always something to do. You can find a job that suits your likes or skills. You can be a software developer, a database administrator, or a web or UI developer.

How has your school’s program helped you find your passion?

UHD’s MS in Data Analytics program has heightened my passion by teaching me new skills. I now feel confident about getting any job in my field.

What has been the best advice you’ve received about working in this industry?

Be persistent and patient with yourself. Listen to where your skills are, and know what you can improve or learn to make your job easier and satisfying.

What’s your dream IT job?

My dream job is data analytics in biomedical research, including, but not limited to, biostatistics and bioinformatics.

What is most exciting to you about pursuing a career in IT?

Technology is so integrated into our lives now. Many don’t understand the implications of digital connectedness or how to safeguard their data. I want to help others protect themselves and be involved with building infrastructure with security in mind. There’s also always something new to learn.

How has your school’s program helped you find your passion?

I was lucky to have the support of Professor Matt Bishop at UC Davis in founding the cybersecurity club and competition team. Most of our existing resources were aimed at software engineering, so building a different career path for others to explore hands-on was challenging but very rewarding.

What has been the best advice you’ve received about working in this industry?

“Being an expert doesn’t mean knowing everything.” Sometimes you’re the expert because you have the most experience in a room. Having everyone look up to you for leadership can be scary, but it doesn’t mean you can’t turn to others for guidance. Learning is lifelong, especially in cybersecurity.

What’s your dream IT job?

I want to hone my skills in defense as well as learn more about forensics and pen testing. I’m interested in work that makes the world a better place, like how Electronic Frontier Foundation cybersecurity director Eva Galperin is eradicating stalkerware. It would be amazing to work for visionaries like her.

What is most exciting to you about pursuing a career in IT?

IT and the computer science field as a whole are constantly changing and evolving. Being bored is next to impossible, and the feeling of accomplishment after finishing a project is incomparable.

How has your school’s program helped you find your passion?

Before attending Florida Poly, I had minimal programming experience and no idea what I wanted to do. In my first two years, I found that I excelled at programming. In my third year, I took courses that redefined my career goals and had professors that continue to assist me in reaching my goals.

What has been the best advice you’ve received about working in this industry?

My professor told me, “making A’s means nothing unless you work on real projects that interest you.” Since then, I’ve attended hackathons, become a research assistant, and learned far more on each project than I have in class.

What’s your dream IT job?

At the moment, my favorite courses involve networks and network security, so I would love to find a research position designing new security protocols, or finding new applications of existing technologies.

What is most exciting to you about pursuing a career in IT?

The most exciting part to me about pursuing a career in IT is that it gives me an avenue through which to learn the workings of technology and constantly stay up-to-date in an ever-changing field.

How has your school’s program helped you find your passion?

My school’s program has helped show me the beauties of coding and system security. Prior to attending university, I had little knowledge of how computer systems worked, let alone how malware functioned. This program has expanded my knowledge of both how systems work and what is possible.

What has been the best advice you’ve received about working in this industry?

The best advice that I have received about working in this industry has been to ensure that you stay up-to-date on learning the new tools of the industry and the security standards.

What’s your dream IT job?

CD: My dream job in IT is to work as a freelance penetration tester. This would allow me to travel the world, helping companies and organizations secure their systems.

What is most exciting to you about pursuing a career in IT?

Data is everywhere and it’s going to stay for a very long time. The concept of visualizing and predicting what will happen tomorrow is fascinating to me. Data science is an exciting field — I’m able to use insightful information to help companies make informed decisions. My curiosity to learn and apply data science techniques, and how data can help companies find answers which were once unknown, led me to pursue this degree.

How has your school’s program helped you find your passion?

Even though this program is completely online, all the core classes were designed to teach you skills used in the field of data science. The classes were designed to make you learn the techniques for being a successful data analyst/scientist; the program focuses on ground principles of data science which can be applied to any tools available in-market.

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