Andy Kantic’s Remarkable Career Transition From Aviation Security to Cybersecurity?

Andy Kantic was working in aviation security and found himself enjoying the thrill of catching threats.

Working in this space made Andy think a lot about the rapid growth of cybersecurity, which got him eager to keep up with it.

This led him to upskill through the Institute of Data’s Cybersecurity Program.

Not even one month after graduating, he successfully got a job as a Threat Analyst Manager at Cofense!

Congratulations to Andy! Read more to learn about his exciting journey:

You have a background in Aviation Security! Can you tell us how motivated you were to pursue a cybersecurity career?

Cybersecurity slowly developed as a passion with my years working in security, watching the technology around me quickly advancing and providing new ventures/procedures.

Pursuing cybersecurity stemmed from the love I had for catching threats and providing safety to members of the public around me.

[su_quote]I figured I could bring my skillset to the digital world where the possibilities were endless and threats waiting to be caught every second of the day.[/su_quote]

The rapid growth of the cybersecurity industry was also a key factor in my transition into the field.

What were the highlights and lowlights of the Cybersecurity Program?

The most challenging aspect of the program would have to be familiarising myself with all the digital operating systems and getting used to working in a fully digital world (very different from my physical security job).

A lot of the information was foreign to me and seemed almost impossible to understand, but with the help from the teams at the Institute of Data this quickly grew into something I felt comfortable with.

The most enjoyable aspect would have to have been understanding how specific threat actors gain access to systems, the exact methods they use to compromise devices and what we can do as individuals to protect ourselves against them.

How did you land a new role within less than a month of graduating from the program? 

The Job Outcomes Program team at the Institute of Data helped revamp my resume to an industry standard and made my social media accounts project professionalism, which was crucial when applying for jobs.

[su_quote]One piece of advice I could give people trying to break through is to apply for all types of jobs and not be too picky. This was conveyed to me – and eventually, this was what helped me land a better position than what I was even applying for.  [/su_quote]

That’s great to hear. Can you tell us about your current role?

I manage a small cybersecurity team based in Australia and work on email security for clients worldwide.

We help identify threats and patterns within email attacks and protect our clients from various types of social engineering and phishing/malware attacks.

I regularly use some of the knowledge I gained from the program, like understanding ports and communications between devices.

What I learnt at the Institute of Data was an extremely useful baseline to understand all the different types of roles that are available within the cybersecurity field.

[su_quote] The skillset I obtained from the Cybersecurity Program helped me greatly during the interview process and helped me adapt and learn quickly when I landed my new position. [/su_quote]

How did you balance your study with the rest of your work and life commitments?

I’m not going to say it was easy.

But, the program’s trainers and content motivate me to make an effort and spend time on my coursework – as they do care.

I managed to enroll in the 6-month part-time cohort, which gave me flexibility around work.

Even if I missed a session once in a while, the trainers recorded sessions and were happy to answer questions after hours to help me catch up.

How did you find the pre-course work? 

The pre-course work was a bit intimidating at first glance, but when I started working through it, it was a simple yet effective introduction to what was expected from us throughout the program.

Learning about major cyber-attacks and how threat actors gained access to multi-million-dollar organizations was an enjoyable project and further motivated my passion to learn about and enter the cybersecurity field.

Tell us about your capstone project.

Coincidentally, where I work, and the topic of my capstone project happen to be effectively the same thing.

Writing up a capstone project around “How email monitoring can improve network security” seemed like a perfect starting point, as we learned that the majority of cyber attacks actually happen through email clients (either through social engineering attacks or credential harvesting websites).

This gave me a topic where information was plentiful but still a problem that most companies could drastically learn from.

How about the support that you received from the trainers in the program?

My trainer, Raza, was not only extremely knowledgeable, with 15+ years of experience within the information technology (IT) field, but was one of the main reasons the program was so enjoyable and insightful.

He motivated our whole class to go above and beyond what was expected and always offered to help us with any aspect of work.

He made the program easy to understand and never overcomplicated topics, ensuring we all understood before moving on to new topics.

Our assistant trainer helped guide us through the course and answer questions we had along the way.

What advice would you give a working professional who wants to kick-start their cybersecurity career if they don’t have an IT background? 

[su_quote]If you are afraid of not understanding or being overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge you need to enter this sector, the Institute of Data will make sure you are supported and walked through everything you don’t understand.[/su_quote]

Transitioning into cyber is risky, but given the current market and the jobs available worldwide, I don’t think there is a better time to make the transition.

This program will provide you a true vision of what the cybersecurity world holds, and just how many different types of jobs are available to you.

If you have the self-motivation and enthusiasm to learn and go out there and apply yourself, there shouldn’t be a second thought if you want to transition into cybersecurity.

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If you’re thinking about transitioning into the exciting field of Cybersecurity, consider downloading the Institute of Data’s Cybersecurity Course Outline for free.

If you would like to speak about the program in more detail, consider booking a free career consultation call with a member of our local team.