I'm Finished!

Today, I read something that troubled me.  What I read was another blog post about the author’s lack of faith and confidence in the ability of students graduating with a Master in Science in Cybersecurity to secure a network.  I can’t speak for the individual that wrote that post, however, what I can tell you is I have had a completely different experience than that individual.  Much of what I have learned throughout my journey to earning a MS in Cybersecurity can be contributed to the experiences and knowledge shared by other students.  I am confident that my fellow students have the knowledge and expertise to be valuable assets to the cybersecurity community.  By working together, not as individuals, I believe we can all make a difference.

Okay, I will step off my soapbox and continue on with something more important.  This week marks the end of my journey towards earning a Master in Science in Cyber security degree.   It’s has been a long and hard journey since I started.  Long because of the many nights and weekends I spent in my basement office working on course assignments each week and hard because of all time I had to devote to the assignments in lieu of my family.  So what was the hardest part about earning the degree?  It was time management.  As if work and family is not enough to fill a person’s schedule, I had to complicate it more by carving out time to complete course assignments and to study.  The best advice I can give to someone else that is thinking about continuing their education or has just started a degree program is to stick with it once you start it.  All the time and hard work devoted to it will pay off in the end.

I can’t give myself all the credit though.  I couldn’t have done this without the help of some important people in my life.  I would to thank my parents for the support and encouragement they have given me throughout the years.  I would also like to thank my mother and father in-law for all the time they spent watching my children so that I could work on my assignments as soon as came home from work every day.  I want to thank my two daughters for understanding why I missed all of those important events so I could “work on my school work in the basement.”  Last, I want to thank my wife.  She has sacrifice so much just so I could have the time I needed to work my assignments.  I couldn’t have done it without you.

This may seem like the end, but it is not.  As I mentioned twelve weeks ago, I plan on adding to this blog as I continue my education and career.  So don’t stop visiting my blog.  Stay tuned for more posts about information security and what you can do protect yourself and others from becoming a victim of a cybercrime.