Changing Faces: Network Security Engineer

Thank you for being a sport on this; in one sentence, describe how you grew up.
Single parent household, went to relatively good public schools and now I’m grown.

So what do you do now that you’re “grown”?
 I’m a Network Security Engineer, basically I’m a glorified security guard for the network cloud. I have the power to say no and watch other people squirm for my yes. If my friends saw me at work they wouldn’t recognise me because I’m very arrogant, I have to be.

What did you study and are you using it at all in your current role?
I studied Electrical Engineering, oh joy! Nope, I’m not using it…I have a bunch of other certifications which actually matter for what I do and I’m always studying, I just don’t make it a thing because like it’s part of what I do. I need to be abreast with the latest technologies and so on and so forth.

How long have you been working and now that you’re working, are there any things you miss about being a student?
Since 2010 officially. I miss nothing about not working because the financial freedom having a career has given me is waaaay better!

Time for second base - tell us about your work typical day.
Honestly, I don’t have a typical work day so I’ll describe two type of days, a)  a ‘normal’ one and b) a ‘something is broken’ one.
SCENARIO A
Get to the office at about 8/8:30. (No one really cares what time I come in really)
Check emails and make sure that I didn’t sleep on anything
Start “working” on any pending projects, this usually entails designing, planning, configuring, testing (anything from a day to a month) and finally handing over to a project manager (every engineers nemesis).
Meetings usually just pop up in my notifications then in the midst of things I’ll attend one or I just get called into a conference call while I’m minding my own business.
I actually hate meetings and Project Managers love them!
Then at about 4/4h30/5 I leave depending on my mood.
SCENARIO B
I get to work or I get woken up by a phone call from either a project manager/my manager/some or other type of specialist/a call centre agent or whomever to tell me that the network is down!!!
Then I go into ‘panic’ mode or at least pretend to because everything is meant to stop while I troubleshoot and try to figure out what’s wrong.
Depending on the impact and nature of the problem, they’ll be a war room (a bunch of engineers dial into a conference and do end to end testing) or they’ll be a bunch of emails flying back and forth.
For every sec the network is down, the company loses money so I’m supposed to really be under pressure but not really….
These are the days when I leave the office late or go work from home till late
And when the problem is finally fixed, I carry on with my normal day…
The most painful part of my job is working standby because then your time is not your own, I was once called to work while at a club…yes a club


Do you encounter any challenges that specifically come with being a young black woman in corporate SA?
I think the one thing that has helped me overcome the perception that black female engineers need to be spoon fed, is my work. My work speaks for itself and that’s where my confidence lies.
So when I encounter a new stereotype/challenge, I silently think to myself, ‘wait till I start working’. I’m good at what I do and although I’m not the best, I’m not just average.
I’m also fortunate to have a good team in my corner who want to see me succeed and be better…so I try not to focus on the challenges but on where I am (read title) and where I’m going.


Three tips on people keen to join your line of work?You are boss, no seriously, you are the boss. No one takes you seriously if you are timid, unsure and expect to be mothered…at least I don’t.
Study anything with science and maths so that you can learn early how to be an analytical thinker.
Say hello to learning how to work under pressure and remember, no one really cares about you.