here are the top 9 things i’ve learned in my first 6 months working as a senior cybersecurity consultant for @CrowdStrike: 1. github is terrifying. parse your own repos for hard coded creds, thank me later 2. great companies still exist, crowdstrike is one of them 3. the hallmark of a great manager is someone who listens to understand, and teams up with you to work to solve the problem you face. not someone who works against you 4. consulting doesn’t have to drain you. a mature, well-run consulting firm provides you the necessary resources (including sufficient staffing) to commit 110% to each of your clients without overworking yourself 5. identity-based attacks are what keep most security practitioners awake at night nowadays 6. i am under-skilled in networking and AD, but that’s ok because i have colleagues who are geniuses in these areas and a solid consulting firm balances out talents/skills. my talents/skills are just as valuable. comparing yourself to everyone around you achieves nothing positive 7. having a job that you genuinely enjoy, working for people and a company that treat you with kindness and respect does wonders for your mental health. i didn’t realize how poor my mental health was due to struggles at my previous job 8. the best consultants are the ones who genuinely care and want to provide actionable, realistic solutions 9. the color changing, dancing dino emoji in slack is elite. you can’t change my mind