By James Lint
Faculty Member, School of Business, American Military University
Senior Editor for In Cyber Defense and Contributor, In Homeland Security
In addition to learning more about information security, the BSidesLV Information Security Conference in Las Vegas is a target-rich environment for gaining information about jobs. In some cases, you might even have the chance to interview with potential employers as well.
Amazon Offers Jobs to Military, Military Spouses and Dependents
I saw someone at BSidesLV wearing a shirt that read “Warriors@Amazon.” He was a former Marine who now works for Amazon. He talked about how Amazon offers some of the same camaraderie that most military members miss after getting out of the service.
In fact, Amazon has three job websites that relate to the military. One website discusses the military community within Amazon. It states that “Amazon Warriors is made up of Amazonians who have served in their respective country’s military forces, those who are still serving and all Amazon employees who support them. The group’s mission is to provide its members a professional network and a means to organize community outreach programs, to aid veterans during their transition into the Amazon workforce and to be a resource for recruiting top military talent.”
The second website is about jobs for service members transitioning out of the military, veterans and military spouses. The website includes a quote from owner and founder Jeff Bezos about the military needs of Amazon. Bezos says, “We actively seek leaders who can invent, think big, have a bias for action and deliver results on behalf of our customers. These principles look very familiar to men and women who have served our country in the armed forces, and we find that their experience leading people is invaluable in our fast-paced work environment.”
Amazon’s third website offers support to military dependents, often called military brats. In Amazon’s Career Choice program, Amazon pre-pays up to 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. The website also states, “Investing in our employees is one of the many reasons Amazon is an employer of choice for military families.”
#brainbabe – Advocating and Supporting Women in Cyber Jobs
Cyber or information technology conferences often lack many female participants. One organization that supports bringing women into the information security profession is the nonprofit #brainbabe.
Its mission statement notes that “#brainbabe is directly impacting three statistics:
10% of the cyber security workforce [are] women, 1% of the cyber community are women leaders, 53% of women end up leaving the industry.”
#brainbabe supports changes that will attract and utilize women in cyber security. On #brainbabe’s website, Deidre Diamond, #brainbabe’s founder and CEO, discusses her background and states, “As a woman who was hired as an entry-level employee with a liberal arts degree and trained to lead sales teams for tech companies, who has been the CEO of a software company, and who is currently the Founder and CEO of a cyber security company, I have a lot of content and enthusiasm to offer the tech community about training people — specifically, women.”
Diamond is a motivated person who strongly believes in training. She and her crew often attend conferences such as BSidesLV and speak about how to increase the cyber workforce by training and bringing more women into cyber security.
She says on the website, “We can attract more women into cyber security while fostering the interpersonal and communication skills needed to retain them.” The training and improved communication skills may be a solution for growing our future cyber workforce in both the corporate world and government sector.
New People You Meet at Conferences Are a Rich Source of Industry Information
Attending conferences such as BSidesLV is more than just about learning in a conventional manner as you listen to scheduled talks. It is also about meeting people in the booths, on the floor or at lunch tables.
By meeting others at the conference, you sometimes learn just as much information as you do at formal presentations. Conferences show that learning happens everywhere, if you keep your eyes and brain open to new ideas.
About the Author
James R. Lint recently retired as the (GG-15) civilian director for intelligence and security, G2, U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command. He is an adjunct professor at AMU. James has been involved in cyberespionage events from just after the turn of the century in Korea supporting 1st Signal Brigade to the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis as the first government cyber intelligence analyst. He has 38 years of experience in military intelligence with the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, government contracting and civil service.
Additionally, James started the Lint Center for National Security Studies, a nonprofit charity that recently awarded its 45th scholarship for national security students and professionals. James was also elected as the 2015 national vice president for the Military Intelligence Corps Association. He has also served in the Department of Energy’s S&S Security Office after his active military career in the Marine Corps for seven years and 14 years in the Army. His military assignments include South Korea, Germany and Cuba, in addition to numerous CONUS locations. In 2017, he was appointed to the position of Adjutant for The American Legion, China Post 1. James has authored a book published in 2013, “Leadership and Management Lessons Learned,” a book published in 2016 “8 Eyes on Korea, A Travel Perspective of Seoul, Korea,” and a new book in 2017 “Secrets to Getting a Federal Government Job.”
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