Dr. Jessica Barker: Cybersecurity has a huge people element to it. [Socio-technical] [Career Notes]
Oct 6, 2024
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Dr. Jessica Barker, co-founder of Cygenta and socio-technical expert, shares her unexpected journey from aspiring farmer to cybersecurity advocate. With a PhD in civic design, she highlights the crucial human element in cybersecurity strategies. Jessica discusses the need for diversity within the field, drawing from her own experiences as a woman in tech. She encourages newcomers to pursue their interests passionately and emphasizes the importance of personal stories in fostering engagement and knowledge sharing.
Dr. Jessica Barker's journey from aspiring farmer to cybersecurity highlights the field's unexpected career paths and the importance of adaptability.
The podcast underscores the critical need for diversity in cybersecurity, advocating for inclusion across gender, ethnicity, and neurodiversity within the industry.
Deep dives
The Journey to Cybersecurity
The speaker recounts her unexpected journey into the field of cybersecurity, highlighting her initial aspirations of becoming a farmer and her eventual shift towards working with people. She discusses how her background in urban regeneration and civic design led to an opportunity in cybersecurity after a consultancy recognized the value of her research on the human aspects within the field. This transition involved a steep learning curve, particularly in understanding technical concepts and the unique challenges faced in cybersecurity. Her journey illustrates the importance of being open to new paths and opportunities, even when they arise unexpectedly.
Encouraging Diversity and Personal Growth
The podcast addresses the critical issue of diversity within the cybersecurity sector, noting a lack of representation across gender, ethnicity, and neurodiversity. The speaker shares her experiences with discrimination but emphasizes that her overall experience in the field has been largely positive due to supportive colleagues who championed her career. She encourages individuals not to be daunted by the broad and deep nature of cybersecurity, advocating for engagement through networking and sharing knowledge. The message is clear: embrace the challenges and pursue personal growth by putting oneself out there, whether through job applications or public speaking.
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From Farm Aspirations to Cybersecurity: A Journey of Serendipity
Enjoy this encore episode where we are joined by Co-founder and socio-technical lead at Cygenta, Dr. Jessica Barker, as she shares her story from childhood career aspirations of becoming a farmer to her accidental pivot to working in cybersecurity. With a PhD in civic design, Jessica looked at the creation of social and civic places until she was approached by a cybersecurity consultancy interested in the human side of cybersecurity. She jumped in and the rest is history. Having experienced some negativity as a woman in cybersecurity, Jessica is a strong proponent of diversity in the field. She suggests that newcomers to the industry follow what interests them and jump in. And, we thank Jessica for sharing her story with us.