Building the Cybersecurity Workforce: The Rise from Intern to Engineer

It's a mantra High Wire employees hear frequently, that defines our company purpose-to build something great and allow people to be the best version of themselves.

Sam Barus, 2024 graduate of University of Colorado Boulder, is the mantra- personified.

Rewind six years ago.

Sam walked into High Wire's main Batavia office-which happens to be down the street from the local high school, where the head football coach who runs INCubatoredu, a national program offering upperclassmen students authentic entrepreneurship experiences, had introduced Sam and several other students to High Wire CEO Mark Porter.

During Sam's junior year of high school, he became an intern. He spent most of his internship shadowing Security Operations Center (SOC) analysts and Overwatch service delivery team members. Two years later, when he enrolled at CU Boulder to study Computer Science, Sam knew he wanted to focus on cybersecurity. He also knew he enjoyed working at High Wire delivering Overwatch Managed Cybersecurity services. Before he left for college, an opportunity surfaced for Sam to help manage Overwatch Aware and Phish, a security awareness training service. He accepted the part-time role.

For the last four years, in between classes and studies, Sam set up onboarding calls, managed and set up customized dashboards for MSP partners and clients, and oversaw monthly automated reports.

This past Summer, Sam graduated and accepted a full-time position at High Wire as Associate Engineer.

"Since his internship, Sam has been organized and methodical. He is eager to learn and take on new tools as required. He is a good asset to our growing team." - Salija Chemmanoor, High Wire Partner Onboarding and Tools Manager

"The Overwatch Engineering team is very excited to have Sam start his career at High Wire. As a new Associate Engineer, he will start with the SOC to have a great understanding of the needs of security operations, and our partners as they interface with the SOC. Sam will work to help run and configure High Wire tools, including Overwatch SOAR. From early on, Sam received great feedback from our partners. We look forward to Sam having the same types of positive interactions in his new role, as he partners with them on delivering managed security solutions. -Bob Roberts, Vice President, Service Delivery and Engineering

We asked Sam to reflect on his journey. Here's Sam, in his own words:

What have the past 6 years at High Wire taught you?

Looking at my time at High Wire Networks, I have learned and practiced a vast and varying degree of technical and professional skills. The most important being how to acquire opportunities. Whether these opportunities are business related or career related, they are most often obtained through networking with connections and or taking the initiative where possible.

While working as an intern I learned that networking and building meaningful relationships with coworkers, vendors, and partners should be of utmost priority. There will come a time when you need to interact with this person. Successfully collaborating depends on your relationship with them, and if successful often will lead to more and greater opportunities.

Additionally, my time at High Wire taught me how to find and take the initiative with whatever I am doing. I was encouraged to ask for additional responsibilities and projects, seek feedback on my performance, and voice any questions or concerns honestly. By taking initiative I often found it resulted in additional opportunities to provide value to the company and demonstrating my commitment to the company.

What advice would you give someone interested in a career in cybersecurity?

Ask questions, more than you think are needed. The price of inaction is worse than that of any action. Act and take initiative as frequently as you can. You will always need to be learning, whether it's how to work inside a tool, studying for certificates, or building soft skills. Find someone to fill a mentor role and meet with them regularly.

In your opinion, what does it take to become a cybersecurity practitioner?

To become a cybersecurity practitioner or at least begin the pathway to becoming one, I would recommend you have analytical skills, can ask direct and important questions, communicate effectively in varying degrees of technicality, and always… find ways to better yourself with new skills or new knowledge.

Questions about Overwatch Managed Cybersecurity?

Visit: highwirenetworks.com

Questions for Sam or the Overwatch team?

Email: [email protected]