We’re excited to announce a new series of talent and careers focused content where we’ll be celebrating and sharing colleague stories about their journey into cyber and also career progression at NCC Group.
In our MySwitch2Cyber blogs we’re sharing the inspiring stories of our team members who joined NCC Group at the start of their cyber security journey from diverse and non-traditional career backgrounds. We’ll talk about the experiences that led them to NCC Group and shine a light on their success in breaking into the industry and the power of transferable skills from all backgrounds.
In our first instalment of MySwitch2Cyber, Kamela Jaafar sat down with Nick Guevara from our North American team to hear about his journey from Recruitment Consultant to Associate Security Consultant as he enters the world of penetration testing at NCC Group.
Hello, my name is Nick Guevara and I am an Associate Security Consultant based in Orlando, FL. Before starting a career in Cyber Security, I was a Recruiter for about five years, I then decided to pursue one of my greatest passions, computers.
I became interested in computing as a young child and continued always been fascinated by computers and their different functions. Luckily, I connected with a close friend who was attending the University of Central Florida (UCF), who introduced me to Cybersecurity certification programs within the institution that were shorter than a traditional degree and more specific to my interests.
Upon being admitted to the UCF I worked for Spectrum, our local internet service provider, as an IT Technician. I found this role incredibly challenging which inspired me to speed up completion of my CompTIA qualifications in my UCF Cybersecurity program. Through the success of my CompTIA certification, I was empowered and equipped with the tools necessary to gain my OSCP qualifications with my program.
Throughout getting certified I continued to better myself by utilizing websites like “Hackthebox” and “Tryhackme” to not only prepare myself for the challenges of being a pen tester but also to familiarize myself with all that this career filed has to offer. While it wasn’t easy, I was amazed at how both my independent practice and program intertwined, and everything I’d learnt made sense.
With my certifications finished I started to search for pen testing and ethical hacking positions everywhere. One day while I was on LinkedIn I came across a post by Recruiter Tylir Russ from NCC Group, and the variety of interesting Cyber Security vacancies the company had open and I saw an Associate level security consultant role that sparked my interest and wanted to know more.
When I researched more about NCC Group I realized the company culture was what I had been searching for, I applied for the vacancy and after interview was offered the position.
This role is truly my dream job and has been such a rewarding experience to say the least. I was extremely grateful to Tylir for a smooth process and was so impressed by my manager Vishtasp Jokhi. Vish and my colleagues have always made me feel at ease from the onboarding process to learning what it really means to be a Security Consultant.
In my role I get to collaborate and connect with my team while working remotely and I feel confident enough to excel in my independent projects as well. I see my future with NCC Group, and I am so excited to see where my journey in cyber security takes me.
Thank you for celebrating our career-changers and taking the time to read their story. We hope you enjoyed reading them as much as we loved bringing them to life and sharing them with you. If you or someone you know is interested in making a career change or moving into the world of cyber security, please get in touch with our team at talent.attraction@nccgroup.com.