Welcome
After 15 years in finance, I’ve made the bold decision to switch careers and dive into the world of cybersecurity. This post marks the beginning of my journey—a personal and professional transformation driven by curiosity, frustration, and a desire for meaningful work. I reflect on what led me here, the challenges I face, and how I plan to navigate this complex new field. From setting up a personal lab to learning through platforms like Hack The Box, I’ll be documenting everything. This isn’t just a career change—it’s a chance to rebuild with purpose, and hopefully inspire others to do the same.
Personal Growth, Cybersecurity
After spending 15 years in finance, I’ve made a life-changing decision: I’m switching careers. Let’s be honest—it’s terrifying. I’m leaving behind a comfortable environment where I’ve built deep expertise, to jump into a vast, complex, and unfamiliar field: cybersecurity.
A New Beginning: My Cybersecurity Journey
I’ve been drawn and always felt at ease computers for years. I was around 11 or 12 when my parents bought me my first PC—a Hewlett-Packard with a Pentium II processor. I used it mostly to play games, but I quickly found myself digging deeper, fixing things, and figuring stuff out. That curiosity never left me.
At college I’ve tried to pursue a computer science degree but droped out because of an knowledge debt in science field and a fixed mideset.1 With difficulty I ended becoming an undergraduated in management science and economics.
In recent years, though, I’ve been struggling with severe depression, largely due to the nature of my day-to-day work. The tasks just didn’t spark any joy. They weren’t me.
When Covid-19 stroke, I decided to pursue an online master degreee in computer science and it took me three years to graduate with a especiality in machine learning.
That said, I’m incredibly lucky to be surrounded by caring, supportive people— especially my amazing wife. Thanks to her support, I was able to take a step back, reflect, and do some serious soul-searching. Through intense and personal retrospection, I examined not just the choices I’ve made—but also the ones I’very avoided. This led me here.
Why This Personal Website?
This website is my public journal. Its purpose is to document my transition into cybersecurity, to track my learning, and to share my progress. I hope it might also inspire others who are considering a similar leap of faith.
Why I write
As an introvert person, I feel more at ease writing down my feeling and wrting became a natural form of communication. I can take time to ponder my through and dig deeper into my psyche. It slows the process giving me time to rethink things arround.
The Wiki section is where I store all my notes and cheat sheets, making them easily accessible and reusable.
There’s another benefit to writing publicly: accountability. When I write down my goals and share them, I feel an obligation—to myself—to follow through. It’s a personal code of honor. Something I think a lot of public figures seem to have forgotten. Sad, but true.
Learning the Cyber Way
Cybersecurity is a hands-on field. It values skills over degrees, and real -world accomplishments often speak louder than certificates. So instead of going back to school, I’m immersing myself in practice.
I’ve chosen to start with Hack The Box—a platform that allows you to learn offensive and defensive security in a safe, gamified environment.
My Initial Plan
I’m currently focusing on completing foundational modules and working through entry-level labs and challenges. My aim is to explore both red teaming (offensive security) and blue teaming (defensive security) paths.
As recommended by Neal Bridges in his interview with David Bombal, my first step is to build a personal lab environment with virtual machines. It’s a great way to learn and a crucial skill for anyone serious about cybersecurity.
I’ll document each step with technical write-ups—not only to reinforce my learning, but also to build a portfolio and sharpen my communication skills. These are essential in any cyber role.
I Took the One Less Traveled By…
Here’s my roadmap for the next few weeks and months:
🧭 Starting Point T0
🧪 Starting Point T1
🔐 Starting Point T2
Thanks for reading. If you’re also changing careers, fighting self-doubt, or starting from scratch—know that you’re not alone. Let’s learn, grow, and level up together.
- 2025-07-14: text