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Clear Horizons Early College High School

Mentor Interview

Cybersecurity

Amr Gaballa

Senior Independent Study Mentorship

Mrs. Zehentner

1 October 2023
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Summary/Analysis

My mentorship this year is about cybersecurity. My mentor’s name is Abdelrahman

Ayyash. For the interview, we set up a Google Meets meeting because we meet online instead of

in person. I was excited but a little bit nervous to conduct this interview. One of the reasons was

because I did not want to stutter when asking the questions and making myself look unprepared

and foolish. The other reason was that I was afraid that all these questions might annoy my

mentor because I know he does not like these types of questions. Before the interview, I let my

mentor review some of the questions I will ask him. This gave him a better understanding of

what he was going to be talking about without being put on the spot. Even though the interview

went great with absolutely no technological issues, it could have been better if it were in person.

A face-to-face interview would feel more professional. Also, an in-person meeting would have

provided better non-verbal communication like body language and appearance. We would have

dressed up professionally and shook hands like professionals. Overall, this was a pretty

successful interview with a few tweaks, it could have been perfect.

Interview Essay

Abdelrahman Ayyash, my mentor, is a cybersecurity analyst for an online bank. He has

been working in this position for over a year now. Before falling in love with cybersecurity, my

mentor used to work as a civil engineer. He graduated from Rice University cybersecurity boot

camp. Cybersecurity is a field that is extremely broad and completely misunderstood. The

majority of people expect that cybersecurity is an easy field to get into and be successful in by

doing the bare minimum. Another misconception is that workers do not interact with many

people and do not need communication and teamwork skills, which is false. The last major

misconception is that the job is very laid back and simple.

To get into a cybersecurity role can be very difficult for beginners. This is because most

entry jobs need the employee to already have some sort of experience. Even though they have

their bachelor's degree, that will not always be enough to secure them a job. Even after the

degree and experience, cyber security analyst needs to have some certificates. These show the

employers that you are qualified and knowledgeable about the content. For example, during the

interview, my mentor stated that he had multiple certificates and that they were needed. When I

asked him to give me an example of a certificate, he mentioned the “Security +” certificate.

Which is a necessity for someone to be able to work in this field. This field is by no means an

“easy” field and people cannot succeed by doing the bare minimum. As a matter of fact, it is the

complete opposite since analysts always need to be learning the latest information because

technology advances every day.

Another misconception of this field is that workers do not need communication and

teamwork skills. People think that if you are behind a screen, you do not need to interact with
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others at all. But in my interview today with my mentor, he proved to me that it was completely

inaccurate. In the interview, one of my questions that I asked him was “what is the most

important personal trait needed for this field” and he stated, “You have to communicate with a

lot of people. You have to talk with people who don’t have technical knowledge and that you

have to simplify things for them.” For someone to simplify things for others not familiar with the

subject, they need exceptionally effective communication skills. He has also mentioned during

our meetings that as an analyst you need to communicate and complete projects with other

groups such as the IT (Information Technology) group. This shows that teamwork is also a vital

skill in this field.

The last major misconception about this field is that it is a very laid back and simple job.

Just because the job is online does not mean the workload is not high. There is not a specific

schedule or typical day like other normal jobs. During the interview, I asked my mentor what he

does on a typical day on the job and he answered, “So the typical day of the job actually like this

is not like a typical day, for most of cyber security professional because like sometimes you have

like just alerts or preform investigation that's like kick off and you start the day with them.” He

also mentioned that he sometimes works during the holidays because that is when hackers are

trying to hack the system because everyone is taking the day off which leaves systems more

vulnerable. This is an exceedingly difficult and time-consuming job that only well trained and

serious learners can succeed in.

In conclusion, Cybersecurity is not a field to play around in and is a serious and difficult

field. This interview has opened my eyes to all the misconceptions that surround the field and the

community around it. I also learned that it is not like any other field, and that it comes with a

larger workload and that the learning and research never stops because technology will never
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stop. As long as technology continues to evolve, analysts will need to keep up with these changes

to keep systems secure.

Works cited

Ayyash, Abdelrahman. Personal interview. 1 October 2023

Transcript

Amr: Good evening and welcome to the mentor interview where I will ask you a couple of

questions to have a better understanding about the field and your personal experience. Are you

ready?

Mentor: OfCourse, let us do this!!

Amr: Alight so for the first question, what interested you in this field?

Mentor: So basically what interests me in this field basically is my passion about technology in

general and. Our love like. Computer and technology in. But also I was always fascinated about

like hearing in the news how these cyber attack happened and like how how much there is a lot

of gaps in this industry. Industry is and I just felt like. I want to. I have like I will be a good fit in

this field. Basically because I love to learn a lot, I I keep like pushing to learns and always keep

evolving myself and like challenging myself so. Yeah, basically. Just passion about. Security in

general and how? How things now change and in the future, how also things are gonna change

with AI. So it's a field that always evolving and you always have to. Keep up with. With things

going on in this field.

Amr: That is interesting, have you always loved working with technology, or did you start liking

it recently?
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I have always loved working with technology and watching it advance.

Amr: That is great, now for the second question, what is the most important personal trait

needed for this field

Mentor: So this might sound like really not familiar, but basically you have to communicate

with a lot of people. You have to talk with people who dont have technical knowledge and that

you have to simplify things for them, for them and make sure they you speak a language they

understand. They may don't have the technical knowledge or. How you do things or how things

work, but in the same way you have to train people, maybe like not to click into phishing e-mail.

You don't have like to tell them why This is why this is wrong and like. You just. Have to give

them like good reasons and like. As much as simplify. Language with them as possible and tell

them like in high overview like why this is dangerous. Why this is may harm your like computer

or like the organization you work for it. So there's a lot of communication between you and.

Non-technical people. I would say that you need really solid. And good communication and

collaboration with people because a lot of people, when they start pick up like work in, in IT or

or or in cyber security, they may think like. I want to work in the in the front computer and I

don't want to handle with people, but that's most likely is not going to happen. In in these type of

jobs. Even if you spend most of your time. Doing work in the front of the computer but. You

have still meetings. You have still to talk with people. And you have to collaborate with other

peoples.
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Amr: So, Communication is the most important.

Mentor: Communication, yes.

Amr: Okay that makes sense, now to the third question, What things did you do to prepare for

your current job?

Mentor: So basically, what I done? Is going through school. And study for a couple of

certificates. I graduated from Rice University for their cybersecurity program, and I have also

done multiple Cyber Security Certificate certifications on the site during that that. And from

there, I go. And try to find jobs. I applied for a lot of jobs and. There was a lot of like even. Job

preparation like. How to write your resume? How to answer questions during the interviews,

even if you do not know the answer. How Like you can. Prepare for the interview so there is a

whole lot of process, not just like the technical stuff. That you need. We need to be prepared to

get the job or like, pass their interviews.

Amr: Wow the Rice University for their cybersecurity program is very impressive. That looked

exceptionally good on your resume, right? And can you give me an example of one of the

certifications that you got?

Mentor: Yeah, the Rice University for their cybersecurity program helped me secure my job or

at least be a suitable candidate so yeah it did help. And one of my certifications would be ummm

let me think one of them would be security +

Amr:That is very interesting.., now to question 4, How long have you had this job?

Mentor: So it's almost ummm Let me think. So it's almost like a year now, almost nine months

now. Yeah, it's almost like a year and a half, I would say because I start March 2022. I start with

with where I work right now and now it's been September 2023, so it's a year and a half right

now and yeah, and I'm really enjoying where I work.

Amr: Is the field competitive?

Mentor: So yeah, the field is really. Competitive like there is a lot of competition, in the field

like there is a lot of people who is also looking for the same type of job you are looking for. So

you have to be prepared. You have to have good resume. You have to show like your passions

during the interviews. And yeah, I've done, like, multiples interviews. I I submitted like hundreds

of applications before I got the job. So it's not it wasn't like an easy to get the job even if there is

like. A lot of opening. But still, there's also a lot of people are searching for the job, especially

when you like, just finishing school. You don't have like a lot of experience and you don't have

like a lot of networking inside the industry itself. It's going to be a little bit harder, let's say if you
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have. Like four or five years experience in the field, it's going to be easier for you to shift from

one job to another.

Amr: Okay that is good to know, because a lot of people make it seem like this field is not

competitive. Now for the next question, what do you do on a typical day on the job?

Mentor: So the typical day of the job actually like this is not like a typical day for most of cyber

security professional because like sometimes you have like just alerts or preform investigation,

that's like kick off and you start the day with them. And like let's say on on a regular day, but

most likely I will start like with. Checking my e-mail, just making sure that I don't have missing

any missing e-mail that I. Need to reply. On it's then it's like I log in to the system to check if

there is any lawyers or any like open investigation. I need to investigate. This is the first thing I

will do in the morning after the emails. And even sometimes, if I like because like that. The

investigation or alerts come to my e-mail inbox is if I saw like critical investigation. I need to do

I jump in into that immediately. But yeah, first investigation then emails. After that I start like

see what open tickets I have and what projects that I'm I'm currently working on and I start my

day after. After investigation working on projects. That I'm I'm. Like I'm still working on it.

There is like also in it always like something called ticketing system. Basically it is like someone

asked you for some type of job or some type of small project you. Need to do. And like

particular time, let's say two weeks you have to do this so. I always look for the tickets I have for

me open and start working on this as as soon as possible. I also manage also all their like. I also

work in vulnerability research and basically this is. Me looking into the new vulnerabilities and
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new. And you, let's say, attacks that is coming and maybe like we need to do a hot fix or

something like. That so this is also part of the. Job. So it's it's it's. Always like there is no typical

day in the life of cyber security provisional, so it's it's always different and also you have the

meetings like sometimes. There is like days that just goes with meetings. Crazy, crazy meetings

all days long. So. So there is no typical day out.

Amr:Wow okay so there is not a typical 9-5-day like most jobs.

Mentor Yea this is not like most jobs at all

Amr: So how many hours do you think you work? Oh wait, that is literally the next question. I

guess we can just continue, sorry about that.

Mentor: No no that's fine. So typically, I work like there is no. There is no like. Maximum and

minimum there expectations,ons and they are really flexible of like how you work and this is

where I live like where I work actually. But most likely I work like 40 hours a week. But

sometimes like if there is something urgent or like we have maintenance or something. I will

work extra. That's fine. Like sometimes you'll have to work extra hours. And because like you.

Work from home. I work from home. I mean, like you don't feel like exactly. Working,

especially if you. Love what you do sometimes. Like it doesn't matter. Actually, sometimes like

it's seven or six thirty andd like I was not focusing that like Oh my God, like it's six thirty or or
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or something like I need it's it's time it's time to turn off the computer. You know what I mean

because like you're just working and you are inside your room. Or or inside your your or like

where you work. So it's not like you feel like a lot of pressure that I need to work extra amount

of hours or something. But sometimes, sometimes it happened during, like weekend. We got like

some critical alerts I have to investigate and like remediate. That's like sometimes I'm on call like

especially in weekends and during like Christmas times or something like that. So if, like there's

something really critical happened, I have to be always in court so yeah.

Amr: It does sound nice working from home and in your room because you don’t need to drive

anywhere and get stressed in traffic. Okay now moving on, The next question is “Do you have

any regrets from your decision to pursue this career?”

Mentor: No not really. Actually, I came from a different career, so. Basically, I I was a civil

engineer before I worked in civil engineering for six years before I switched to cybersecurity. So

actually, I regret the times that I spent in that job and like studying for different industry. I mean

I'm. I'm still working in the cyber security engineering but. But this is like a whole different

field. Than like civil engineering. But I would say like no regret for switching to cybersecurity

because I found like passion on it and. I really just love it and I I'm like, pursuing even now

advanced learning in, in, in cyber security. So there is no regret in it, but you just need to know

like what you love and. If you lost something, just just go for it.
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Amr: Oh, wow, that is very interesting that you worked in another field before. Civil

engineering sounds very interesting. Okay now for the very last question, I have been waiting to

ask this one because I really want to know how you will answer it. The question is “Is there

anything you would change about your job?”

Mentor That's really ummm that's really hard questions. Maybe because like mainly my job is

remotely. And like where I work. Like the headquarter of the company is in Utah, so I don't have

like, I don't have the. The fantasy of like going work in the office like sometimes it's good like.

Just to change like the environment to go to work in the office. Like I would love to have the

option to go to the office or do some hybrid work. But it's like, to be honest, I love working from

home. It's way, way better. Like it's more productive. But it's also like sometimes you feel like

bored, just like working from home and you need to change the environment and you want to.

Like see people? Face to face. Yeah. If there is some, it's it's a little minor. Thing I would say

like. If there is a chance to go more to. The office, like not like maybe one. Time a week. Or two

time like in a in a month just. Just to see. People, you know what I mean. Yeah, make interaction

with people. It's it's better just to speak with people in like zoom or or or teams or whatever. But

yeah, that's the only thing I would change like I would. I would love to at least have a chance. Or

have the option to go to the office like let's say. Once a week. Yeah, but but here. Is the thing

now I remember things like in Houston. No way. No, I'm good. Like, I don't want to go and

spend like. 30 minutes in in in 45 I'm good. Yeah. No traffic. No, no, no, I'm good. No, I I would

prefer. No, I'm. I'm thinking through like, OK, this is this is not healthy because I went to Yuta

and the traffic there is not. It's not like here. In Houston. Oh my God because. I I was working on

before I start working in cyber security. I told you like I was. Working in civil engineering. So I
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was working on this. I was working with a company that was in 16. Like you know where 16 is.

OK. So it's it's a little bit far from here from like where we live in Clear Lake but. Like I would

spend like 45 minutes just driving from. The Office to home and the same thing going back. To

the. Yeah. So imagine like driving. I want to have every single day just to go to. The job and

come back home. So now I'm thinking about how Houston traffic is. No, I'm good. No, I don't

want to change anything. I mean, yeah, I I I mean, if it's if it's if it's something like if if. If I

would have to change it like, I would have to change where I would live like I would move

somewhere else, like it's really near the office and he, especially in Houston like. I asked the

people in Utah. They told me like yes, take us like 20 minutes, 25 minutes. But no one ever told.

Me like it's taken me 40. 5 minutes and the traffic is crazy. So yeah, this is a Houston thing.

More. Yeah. I don't like traffic. So that's the thing. I I mean it's it's just one one day I would

change the hybrid. I would I would go. Hybrid for at least. 11 a day.

Amr: That makes sense because human interaction is important for people even if it's only once

a week. So, you basically would make that change if it were anywhere but Houston, right?

Mentor: Yeah, yeah. Just not in Houston.

Amr: Okay an that concludes our interview thank you sir for your time

Mentor: Thank you for having me, have a good day

Amr: Thank you, you too