{"id":72267,"date":"2021-12-27T16:07:02","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T05:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/blog\/from-retail-management-to-cyber-security-analyst-how-bradley-made-a-successful-career-change\/"},"modified":"2024-03-31T15:23:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-31T04:23:01","slug":"from-retail-management-to-cybersecurity-analyst-how-bradley-made-a-successful-career-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/blog\/from-retail-management-to-cybersecurity-analyst-how-bradley-made-a-successful-career-change\/","title":{"rendered":"From Retail Management to Cybersecurity Analyst: How Bradley Made a Successful Career Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few years ago, Bradley Cundasamy took a leap of faith toward his IT career interests and started our Cybersecurity part-time program with the University of Technology in Sydney.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before even completing the program, he successfully secured a Cybersecurity Analyst role with Avertro through the technical and interpersonal skills he was learning from the program.<\/p>\n

Bradley comes from a creative graphic design and retail management background.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having little IT experience but a great interest in the area, he wanted to take advantage of the IT tech wave in the job market and transition his career.<\/p>\n

He took a strong interest in Cybersecurity and programming, seeking innovative ways of combining his knowledge and successfully completing a Capstone Project in the area.<\/p>\n

He worked closely with our professional training team and expert job outcomes coaching in order to be job-ready.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Bradley Cundasamy\u2019s learning journey with us here:<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you describe your career experience before making the change to cybersecurity?<\/b><\/p>\n

I began my professional career as a graphic designer, having completed my Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design at Australian Catholic University.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whilst working as a retail assistant at a supermarket I was told I had the skills that would make a good leader and I began training and making my way up the management ladder.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been the Store Manager at that supermarket for 4 years.<\/p>\n

How did you transfer and apply your previous work experiences to prepare you to study cybersecurity?<\/b><\/p>\n

Holding the most senior position in-store meant I was quite good at balancing multiple tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n

I led multiple projects as Store Manager, and I\u2019ve gained some great time and project management skills from it.<\/p>\n

Why did you choose to join the part-time program in particular? What appealed to you?<\/b><\/p>\n

Having the flexibility to learn at a slower pace allowed me to focus on developing other skill sets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having done the pre-work for the Cybersecurity program, I was very interested in Python and going the part-time route allowed me to develop this skill set further in conjunction with learning Cyber.<\/p>\n

What did you enjoy the most about the program?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

I enjoyed the practical lab work and having our trainer arrange sessions with people in the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

It gave us all valuable insights into what it was like being a Cybersecurity professional.<\/p>\n

You were able to secure a Cybersecurity Solutions Analyst role with Avertro before graduating\u00a0 \u2013 Congratulations! How did you manage to land a new role before graduating from the program?<\/b><\/p>\n

Taking advantage of the connections that your trainer has is vital.<\/span><\/p>\n

Networking plays a huge part in the industry.<\/p>\n

We had the CEO of Avertro come to one of our sessions to present their product, and with that fresh in mind, I saw an opportunity to apply for an opening they had.<\/p>\n

Having great feedback from your trainer helps as well!<\/p>\n

Make sure to be engaged in sessions and make the most of it.<\/p>\n

What guidance would you give someone applying for jobs during and\/or after upskilling?<\/b><\/p>\n

I was fortunate enough to secure a position whilst still in the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

From prior experience, searching for an opportunity is a job in itself.<\/p>\n

Keep your resume and cover letter updated.<\/p>\n

Opportunities arise every day.<\/p>\n

Be sure to utilize the job outcomes team at the Institute of Data, as it is a very valuable resource.<\/p>\n

Can you describe when you knew Cyber was the right career path for you?<\/b><\/p>\n

I think I always knew a tech career was something I wanted to pursue.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been interested from a very young age, but instead, I decided to pursue a creative career that eventuated into a role in retail management.<\/p>\n

My interest never left me, though.<\/p>\n

After being the \u2018go-to guy\u2019 for tech issues in the family for several years, I thought it was time to leverage the communication and leadership skills I gained from management and find the right tech industry to pivot to – that was Cyber.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your capstone project! How did you come up with your topic?<\/b><\/p>\n

For my Capstone Project, I wanted to explore Python and its uses in Cyber.<\/span><\/p>\n

I created a script that scans the recycle bin directory on a windows machine and outputs deleted files along with the time and date of deletion as well as the user that did so.<\/p>\n

To complement this, I also wanted to show what I had learned in vulnerability testing during the practical labs, so I wrote two more scripts – one that runs an ARP spoofing attack and one that detects ARP spoofing attacks.<\/p>\n

How did you find the process of completing your final Capstone project during the course? What did it teach you?<\/b><\/p>\n

I found it to be a great learning experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

At first, it felt a little overwhelming as there was so much I wanted to explore for my Capstone project.<\/p>\n

I recalled the pre-work and having a real fascination with Python, so I decided to utilize this in my Capstone to complement my Cybersecurity learning.<\/p>\n

It was the perfect opportunity.<\/p>\n

Doing so gave me more skills that I\u2019m able to utilize in the industry.<\/p>\n

In your opinion, how did the program change your perspective on the importance of soft skills in a cybersecurity role?<\/b><\/p>\n

It really shifted my view as I thought it was going to be a role or industry that heavily relied on technical skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having numerous one-on-one sessions with my trainer really helped to change that mentality.<\/p>\n

My eyes were opened to what I could actually bring to the industry with the professional experiences I already had.<\/p>\n

A big huge shout out to Michael and Ez for showing me the skills I had were those that could allow me to make a successful entry into the industry.<\/p>\n

What guidance would you give someone from a non-IT background who wants to upskill in cybersecurity?<\/b><\/p>\n

The biggest piece of advice I\u2019d have is to not be afraid to make the pivot into the industry, it\u2019s growing at a rapid pace and coupled with a skills shortage; there is a role out there for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

The program at IOD also allows you to experience a broad scope of Cyber and you\u2019ll be able to identify an area that you gravitate towards and one that will allow you to lean on prior skills you have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connect with Bradley on LinkedIn here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

If you are interested in up-skilling or transitioning to cybersecurity, <\/span>schedule a consultation<\/span><\/a> with a Data Industry Career Consultant today.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few years ago, Bradley Cundasamy took a leap of faith toward his IT career interests and started our Cybersecurity part-time program with the University of Technology in Sydney.\u00a0 Before even completing the program, he successfully secured a Cybersecurity Analyst role with Avertro through the technical and interpersonal skills he was learning from the program.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62371,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[595,596,2779,588,589,590],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-us","category-career-change-us","category-case-studies-us","category-cyber-security-us","category-cyber-security-technology-us","category-industry-us-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72267"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72278,"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72267\/revisions\/72278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.institutedata.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}