Happy New Years to all my friends and family! I hope that 2015 brings you prosperity, inner tranquility, and new adventures! Back in February of this year (soon to be last year! My how time flies, huh? ;) ) I joined the global collective of hackers over at a place called WeChall (the only place on the web that ranks hackers) and started doing exercises geared toward hackers and other individuals who are curious enough to complete them. On February 2, 2014 I started, along with thousands of other people in the 10,000 range. As any number of hackers can be in any rank at any point provided they have the exact same score, its hard to determine how many hackers are actually ranked but the numbers quite high. My goal was to hit the top 100 by the following February. As of September 2014, just 7 months later I hit rank 830, in the world. I also ranked 24 in the United States. As of THIS writing I am now ranked 841 globally (others surpassed me because I havent done challenges in two months) but I am still ranked 24 in the US. While I didnt hit my goal and will probably only rank up another 100 points by February 2015, I am very pleased with what I have accomplished this year. I was able to use existing skills I have and learn new tricks along the way. Its also enabled me to have a clearer vision of what I want MY future to be like whereas before I did this, and was just doing what Ive done all along, I felt aimless and uninspired. Now I have more confidence and a clear path. One of the reasons why I started hacking, at least years ago, was because at its core, its ALL about learning and sharing knowledge. Hackers get a bad rap but they constantly share what they have learned in the hopes of improving technology and helping others understand it. Ive helped many end users throughout my career and this past year, many fledgling hackers pass challenges as well. My goals for 2015 will be to get my computer forensics certification that has been in the works for me for going on SEVEN long years now. My personal life has been an absolute disaster and the tragedy of my stepfathers death six years ago really hit me hard. But prior to his death, I had told him I would see this through and I intend to keep my word. I have continued down this road by taking a pentesting course that deals with many of the things I will have to do if I should ever become a computer forensics investigator. When Im ready to sit for the exam, I think I might actually pass it. I like what I do. I am good at what I do. And Im happy even though Ive been fielding many disappointments in recent memory. However I will not let those disappointments define who I am any longer. Twenty years ago I was told that because I was a girl I would have to work TWICE as hard to be just AS good as any male computer technician and in my first year of working in the corporate private sector? I not only outpaced them but I also was paid much higher than any male I worked with and many of them had degrees. So heres to a successful 2015 going forward and finally realizing a dream of mine that has been out of reach for far longer than it should have been. To you all, every happiness, every joy, every victory you all so richly deserve.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 01:21:53 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015