W7-2/3 On Being Prepared & Further Recommendations (8/11)


   One can never be fully prepared. There is always more that a person can do to prepare themselves. I wish that before starting this internship that I would have had a better understanding of the basic concepts of cyber security (e.g. passive and active defense, vulnerability factors, etc.). I also wish that I had prior experience with all the tools and software I used. If you can find out the tools used at an internship, then it’s a good idea to try and learn some of those tools. Your internship will require less training and more application which will make the experience more productive for you. If you cannot find out what tools your internship will use, then it isn’t a bad idea to browse freeware related to that field (e.g. Maltego and Zed Attack Proxy for digital forensics and pen testing respectively). Most places are trying to save money, so they probably use freeware to some capacity. The most popular freeware is your best bet and even if they don’t use it, the experience might still be useful. It will probably look good on your future resume/CV.

     I think the biggest thing I wish I had experience/knowledge with beforehand, was office culture and that I was disillusioned from stereotypes and my own assumptions of what professionalism is. I think these preconceived notions stunted/hampered my networking and socialization. If I had originally been friendlier then I think people would have a slightly better impression of me. A first impression is important in forming someone’s initial feelings about you. You can recover from a neutral impression but of course a good impression is better.

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