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Mark Donaldson Testimonial | From Finance to Cybersecurity

Explore Mark's inspiring journey and discover how Learning People's cybersecurity courses helped him successfully change careers.

Mark was determined to transition from a career in finance to cybersecurity but wasn't sure where to begin, and didn't want to return to university. He decided to enrol with us to kickstart his career change.

Since then, Mark has earned his CompTIA Network+, Security+ and Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals AZ-900 certifications and has also secured his first role in the industry.

Enrolling is definitely worth the investment because you're investing in yourself, you're investing in your future.

I ended up actually getting a job in cybersecurity with no experience, but actually, it being a job that's maybe even a step above entry level. So, it's probably one of the best decisions I could have made, particularly for my career.

Hi, I'm Mark. I was studying with learning people to try and break into cybersecurity, coming from a non-cyber background. So the certifications I did were CompTIA Network+, Security+, AZ-900 and currently I'm in the middle of certified ethical hacker.
I heard about Learning People just from online. I was trying to break into cybersecurity, but I really didn't want to have to go back into full-time education or go back to uni. So I knew I had to do maybe some certifications, but I wasn't sure exactly which ones I should do. So Learning People were actually able to give me a pathway.
The initial consultation was good. It was more of just like a long, detailed phone call, but it was useful because I wasn't too sure of exactly what I should be doing. So the adviser essentially just gauged what my background was, which is essentially nothing in cybersecurity, then was able to give me a rundown of the course and the certifications that he recommended and what my career path could look like.
Enrolling with Learning People generally changed my career development. A lot of these jobs that I was applying to were saying entry- level, but most entry- level jobs these days still are asking for experience, something I clearly didn't have. But by doing the certifications that the adviser told me to do, it actually put me steps ahead of a lot of people I was applying for. My manager at the moment in my new job even said that the one I was applying for, he got thousands of applications, but most of them are rolled out automatically because of certain things. Certifications are obviously what made me stand above the crowd.
What's particularly important is that after I did some certifications, the careers team as well. They're always checking in with you, and they even do some live sessions on how to write a CV, how to write a cover letter, the best platforms to go about actually applying for these jobs and then some interviews. All good and fine to have certifications. Then, after that, applying for all these jobs and that's just as important and knowing how to do a good CV, set up your LinkedIn profile perfectly and even how important cover letters are, which is something I would have just bunched over and done really quickly.

What advice do you have for people considering enrolling?

What I would say to people would be to definitely have that initial detailed consultation cuz I had some doubts myself. Maybe this wasn't the right
career for me. Maybe I was too late to be making a career change, but they'll have more knowledge in the industry than you'll find online. And once you enrol, it's not like you'll never hear from them again.
There are regular checkups, making sure your studying is going fine, making sure you're absolutely ready for your exam before you take it. And then even after you get the certifications, it doesn't stop there. The career support I got afterwards is probably just as important as it was to getting the certifications.
Enrolling is definitely worth the investment because you're investing in yourself, you're investing in your future. I ended up actually getting a job in cybersecurity with no experience, but actually, it being a job that's maybe even a step above entry level. So, it's probably one of the best decisions I could have made, particularly for my career.

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