Introduction
As a cybersecurity major, there is no one singular skill or discipline that would prepare me for the workforce in such a dynamic industry. Instead, during my time at Old Dominion University, I have developed a diverse range of skills blending technical expertise with research capabilities across disciplines and specialties. From integrating knowledge bases during research to exploring technical Linux tools and combining skills to conduct digital forensics investigations, each assignment and course has challenged me in unique ways to prepare me for a career in cybersecurity. Courses like interdisciplinary theory, sociology, and cybersecurity in society have been instrumental in expanding cybersecurity skills beyond a keyboard while classes on Linux systems, cyber techniques and operations helped hone those technical skills. My cybercriminology, digital forensics, and various skills gained in other classes helped hone my understanding of digital forensics analysis and investigation present in this portfolio.
Portfolio Development
Creating this portfolio provided an opportunity to reflect on the skill progression throughout my degree program both inside and outside the classroom. When thinking about the skills I wanted to present to the public as a true reflection of my journey at Old Dominion University, I thought it best to include skills that demonstrated technical competencies, interdisciplinary learning, and analytical thinking in my preferred specialty in cybersecurity. In this way, I was able to keep a clear theme with how I wanted my skill progression to be showcased and of my overall digital impression. Once my main three skills were identified, I wanted to be very intentional about choosing artifacts that truly demonstrated these abilities. According to Meade, the artifacts themselves act as the “compelling evidence” or “cornerstone of credibility” to show your audience that you do, in fact, possess these skills (Meade, 2023, p.69). In this way, I did not want to just say that I had the ability to do a specific technical skill or that I could draw connections between two separate disciplines. Instead, I chose projects, papers, and labs that showed me utilizing those skills with tools, doing a full analysis and investigation, and presenting research across disciplines that can solve real-world issues. As a whole, this part of the process was the summation of my academic development over the past few years and how they translate to the workforce.
Interdisciplinary Research
As cybersecurity itself is an interdisciplinary subject, research surrounding this has been one of the most lucrative skills I have been exposed to throughout my coursework. As supported Jacob, Peters, and Yang, cybersecurity must be viewed this way from an educational perspective as it is shaped by the “direction, content and techniques involved in [its] growth and development” (Jacob et al, 2019, p.61). The artifacts in this section represent the range of interdisciplinary research papers I have either written for a class or out of my own personal curiosity when there seems to be a lack of relevant analysis on a topic. Throughout this section of my portfolio, I was able to integrate concepts from sociology, criminal justice, law, computer science, audiology, workforce studies, health sciences, and security. In addition to learning about these specific disciplines in the context of my chosen research, I believe one of the biggest things I learned was how to critically think, diversely analyze, and approach complex subjects from various perspectives. Throughout every one of these papers, I could not just ask myself, “What does this mean for cybersecurity?” but instead how it can affect a plethora of other industries, individuals, and systems. This has translated very well into my work at Virginia Cybersecurity Students (VCyS) when making sure students are exposed to cybersecurity in many other contexts outside of traditional computer science. It has also become prevalent in my full-time job where I’m not just securing a system to meet a requirement, but thinking through use-cases and how it affects users that work in criminal justice or medical practices, respectively. In this way, I am able to strengthen my practical application of interdisciplinarity based on my exposures with this research in multiple fields and how to think critically when faced with differing perspectives to the same issue.
Linux Tools
My coursework with Linux tools and administration represents one of the best intersections between how technical assignments correlate to real-world applications and practical problem-solving. When selecting these artifacts, I intentionally chose ones that I have had to do in my job to some capacity: Shell scripting in a lab was the basis for automation scripts for handling complex tasks without manual interaction, network configuration for a Linux system became a configuration for complex infrastructure with dozens of hosts, and password-cracking labs became ways for me to test current security posture when doing security assessments. Even outside of these specific assignments, though, my technical courses at Old Dominion University taught me how to break complicated problems into smaller parts, troubleshoot methodically, identify patterns, test appropriately, and document everything. These are core skills that are absolutely vital when working in any cybersecurity capacity. Additionally, many of these tasks build upon previous knowledge bases and apply strategies from multiple classes. Building this kind of skill, where technical ability is based on the idea of pattern recognition in order to correlate similar problems and later solutions, continues to be invaluable and is used on a daily basis when troubleshooting a new technology or system. Outside of my own experience, Linux proficiency ties very well to what employers seek from cybersecurity applicants. The knowledge base of system operations that these assignments demonstrate are also highly sought-after with a study by Ozyurt and Ayaz finding that technical support, system engineering, and security operations were among the most frequently required skill categories (Ozyurt & Ayaz, 2024). Although Linux tools could be considered a smaller technical competency, the knowledge base of technical problem-solving, operating system familiarity, and system administration methodologies spans beyond necessary coursework and into industry prerequisites.
Digital Forensics Analysis
During my time at Old Dominion University, I have been lucky enough to be able to pursue a specialty I am passionate about within cybersecurity in order to be better prepared for my future career: digital forensics. This specialty not only blends interdisciplinary thinking with technical skills as showcased by my other represented skills in this portfolio, but further this into a broad understanding of a challenging, yet rewarding, subject matter. Similar to my other skills, digital forensics analysis went far beyond understanding a single tool or process but taught me how to think in an entirely new way. During these assignments, I was challenged to think like an investigator, combining subjects like computer science, criminal justice, psychology, and the law in order to cover entire scopes of work like a digital forensics analyst would. The artifacts represented in this section did exactly that from understanding how a digital forensics lab works by creating an implementation plan, how new technologies will impact digital forensics processes by conducting research on an emerging subject, and conducting a full digital forensics investigation with compliant documentation. Digital forensics itself “bridges the gap between cyberattack prevention and response procedures” making the demonstration of such skills vital to showing a well-rounded understanding of all aspects of cybersecurity from threat intelligence to incident response and even to court-compliant documentation (Okereafor & Djehaiche, 2020, p.36.1). In addition to such depth-of-knowledge, these artifacts allowed me to hone in on methodical thinking, detail-orientedness, and the importance of standardized procedures and documentation. Once again, assignments necessitated the use of systematic problem-solving on both a technical and individual level. Digital forensics really showed that in cybersecurity, it is not always the “how?” something is done that is important, but the “why?” As a whole these artifacts and experiences across courses at ODU did not just provide me with the technical skills necessary to prepare me for the workforce, but the underlying knowledge on when, why, and for what purpose something is done too. Even as technologies change rapidly, this thought-process will remain the same, making it vital for all my future endeavors in the cybersecurity industry.
Career Goals & Relevant Skills
As I look beyond the classroom and into advancing my career in cybersecurity, reviewing job advertisements and industry journals has reinforced how essential many of the skills demonstrated here truly are. Positions such as cybersecurity analyst and digital forensics technicians that I would like to pursue frequently emphasize competencies in system administration, Linux familiarity, scripting, incident response, and investigative documentation. During my time in the adjacent field of information technology and cloud computing, I have already seen how important many of these skills are on a day-to-day basis. Across cybersecurity job postings and my own personal experiences in the interviewing process, there is a major emphasis on competencies in “knowledge management and systems, big data analytical skills, and teamwork” (Graham & Lu, 2022). Despite specific technologies differing, these themes remain the same and reinforces the idea that employers often prioritize adaptability to new technologies and an ability to learn new tools while thinking critically rather than mastery of a single part; as such, I wanted to demonstrate these abilities throughout my ePortfolio.
Conclusion
Reflecting on my coursework and experiences at Old Dominion University, it is clear that my degree was not simply one of the base sciences and competencies necessary to understand how to secure technologies. Instead, it was one that emphasized deep critical thinking, broad understandings of complex methodologies, integration of diverse disciplines, and the curiosity to find patterns and connections everywhere. The skills and artifacts in this portfolio do not just represent what I have learned, but also what I can bring to the table in any role or job in the cybersecurity industry. Technology changing rapidly is an inevitable part of joining such an innovative field, but this combination of interdisciplinary thinking, technical skillsets, and problem-solving abilities will ensure that I am adaptable enough to meaningfully contribute to such a field.
References
Graham, C. M., & Lu, Y. (2022). Skills Expectations in Cybersecurity: Semantic Network Analysis of Job Advertisements. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 63(4), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2022.2115954.
Jacob, J., Peters, M., & Yang, T. A. (2019). Interdisciplinary cybersecurity: Rethinking the approach and the process. National Cyber Summit (pp. 61-74). https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10171758.
Meade, L. Documenting Your Learning and Personal Growth: Critical Reflection. Building a Professional Portfolio, 52.
Okereafor, K., & Djehaiche, R. (2020). New approaches to the application of digital forensics in cybersecurity: a proposal. International Journal of Simulation: Systems, Science and Technology (IJSSST), 21(2), 36-1.
Ozyurt, O., & Ayaz, A. (2024). Identifying cyber security competencies and skills from online job advertisements through topic modeling. Security Journal. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41284-024-00420-w.