The Infinite Journey of STEM

Meet your STEM major blogger:

STEM picture

Mayorri Miller

Class: Senior
Major: Cybersecurity

I started out doing cybersecurity my freshman year of college back in the Fall of 2019. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but my dad went to college for computer science and suggested I try cybersecurity since it's a secure job that will pretty much always be needed as long as tech is around. But unfortunately, covid hit that very next year and the transition from in-person to online tanked my grades. I figured cybersecurity wasn't for me and pretty much gave up, but I still needed a degree or else my parents would basically disown me (kidding...but not really). I decided to try and become a nurse, so I went on to do prerequisites to go to nursing school. I got all the way to my last semester and realized that maybe this wasn't for me and decided to give cybersecurity one last try and since I had been used to online classes due to covid being around for awhile I knew that wouldn't be an excuse or problem this time around. I've been hooked ever since. Unfortunately, I realized that UTSA's school system has kind of failed me in preparation for the real world. They gave me the belief that once I got my degree that the job offers would just land on my lap, but after applying to 100+ internships and not getting so much as an interview, I decided to do some research into what I might be missing. I realized that there were a lot of things I'd need to do on my end to make myself more applicable such as doing a lot of self studying, home labs, and get some certifications under my belt. I've joined a handful of cybersecurity/computer science related organizations on campus and have had the pleasure of networking with some great people who have provided me with a lot of tips. I've been working on things like CTFs, Hack The Box, I've been doing some home labs as well such as making my own keylogger that can email or create a file with someone's keystrokes. I'm so excited to learn more! :)

Want to get into STEM too? Here are some tips for cybersecurity majors from a cybersecurity major:

  • Make sure you join at least one STEM organization. Depending on your major you can decide which one will work best for you and your goals.

  • !!!STUDY STUDY STUDY!!!
    Make sure to set aside time to do some self studying to develop and enhance your skills. This is very important when it comes to looking for a career in your field.

  • Start doing internships as soon as you can or better yet, try to get a help desk position. Those are really good ways to get corporate level hands-on experience

  • As the title suggested, being in STEM (more specifically cybersecurity) you will always be learning something new. If you don't actively teach yourself and study the new trends, you will fall behind and we don't want that.
    LinkedIn:
    Click here to visit Mayorri's LinkedIn