The day in the life of a CyberCX Academy Associate 

“Through the Academy, we were given the tools to hit the ground running. Being in a consulting job role, it was the focus on ‘job readiness’ which really set me up for success. We were trained with the knowhow of those who have done it, lived it, and built it. I was able to take academic and theoretical learning and apply it to real-world scenarios and experiences.”

Ailie Houlihan – Senior Consultant, Strategy and Consulting (Academy alumnus)

Strategy and Consulting

Pathway: Consulting

As an Associate Consultant in Strategy and Consulting, I work in a team that provides strategic and advisory services to private sector, not for profit and government clients. A typical day might involve working with clients to undertake cyber security maturity reviews, preparing cyber security strategies, developing proposals or making recommendations to improve a clients’ cyber security posture.

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Are an excellent writer and verbal communicator.
• Are a strategic thinker, with a clear sense of the bigger picture.
• Enjoy a high level of engagement with clients.
• Have strong interpersonal skills and can clearly communicate complex concepts in a simple way. 

“I come from a background in linguistics, with experience working in international relations and law in Japan. I became interested in transitioning my career into cyber, but I wasn’t looking to go back to full-time study after recently completing a Masters in another field. The CyberCX Academy program was a perfect opportunity for me to gain foundational knowledge about cyber security as well as get hands on experience working in the industry.”

Thea Dixon – Senior Consultant, Strategy and Consulting (Academy alumnus)

“The vast majority of the skills and knowledge required for my role can be taught to anyone. I think the most important attributes to have coming into the program are perseverance and a willingness to try new things.”

Gil Yahalom – Senior Consultant, Governance, Risk and Compliance (Academy alumnus)

Cyber Capability, Education and Training

Pathway: Consulting

As an Associate in Cyber Capability, Education and Training, I help our clients meet their cyber security learning and development needs, as well as rehearse and plan for cyber security events. A typical day might involve designing and running exercises with our clients’ operational teams, senior executives or board to test and uplift their ability to respond to cyber security scenarios. 

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Are a quick thinker and a proactive problem solver.
• Enjoy being analytical, identifying patterns and abnormalities.
• Have strong attention to detail and the ability to document information accurately.
• Manage stress effectively, are resilient and remain calm under pressure. 

“The support I have received from the CCET team, and the camaraderie from my cohort has been unlike anything I’ve experienced in a previous workplace. I will always be grateful to the Academy team for giving me, and people like me, a chance. I am so glad that as part of the CCET team I can now reach out and offer a hand to new Associates coming through and pay it forward.”

Claire Batchelor – Senior Consultant, Cyber Capability, Education and Training (Academy alumnus) 

Customer Solutions Group

Pathway: Project Management

As an Associate Project Manager in the Commercial and Solutions Group, I work within a collaborative team to deliver impactful solutions and ensure the smooth execution of projects for a variety of clients. A typical day involves participating in client and team meetings to support project delivery, collaborating with stakeholders to track project progress, updating project plans, providing the team advice to address challenges, coordinating project resources, and monitoring the project budget.

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Are an excellent communicator (verbal & written). 
• Have strong problem-solving skills.
• Enjoy collaborating with diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Take a proactive approach to identify risks and opportunities for improvement.

“I hold an MSc in Marine Biology, and my career path has been anything but traditional. I worked across sales, project administration, artist management, and even ran a shoemaking business in Nigeria before moving into customer service in Australia. I had no technical cyber security or project management experience before joining the CyberCX Academy. The Academy was a turning point - the invaluable training, mentorship and support gave me the-skills and confidence to become a cyber security project manager.”

Fatimah Durosinmi- Etti – Associate Project Manager 

Managed Security Services

Pathway: Technical

Managed Security Operations 

As an Associate Security Analyst in Managed Security Services, I work in a Security Operations Centre to protect our clients’ digital assets. A typical day might involve monitoring, triaging and responding to cyber security incidents. 

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Are a quick thinker and a proactive problem solver.
• Enjoy being analytical, identifying patterns and abnormalities.
• Have strong attention to detail and the ability to document information accurately.
• Manage stress effectively, are resilient and remain calm under pressure.

Managed Security Engineering 

As an Associate Security Engineer in Managed Security Services, I help design and maintain infrastructure solutions and assist in the implementation of infrastructure builds and upgrades. A typical day might involve using my understanding of networking technologies and concepts to proactively identify risks within a client’s infrastructure. 

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Have a desire to understand networking foundations.
• Are methodical in your approach to delivering an outcome.
• Enjoy technical themes and understanding how things work.
• Are interested in learning how to program and script. 

“I’ve worked in a range of jobs and got experience from a wide range of fields, including military, security, public transport and freight and logistics. I had no technical experience prior to the Academy, and I still feel like I have a huge amount to learn. But so far, the journey with CyberCX and the Academy has been very positive and I’ve received mentoring and support from everyone I’ve asked.”

Brennan Harvey – Team Lead , Managed Security Services (Academy alumnus) 

Identity and Access Management

Pathway: Technical

As an Associate Engineer in Identity and Access Management, I help clients maintain appropriate access to their most critical information and systems through the management of digital identities. A typical day might involve performing health checks on a client’s environment, configuring and maintaining application Single Sign On integrations, and deploying, installing and managing customised identity and access management solutions. 

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Are interested in learning how to program and script, or already have skills in this area.
• Have strong interpersonal skills and can clearly communicate complex concepts in a simple way.
• Are analytical with strong attention to detail.
• Have a client centric mindset.

“My university degree is in Civil Engineering, a far reach from the realm of cyber security. After university I landed a job in concrete manufacturing and supply, working on major infrastructure projects. However, after working within the construction and manufacturing industry for around five years, whilst enjoying the purpose, the work itself did not challenge me. I needed a change. A career in cyber security would allow me to fulfil my purpose of helping the citizens of Australia, while remaining an interesting challenge due to its ever evolving nature.”

Taylor Topperwien – Consultant, Identity and Access Management (Academy alumnus)

Security Testing and Assurance

Pathway: Technical

As an Associate in Security Testing and Assurance, I help identify, assess, and mitigate vulnerabilities by testing applications and infrastructure within client environments. A typical day might involve conducting penetration tests (ethical hacking) on clients’ digital assets and preparing reports detailing the findings to help clients gain a clearer understanding of their security exposures and areas for improvement.

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Like solving puzzles and uncovering issues.
• Are interested in learning how to program and script.
• Have an analytical and curious mindset with strong attention to detail.
• Have an interest in emerging technologies and the behaviours of threat actors. 

“After graduating university, I worked in the health industry as an orthoptist. I realised in the long-term I wanted something different but still wanted the aspect of helping people and using critical thinking. I stumbled upon the CyberCX Academy program on LinkedIn and saw videos of people who had a similar career path to cyber security, coming from a totally unrelated field. I thought it was too good to be true. I applied and was accepted, and before long I had started in the CyberCX Academy.”

Zoe Hoo – Security Consultant, Security Testing and Assurance (Academy alumnus)

Cyber Intelligence 

Pathway: Technical

As an Associate Technical Analyst in CyberCX Intelligence, I work on improving intelligence tools to deliver insights and threat assessments focusing on dark web monitoring, tradecraft tracking, and scripting to automate intelligence collection. A typical day might involve reviewing technical security reports, presenting key findings, conducting reconnaissance using open-source intelligence and sending out alerts or advisories. 

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Enjoy researching and solving complex problems.
• Enjoy identifying patterns, trends and insights from datasets.
• Have an innovative and creative mindset.
• Are interested in learning how to program and script.

Pathway: Consulting

As an Associate Analyst in CyberCX Intelligence, I provide tactical, operational and strategic intelligence support to our clients. I collect, collate and analyse intelligence collected from sources like the dark web, open and closed sources. A typical day might involve using threat intelligence technologies to upload and disseminate technical information, preparing research and analysis to support intelligence products, or assisting in the development of strategic intelligence assessments. 

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Enjoy critical thinking and strategic analysis.
• Enjoy researching and interpreting complex information.
• Are a strong writer and communicator.
• Are analytical and comfortable in ambiguity.  

“To succeed in my role, the most important quality someone can have is a passion for problem solving. When developing tools, we invariably encounter obstacles that require both persistence and creativity to solve. The ability to keep approaching the same problem from different angles is often the key to success.”

Alexander Trewartha – Senior Analyst, Cyber Intelligence (Academy alumnus)

Digital Forensics and Incident Response

Pathway: Technical

As an Associate in Digital Forensics and Incident Response, I investigate and respond to cyber incidents and help clients understand what has happened in a cyber breach, assess the damage, and recover. A typical day might involve providing guidance, planning and incident response playbooks to help clients prepare and respond to cyber incidents. I also search for malicious activity in client networks, or the signatures of certain threat actors, and piece together events by creating a chain of evidence. 

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Have an investigative mindset and think outside the box.
• Are interested in learning how to use various tools and technologies to understand a cyber breach.
• Are resilient and remain calm under pressure.
• Are interested in learning how to program and script. 

“My favourite thing about working at CyberCX is the team. They’re always supportive and I’ve never felt afraid to ask questions when I’m unsure. I’ve been guided and supported during my journey here at CyberCX and am continuously learning new things from my colleagues.”

Suyash Tripathi – Investigator, Digital Forensics and Incident Response (Academy alumnus)

Cloud Security and Solutions

Pathway: Technical

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Team

As an Associate in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) team, I explore AWS services including infrastructure services such as EC2, S3, Lambda and CloudFormation as well as security services such as Security Hub, GuardDuty, and Artifact, among others. I also review how these services have been incorporated into system architecture. I experiment in sandbox environments, which provides a space to safely test code and develop cloud architecture separate from the production environment. Under the guidance of the teams’ senior engineers and solution architects, a typical day might involve participating in internal workshops or shadowing client engagements to learn how AWS solutions are designed and deployed.

Microsoft (Azure) Team

As an Associate in the Microsoft (Azure) team, I work across Microsoft Azure services like Azure Virtual, Machines, Blob Storage, Functions and ARM templates while also diving into security focused platforms such as Microsoft Sentinel for SIEM, Defender for endpoint and Microsoft Purview for governance. Under the guidance of the teams’ senior engineers and solutions architects, a typical day might involve participating in internal workshops or shadowing client engagements to learn how secure and scalable cloud solutions are designed and deployed.

Compliance and Product Engineering Team

As an Associate in the Product Engineering team, I conduct security assessments using tools such as Scout Suite and Prowler to understand our client’s environment configurations and provide recommendations to mitigate the identified risks. Under the guidance of the teams’ senior engineers and solution architects, a typical day might involve engaging with clients through workshops and running security tooling against their environments to identify risks.

Architecture and Advisory Team

As an Associate in the Architecture and Advisory team, I work with cloud architects across consulting, design and engineering activities. I support the delivery of client engagements across digital transformation, cloud migration, and cloud security uplift projects. A typical day might involve engaging with clients to review, understand and assist with their cloud security strategies, security roadmaps, architecture and engineering activities.

CS2 Operate

As an Associate Cloud Engineer in Cloud Security and Solutions, my role centres on the operational health, stability, and support of our clients’ Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud environments. Each day is about keeping cloud platforms running securely, reliably, and efficiently.

A typical day involves monitoring the health of our environments, responding to operational alerts, and ensuring that service level agreements are consistently met. I work across identity, networking, security, and compute services, supporting both routine requests and unexpected incidents.

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Enjoy building and updating complex systems.
• Are methodical in your approach to delivering an outcome.
• Enjoy troubleshooting to identify and resolve faults.
• Are curious and have an interest in exploring how cloud technologies work.

Pathway: Consulting

Compliance and Product Engineering Team

As an Associate in the Compliance team, I conduct Infosec Registered Assessors Program (IRAP), Gap Analyses, and Security Risk assessments of our clients’ cloud environments. This involves identifying strengths and areas for improvement within our client’s cloud environments and providing practical recommendations to enhance the security posture of our client’s cloud environments. A typical day might involve reviewing security documentation and conducting technical testing to understand the design and operational effectiveness of our clients’ security controls.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft (Azure) Team

As an Associate in the AWS or Microsoft Azure team, I help deliver complex cloud transformation outcomes. I work with our clients to understand their challenges such as operational inefficiencies, security concerns and compliance gaps, before translating them into functional and technical requirements. A typical day might involve participating in client meetings alongside experienced consultants to learn how AWS and Microsoft Azure solutions are designed and deployed in response to the clients’ challenges.

Architecture and Advisory Team

As an Associate in the Architecture and Advisory team, I work with cloud architects across consulting, design and engineering activities. I support the delivery of client engagements across digital transformation, cloud migration, and cloud security uplift projects. A typical day might involve engaging with clients to review, understand and assist with their cloud security strategies, security roadmaps, architecture and engineering activities.

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Enjoy strategising and thinking innovatively to create complex systems.
• Enjoy troubleshooting to identify and resolve faults.
• Enjoy following structured processes and methodologies to deliver outcomes.
• Enjoy working as part of a team and interacting with clients.

“At CyberCX, your learning and training journey are supported by exceptional people, with everyone doing their part to assist you along the way. This leads to endless opportunities, the ability to push yourself, and discover what really drives you, while having the safety net of an amazing team while you learn.”

Daniel Ingster – Senior Security Consultant, Cloud Security and Solutions (Academy alumnus)

Network Infrastructure and Solutions

Pathway: Technical

As an Associate in Network and Infrastructure Solutions, I help clients protect their digital assets and infrastructure through the design and implementation of technology solutions. A typical day might involve assisting clients to configure firewalls or working with the team to review networking solution options. I have specialised knowledge in certain firewall solutions such as Palo Alto Networks, Checkpoint and FortiGate. 

You will be a great fit if you… 

• Have a methodical and analytical mindset.
• Enjoy deep diving into a problem and understanding how technologies work.
• Have strong attention to detail.
• Enjoy using various tools and technologies to prevent information falling into the wrong hands.