Building a digital and data career: My journey as a digital graduate

When I graduated with a degree in criminology and psychology, a career in cyber security wasn’t part of my plan. Looking back, I’m so glad I took a chance on a field I knew relatively little about. It has opened the door to opportunities I never expected, helping me build a career I genuinely enjoy.

Discovering a career in cyber security

My journey into cyber security wasn’t a conventional one. I didn’t study cyber security or computer science as an undergraduate and I finished university not entirely sure what I wanted to do next.

My friends, family, and colleagues have often wondered what prompted my pivot into cyber security. I had always been interested in technology and would often be found reading about cyber-attacks and threat actor groups, but I had never seriously considered it as a career.

That changed when I did work experience on an IT Helpdesk over the summer break from university. Seeing the day-to-day reality of working in technology and learning more about the opportunities within cyber security made me realise it was something I wanted to explore further. So, I decided to take the plunge and pursue a master’s degree in information security.

After my master’s I joined the digital trust and cyber security graduate scheme at PA. When researching the company before I applied, it was striking how much PA’s values resonated with me. Since joining, I’ve noticed how these values are lived every day – they’re embedded into the culture.

Everyone is incredibly welcoming. From day one, I was given a buddy who helped me navigate life at PA, who’s always on hand to answer my questions. Plus, colleagues reaching out for chats over a coffee and spending time with the wider graduate cohort at events has made it easy to build connections. When I joined my first project, I was also assigned a project buddy who helped me settle into the team and get up to speed quickly.

Work with real-world impact

One of the things I enjoy most about my role is the variety it offers. No two days are the same. I’m currently working on a public sector project in the security team, helping the client manage evolving cyber threats and strengthening their organisational resilience.

I really value how much ownership I have over my work and the trust I’ve been given to contribute meaningfully to the project. I like working independently, but I also know there is always support from the wider team when I need it. It suits my way of working because I learn best by doing, asking questions as I go.

I also get exposure to a wide range of functions across the team, whether that’s governance, risk and compliance, assurance, or security operations. I’ve really built my confidence in making tough decisions, working with a range of stakeholders, and understanding how different parts of a security function fit together.

One of my favourite aspects of my role is threat intelligence because there’s always something new to learn. The cyber landscape changes constantly, so every month brings a different set of threats, risks, and developments to investigate.

Since joining this project, I’ve also gained a much greater appreciation for the importance of cyber security governance. It’s been really interesting to see how technical risks are translated into business decisions and discussed at a senior leadership level.

Building confidence in my early career

Before joining PA, I didn’t see myself as a particularly technical person. I would often compare myself to people I thought had more experience than me, particularly people who had studied computer science at university.

I quickly realised that the cyber security team at PA is filled with people with a wide range of experience and expertise in different fields. It’s this variety that makes it such an exciting and dynamic area to work in. Of course, technical expertise is important, but so are skills like communication, problem-solving, stakeholder management, and understanding risk. My academic background gives me a different perspective when it comes to understanding people and behaviour, which are often at the heart of security challenges.

One of the most valuable things I’ve noticed on the graduate scheme so far is how much trust the team have in me to manage my own responsibilities and work independently. The difference in my confidence since I joined PA has genuinely been transformative – allowing me to build strong relationships with the client, key stakeholders, and colleagues.

There’s no single route into cyber security

Over time, I’ve become much more self-assured in the value that my unique experience and perspective can bring to my team. I’ve learnt to focus on developing my strengths while continuing to build my technical knowledge through hands-on experience.

I have such a supportive network around me to help me do this. My project team always encourage me to get involved, take ownership of work, and to not be afraid to ask questions. Whilst my buddy, who came from a similar non-technical background, showed me that there’s so many different routes into the profession.

I think this has definitely been the biggest lesson from me in my career journey so far. My path from criminology and psychology to information security is one of my biggest strengths. It gives me a unique perspective on the security and intelligence landscape and it’s led me to a career that I genuinely enjoy, giving me opportunities I wouldn’t have thought possible a few years ago.