Think Positive Cyber

Blog

Job searching with a Master of Science in Cybersecurity, which I earned in November 2023, has been an unexpectedly challenging and emotionally draining experience. Despite the hard work and late nights I poured into my degree, I’ve spent the past year struggling to find a position that reflects my skills and aspirations. Working at Rosa Parks Elementary in San Diego, CA, while meaningful, often feels like a world apart from the cybersecurity field I’m so passionate about. Each rejection email chips away at my confidence, leaving me feeling stuck and questioning if I’ll ever land the job I’ve worked so hard to qualify for.

This blog is my way of channeling those feelings into something constructive. Writing about my journey—the highs, the lows, and everything in between—helps me process the weight of these emotions and remind myself that I’m not alone in this struggle. Sharing my thoughts here also gives me hope: hope that by reflecting on my progress and connecting with others, I’ll rekindle my belief that I have what it takes to succeed in cybersecurity. Someday, I know I’ll look back at this as just one chapter in my story—a stepping stone on the path to a fulfilling career.

  • Endpoint Security Basics I Studied for Security+ SY0-701

    R80A3D995-T2Phal-002-252 Today (1/31/2026 at 4:42PM), I studied Professor Messer’s Security+ SY0-701 (4.5) Endpoint Security lesson, and it helped me re-center on what “endpoint” really means: the user’s device—desktop, laptop, or mobile—and often the easiest place for attackers to win. One practical takeaway is that you don’t just watch what comes into a device; you also…

  • Learning CVEs Through NVD Vulnerability Research

    Today I continued a cybersecurity learning project where I’m practicing how to read real vulnerability records using the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) run by NIST. I’ve been using this page: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search#/nvd/home?keyword=CVE-2026-&resultType=records to search and browse published vulnerabilities in a structured database. Back when I was working through my cybersecurity degree program (before graduating in 11/2023),…

  • File Integrity and DLP: Protecting Systems and Stopping Leaks

    One thing I learned in cybersecurity is that not every file on a computer matters the same way. Some files change constantly, and that is normal. Data files, logs, and cache files will update all the time because apps are always saving settings, writing temporary content, and keeping things running smoothly. But the core system…