I never thought I'd be looking forward to getting my master's degree. I was pretty sure I'd never set foot in a classroom again after finally grinding through my bachelor's. But here I am, getting ready to start at Georgia Tech next month, and I'm genuinely excited about it. Let me explain how I got here.
Why I Swore Off School in the First Place
The short answer? I was a broke college kid who started at 17 and didn't graduate until 23. It took forever, and I wasn't interested in most of the work I was doing.
But that doesn't capture the full picture. I attended three different colleges and changed my major at least four times - from Engineering to Chemistry to IT to Cybersecurity. I even dropped out for a year during COVID. It was exhausting bouncing around like that, especially when you're spending your entire transition into adulthood in school without much money to show for it.
I remember hearing about how, for IT professionals, experience was king, but degrees get you the money. After learning about Western Governors University (WGU), I knew what I needed to do. They transferred in about 60 of my 100 credits, and I finally had a clear path forward. Back then, I knew it was time to grind if I wanted to get where I am today.
WGU's cybersecurity program spoke to me for some reason. I enjoyed learning and felt like my skills were validated through the certificates I earned while in college (thanks WGU it a great program). It came to me faster than I thought it would, and I truly enjoyed diving deeper into the subject. Finally, I had found something that clicked.
The Mindset Shift: From "Never Again" to "Actually, Yes"
After grinding through to finish my bachelor's and swearing off more formal education, what changed my mind? I concluded that I wanted to learn more than what was taught at WGU. Specifically, I wanted to try my hand at a computer science degree, like I always wanted as a kid. Not only that, but I wanted a more prestigious degree. I have nothing but respect for WGU and what they allowed for me and many others like me, but its name doesn't hold weight like GA Tech's does.
At first, going back was just a small thing that could help boost my resume. But as I began to learn more about offensive security, it almost feels like the path was carved out for me - so how can I not walk down it? I'm very eager to start, and I have plans to complete a master's thesis if my topic gets approved. I think it will be very compelling, and I'm excited to get there.
Why This Education Matters for My Career
As I dive deeper into offensive security, I find myself wanting to become a better developer. I want to be able to efficiently write and read code, especially after taking Offensive Security's PEN-300 course. I found my skills lacking, and I won't allow myself to be missing what I believe is a fundamental skill for advancing my career.
The biggest gap I'm working on is becoming a developer with an offensive mindset. I think pairing what I already know and understand with what I could learn from those at GA Tech would make me a much more effective operator - and that's my goal. When I tell you I love this stuff, I truly do. It's interesting how we've built the systems and networks we use every day without putting much thought into them.
Most red team operators, penetration testers, and exploitation analysts are all trending toward research nowadays. It just makes sense - as you become more skilled in this side of cybersecurity, you end up finding 50 different rabbit holes that can all take you for a long ride. I would like to use the thesis as a way to validate the skills I've acquired at GA Tech by using them to help facilitate the research I would do at work or in my free time.
Why GA Tech Specifically
I always wanted to go to GA Tech. I grew up in Georgia and always played with computers. I remember buying and reselling shoes to get enough money to build my own PC when I was 14. Crazy how time flies.
My biggest factor was that it was my dream school as a kid. I actually was shooting for civil engineering and then industrial engineering afterwards, but I gave up my dream of going to GA Tech when I chose chemistry as my major. Another factor was the online nature of the courses - everything is online, but you don't sacrifice any quality. Even though the online portion of GA Tech is more lenient on its acceptance criteria, that doesn't mean the coursework is easy.
And here's another selling point: in my eyes, it's cheap. The entire degree is around $10K, which is a steal for what you get out of the program, especially if I can go with the thesis option.
Handling the Transition Back
I've been working on all things not related to school so I can ease my way back into student life. I don't plan on going heavy on classes, and I'll be honest - I plan on taking some "easy" software development courses to introduce me to concepts I'm not familiar with. But I think the best way to go about this is to work hard and play harder. I'm going to offset this grind with some serious fun to keep my head high when things eventually get tough.
I'm curious about how this will play out since I have practical experience in cybersecurity. I wonder if it will help me through the challenges I'll face while studying. This time around, I know I'll be more present in my classes since they're all topics I'm interested in - no more fluff. The reduced number of classes also means I'm not worrying about five classes and juggling all that. At most, I'll be taking two per semester, and I'll be taking lighter courses so I don't overload myself.
What's Different This Time
I think I will be more focused since, unlike a bachelor's degree, you don't need a master's - you want a master's. So I'm 100% doing this to myself, but I've heard the master's ends up being more interesting overall, so I'm ready.
The security-focused classes I'll be taking will be more palatable since it's what I know - it's my bread and butter. But I'm sure I will see concepts I haven't had to think about in a while, if ever, so I'm curious about the challenge ahead and what will be needed to overcome it all.
This journey from the broke 17-year-old bouncing between majors to someone who's found their calling and is now strategically investing in deepening that expertise feels surreal. The fact that I'm going back to fulfill a childhood dream while also advancing in a field I genuinely love - and doing it on my own terms with a clear plan - makes this feel like the right move at the right time.
Here's to hoping that the 14-year-old building PCs and dreaming of GA Tech would be proud of where this winding path has led me.