Perry Clayton has recently completed our Penetration Testing course, and here he chats to SaluteMyJob about his journey into cybersecurity, offering some valuable insights for others looking to take the same leap.
Perry served for five-and-a-half years, leaving the Royal Marines in 2021. When he initially left, he was open to options but was happy to work in a gym and focus on MMA - but then at the end of 2022, he decided Cybersecurity, in particular Penetration Testing, would be a viable career.
Perry said: “I was working with the Senior Cybersecurity Manager for a company and we got on well. I thought the work he was doing was interesting and the tools he was using were powerful. I hadn’t really thought about it until I learned about HackTheBox and TryHackMe. I was interested in AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) but never considered it as a job. Red Teaming and Pentesting seemed like an exciting and stimulating career choice.”
Perry was attracted to the Penetration Testing Course knowing he would have knowledgeable instructors to ask questions, as well as being able to add legitimacy to the skills he had developed in his own time: “I think being able to say I have created a Pentest White Paper and completed a university module in ethical hacking is a green flag for employers. I would say the thing I am most proud of is the course validated my own learning and knowledge. Being able to understand and complete the tasks right off the bat proved that the way I have been studying and what I have been investing my time in is paying off.”
Perry is currently working in Cybersecurity as a SOC Analyst after moving around job roles for a while. Although he does not see this as a long-term career, he said the experience he is gaining is valuable in the eyes of potential employers.
“I would like to pursue a career as a Pentester or Red Teamer, complete and compete in CTFs (Capture the Flag), and publish my own CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures),” said Perry. “I think these things are a long road away, especially considering all the other things I want to achieve and become proficient at alongside this goal.
“I’m currently working through the cryptolpals crypto challenges. Once Set3 is finished I’d like to take a break from that and do my best to learn and contribute to the Linux Kernel. Eventually I’d like to enter university to gain a maths degree, but I think that is a way away.”
The transferable skills Perry gained in the military (Time management. Diligence. The ability to battle fatigue and burn out. Communication. General security principles - defence in depth, coverage, identifying and mitigating risks and exposure. High levels of stress tolerance. The ability to perform in demanding environments at unsociable hours. Attention to detail) were key to helping him secure a job in cybersecurity and he believes will help him reach his ambitious career goals.
Finally, Perry offers some invaluable advice to transitioning/ex-military personnel if they are looking to get into this industry.
“The advice I would give Service Leaders is to rinse the Early Learning Credits and Standard Learning Credits for everything they can. If they want to get a role in offensive security then OSCP and a Computer Science or Cybersecurity degree is the gold standard. If they want to move into blue team roles, I would say stay clear of a SOC unless it is necessary to get experience (or they are really attracted to a career in Incident Response) and try to land a Security Architect or Engineer role. These jobs allow you to make solid changes to a network / infrastructure and address root cause issues, as opposed to applying short term mitigations to a recurring problem. There aren’t many junior cybersecurity roles and there’s an unfortunately high amount of stock placed on certificates and certifications, so padding your resume with as much relevant experience and qualifications as possible will help you land a job in cybersecurity.”
It was great to hear about Perry’s career journey into cybersecurity - if you completed one of our courses and would be happy to chat to us, we’d love to hear from you! Contact Faye - faye@salutemyjob.com And for more information on our courses and to apply today - click here.