On the 4th of July Americans are reminded of our Declaration of Independence.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The “pursuit of happiness” is important and something those in the ICS security field should take full advantage. We are blessed to be in a field that is almost certain to grow substantially over the next ten years. The opportunities for you to pursue are numerous and varied and worth your time to consider.
- What type of work to you want to do? Offense, defense, technical, operations, policy, managerial, …
- What change do you want to help make?
- What type of company do you want to work for? Asset owner, vendor, consulting, industry organization, government?
- How hard (how many hours, what sort of stress level) to you want to work?
- Where in the world do you want to work?
Craft Your Life
You answers to all those questions may not achievable immediately (although many are). You may need to develop and adjust a plan to get there. You may need to take a detour to something you don’t enjoy for a year or two to help you get there. I have a friend who is finishing a very frustrating two-year stint where they also learned things and met people that will be invaluable for their future.
It’s also important to realize that achieving what you pursue might not actually make you happy, and you’ll need to adjust your pursuit. It took me a long time to realize I enjoy being a freelancer and not an entrepreneur.
The more likely issues are drift and self imposed limitations. Without periodic self-contemplation and a plan to pursue our happiness it is easy to drift. Most people are busy in and outside the job. We often don’t consider change until some event jars out of the path we’re on. Don’t wait for that event.
You should be able to find examples that disprove your self imposed limitations. That what you want is not impossible. This doesn’t guarantee you’ll achieve what you envisioned. You may not have the required talent. You may have to adjust your tactics, strategy and answers.
This article is mostly pablum, well-worn general advice. It’s advice I’ve needed numerous times through my career. With all the opportunity out there in our field, you should take the time to craft the life you want.