Jessica Williams Security Specialist Monitoring and Incident Response at Rio Tinto
L
ike many women who have shared their
Williams is no great fan of academic study. Asked
career journeys in these pages, Jessica
what advice about a career in cyber she would give
Williams got her start in cybersecurity not
to your last-year-of-school self, she says, “I would tell
on the strength of formal qualifications, but
myself not to waste so much time trying to achieve
through persistence, networking and soft
top grades in every university subject. I personally
skills. “Despite two to three years of studying IT and
feel I did not get a good ‘return on investment’ when it
personal projects I couldn’t break into IT,” she says.
came to university.
She had worked as a receptionist at a truck company
“I would tell my last-year-of-school self to spend that
and followed this with an administrative role in
time on getting more deeply involved in the security
insurance. With these roles in her CV she got a job
clubs, side projects and industry meetups. I feel
on the periphery of the industry, in cybersecurity
that is where the real gold standard educational
recruiting, and used that to get closer to the
experience is for cybersecurity in Brisbane.”
discipline. “This job gave me huge exposure to the Brisbane security scene. I attended as many events
However her views come with the caveat. “I’m not
as possible, shoulder surfed over capture the flag
recommending it to everybody, all of our paths
participants and took notes at talks,” she says.
are different.”
“I was hired at a conference for a security bid and
And to those beyond school, studying at university
engagement role. I used my writing skills to move
and aspiring to a cybersecurity role similar to hers,
from that role into a technical writing position.
she says: “I would tell all university students to really
Eventually that landed me in penetration testing
enjoy your time there, don’t mindlessly consume
consulting after being exposed to what that role looks
content, and have fun! Ask questions, engage with
like, and practicing through capture the flags in my
people, start fun projects, and get involved with
spare time.”
the community. Just going to classes and getting top grades likely won’t cultivate that passion and
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NO FAN OF ACADEMIC STUDY
love of learning that really helps when it comes to
Given her experience, it is perhaps not surprising that
these roles.
W O M E N I N S E C U R I T Y M A G A Z I N E
N O V E M B E R • D E C E M B E R 2022
