When I reflect on my career journey, one thing stands out: I’ve always been driven by a desire to protect and help others.
I spent the first part of my career in law enforcement. After earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in criminal justice, I began as a caseworker with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, working at both the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution and the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility. During that time, I was also a member of the tactical incident response team, responding to high-risk situations, including a riot on Mother’s Day.
I later transitioned to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office as a road patrol deputy. The work was demanding and often unpredictable, but it taught me how to make decisions under pressure, think critically in high-stress situations and stay focused when it mattered most.
A turning point
Several factors led me to consider a different career path.
At the time, I was working 12-hour night shifts while my wife and I were raising two young children, with a third on the way. During that same period, I was first on the scene at multiple fatal accidents — three in just six weeks. One of those involved a young child who had been struck by a motorcycle. Experiences like that stay with you.
I realized that while I still had a strong calling to help others, I needed to find a different way to do it, one that also allowed me to be more present for my family.
Cybersecurity stood out because it aligned with the same purpose that drew me to law enforcement: protecting people and safeguarding what matters most.
During my time at the sheriff’s office, I had a college friend who worked in information security at Mutual of Omaha. As I started exploring career options, I reached out to him to learn more about the field.
What really stood out wasn’t just the work itself, but the way he talked about the people and the company culture. He described Mutual of Omaha as the best place he’d ever worked, a place where associates genuinely care about one another and support each other’s growth.
The more I learned, the more I realized cybersecurity would allow me to continue serving and protecting others while pursuing my passion for technology. I had the opportunity to build a meaningful career and join an organization whose values closely aligned with my own.
Starting over and pushing through
Making the transition wasn’t easy. I went back to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
I also committed to learning outside the classroom, spending time on platforms like The Odin Project, Hack the Box and TryHackMe, eventually earning my Security+ certification. Those experiences helped shape my career path by giving me the chance to explore different areas of cybersecurity and figure out what I enjoyed most.
As I worked through labs and hands-on exercises, I found myself increasingly drawn to incident response. I enjoyed the investigative nature of the work — understanding what happened, determining how it happened and identifying the steps needed to respond. It felt familiar in many ways and reminded me of the investigative work I had performed throughout my law enforcement career.
The hands-on learning was just as valuable as the coursework. Whether I was building computers, troubleshooting technology issues, setting up home labs or exploring how different systems and tools work together, each experience helped strengthen my understanding of technology. Looking back, those opportunities to explore, build and solve problems gave me a strong foundation and helped prepare me for what I would eventually encounter in the field.
There were definitely challenges along the way. I hadn’t done advanced math in years, so jumping back into coursework like calculus was a hurdle. On top of that, I had a young family and real concerns about finances. There were moments when I questioned whether I was making the right decision.
Consistency was the key. I kept showing up, putting in the work and trusting that it would pay off.
Creating opportunity
During school, I knew I needed real-world experience, so I focused on securing internships. My first opportunity was with Ameritas in Lincoln, Nebraska, followed by an internship with Mutual of Omaha, which changed everything for me. It gave me exposure to real-world security tools, incidents and experienced professionals who were willing to mentor and guide me. It helped bridge the gap between what I was learning and what the job actually required.
After completing the internship and graduating, I accepted a full-time role with Mutual of Omaha, where I now work as a security analyst on the Threat Detection and Incident Response team.
Today, I focus on incident response, threat hunting and threat intelligence — investigating suspicious activity and protecting the organization from evolving risks.
Growth through support and mentorship
One of the biggest factors in my success has been the people around me. The mentorship I’ve received has been invaluable. Having experienced professionals who are willing to invest in your growth, answer questions and challenge you to improve makes a huge difference, especially when transitioning from a completely different field.
One thing I didn’t fully anticipate when entering cybersecurity was how quickly the industry would evolve. The rapid growth of artificial intelligence has transformed the cybersecurity landscape in ways that few could have predicted just a few years ago.
Today, both defenders and threat actors are using AI to become more effective, bringing new opportunities along with new challenges. It’s an exciting time to be in the field because the threat landscape is constantly changing.
There’s always something new to learn, new technologies to explore and new problems to solve. The fast pace is one of the things that keeps me engaged and motivated every day.
A culture of continuous learning and development has also played a major role in my transition. When you work in an environment that encourages growth, you gain the confidence to take on new challenges and expand your skills.
Advice for those considering the leap
If you’re coming from law enforcement or any non-technical background and thinking about cybersecurity, my advice is simple: you’re more prepared than you think.
So many of the skills transfer. The ability to analyze situations, stay calm under pressure, think critically and pay attention to detail are foundational in cybersecurity.
You don’t need to have everything figured out on day one. You just need to be willing to start. Stay consistent. Be willing to learn, even when it’s uncomfortable. Take advantage of every opportunity you can find, whether that’s school, labs, certifications or internships.
Most importantly, don’t let the fact that you’re starting from a different place hold you back. If there’s one thing my journey has shown me, it’s that meaningful careers are not always linear. Sometimes the most uncertain path leads to the greatest growth. If you’re willing to put in the work, there’s a place for you in cybersecurity.