Hey everyone,
I’m a Cybersecurity student about to start a full-time Summer Security and Infrastructure co-op. I’m currently a freshman, but I graduated high school with 33 college transfer credits (24 being IT/Cyber-related), so I’ll effectively be a junior this fall.
This is my first professional IT role; previously, my only experience has been through coursework and labs. I’m also sitting for the CompTIA Security+ exam early next month.
To be honest, between full-time classes, working part-time, prepping for Sec+, and a stressful job search (due to specific co-op graduation requirements possibly delaying my grad date by a full year), I’m feeling a significant amount of burnout. Now that the hard work has paid off and I’ve landed a role that far exceeded my expectations in terms of scope and pay, I want to make sure I get as much value from it as possible.
I have a few general questions:
- How do I effectively transition from lab and schooling environments into a professional setting?
- How to most effectively build technical skills this summer?
- How to deal with imposter syndrome?
- Anything else you'd like to share!