Why I am interested in cyber security.

When I was in my freshman year of high school we had to go meet with our counselors to figure out what classes we wanted for the next year. For the first time our school was going to be teaching an entry level cyber security course. I signed up for it purely because it sounded interesting to me. Once the next year had started and I was in that class I instantly knew I liked it, my teacher Mrs. Hardy was new to the class as well so it was a fun experience. we basically learned alongside our teacher. I liked the class so much that after that year I took two more computer based classes, then when my junior year rolled around enough people had taken the class for an advanced course to be created. I took that the second I found out. Me and everyone I had the class with loved the way it was structured, this had a lot to do with how cool our teacher was. I even had Mrs. Hardy write my letter of recommendation for me.

Around the same time my dad had started dating this girl who was a supervisor for the CIA’s cyber security division, the stories and job itself got me even more interested. Another big factor was after all of the time I had spent learning about cyber security I saw how big the industry was and how much money was possible in the private sector. Once I learned that I was locked in, I applied to ODU, VT, and JMU for cyber security and got wait listed at. VT, denied at JMU, and ODU offered an academic scholarship so it was a no brainer. I’d say that the biggest reason once I found out is definitely the money that comes with the profession, but I do also find the subject very interesting.