David Nwankwo

Security System Technician

I installed security systems in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, and North Carolina. These installations were in residential and small business environments. The role consisted of running Ethernet cables for cameras, replacing deadbolts, thermostats, and doorbells with smart ones. It also challenged me to deal with customer service from design, to implementation, and support post-install.

I was looking for a career to pivot to after installing security systems, and I discovered IT. IT allowed me to remain in a technical field, identify how computers worked, and find a role that didn't need a bachelor's degree to start at an entry level. I started wth Apple support and started studying for the CompTIA A+.

Transitioned to IT

After discovering a path, I simply started studying, finding all the free resources I could for CompTIA's A+ certification. I moved slowly because I was genuinely curious how these things worked. This foundation has served me well, maybe not in my role at the time. But I look back at the lessons learned from my first certification. My time with Apple as customer support gave me real experience translating how many people describe their symptoms and the underlying technical causes.

• March: Passed CompTIA A+ Core 1
• May: Left apple to study and grow beyond basic technical support
• June: Achieved CompTIA A+
• July: Started with Spectrum as a Network analyst

Developed a Solid Foundation

I grew as a network analyst at Spectrum. he level of detail and solid grasp of a WAN network topology and CLI enabled a different level of focus. During my training portion of my time with Spectrum, I started studying Network+ material. That network knowledge from studying material helped round out my IT knowledge. No matter what critiques people may have about certifications, if utilized properly, they help condense a large amount of information and guide you on how to learn it.

• February: Passed CompTIA Security+
• June: Left Spectrum for family reasons
• September: Achieved CompTIA CySA+
• October: Achieved Comptia Network+
• November: Completed Security Blue Team's Junior Analyst training
• December: Particpated in TryHackMe's Advent of Cyber

My year with SANS

A lot of my IT focus has been geared towards security. My long-term goal after help desk was a Cybersecurity Analyst role, and certifications reflect that (Sec+, CySA+, and the GIAC ones). ybersecurity represents a constant cat-and-mouse game. A game where you have to consistently solve and prepare for problems you know about and others you don't know about. SANS took a lot of that theoretical knowledge and made it practical. Once accepted into SANs, the course material I had access to was tremendous. The content was in-depth and gave me a solid foundation in cybersecurity incident response, but also a good baseline of technical knowledge at the same time. These were also the hardest tests I had. They had practical labs in the training, from PowerShell, to Metasploit, to Zeek, to Snort. Giving a good grasp of the skills needed for a Junior SOC Analyst or Cybersecurity Analyst (Blue Team).

• January: Started with Amadeus
• January: Accepted into SANS Cyber Immersion Academy
• May: Achieved GFACT (GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies)
• July: Achieved Microsoft AZ-900
• August: Achieved GSEC (GIAC Security Essentials)
• November: Aceived GCIH (GIAC Certified Incident Handler)

The Present

Currently Studying: KQL for SC-200

So I started the year with a course teaching me about AWS. This allowed me a voucher for the test, Access to ASU's cloud foundations course, and plenty of labs to practice configuring compute, network, and storage capabilities in AWS. Currently, I am practicing with KQL queries for the SC-200 test, along with the Microsoft Learn material. Even if some companies or hiring managers look at candidates with only certifications in the field but no direct experience, I believe they recognize that a person's work ethic and passion for the subject matter. These certifications help condense all the relevant aspects of the particular subject matter and break it down into learnable chunks. I have shown that I am willing to learn, but it's hard because there is still so much I want to learn that I couldn't properly focus on.

• June: Achieved AWS Certified Cloud Practioner
• June: Achieved Microsoft SC-900