I Will Never Work with Cybersecurity Products Again

I will never work with cybersecurity products again.

I will never work with cybersecurity products again.

I will never work with cybersecurity products again.

I have said this over and over again, making a promise to myself to never contact cybersecurity vendors again. I've been through this crisis several times in my life. And I couldn't think of anything better than changing jobs at that time. Back then, there was no term "burnout" and nobody shared it publicly. I thought that by changing companies or returning to classic IT, all my problems would solve themselves. However, I was always patient to the last minute and quit at the most inopportune moment.

The multifaceted world of cybersecurity

At one time I thought it was all about products. At that time, I was promoting products to protect against information leaks, and as we know, this class of solutions has a dual purpose - monitoring correspondence and the actions of employees in the workplace. So you listen to stories all day long about how some company caught a bad person who was doing something illegal in the workplace, and then you have to make a cool storytelling out of it, how our product helps to find such scoundrels.

At first it's even fun, but at some point you realize that you are brewing only in the context of negative events. There are violators everywhere. And it would seem cool - you are promoting products that help fight evil. But having gained this invaluable experience of working in cybersecurity, I understand very well PMMs who promote only positive products.

First escape

My first exit from cybersecurity was like a dream - friends invited me to join an IT startup that had just raised an investment. I slammed the door with a shout of

"Goodbye losers, I've always hated you!"

The startup was cool - positive product, target audience HR and internal communication managers. With the help of our product, employees become happier at work. So, it seemed like a dream job.

I stayed there for about nine months. The new tranche of investment was delayed, the marketing budget was exhausted, and I realized that I had to leave. After walking around the market, I found nothing interesting and returned to cybersecurity. Once again, it was back to the beginning - threats, regulatory requirements and other boring stuff.

When the body says "enough."

In parallel with the accumulated negativity, health problems began. And that was a turning point. I found a great therapist who helped me deal with the real causes of my problems. One of the tools we used is called the Eight Values or the Wheel of Life. It's no surprise to anyone nowadays. But for me at that moment in my life, it helped me find hobbies that I can't live without and to set up goal-setting.

The result was 2 e-commerce projects that I launched and used the money I earned to buy my first enduro motorcycle, then I fell in love with mototrials, then with enduros again and so on in a circle. My love for off-road motorcycling became a real passion and, as a result, led me and a group of friends to climb 3700m on a mountain in 2021 on a motorcycle.

And it turns out, when you have big cool goals, you also find the strength to tolerate negativity at work and find something you enjoy. After all, there's no such thing as a perfect job.

A vicious circle

After running my online stores, I thought, "That's it, this is my finest hour and it's time to get out of cybersecurity", even though I was already the head of product marketing. And I did it again by quitting my job to nowhere. But networking played a cruel trick on me - not even a month later, a former colleague called me to work for an cybersecurity startup that was gaining momentum. To be honest, I was very nervous and hesitant to go or not, since I had just gotten out of recruitment. "Well, what could possibly go wrong again?" - I thought. After all, the future manager gave me a great deal of freedom, and we agreed.

There I plunged into several cybersecurity domains that were new to me, and got a lot of experience as an expert. But after a number of structural changes, after 3 years I burned out again. Seemingly ordinary tasks, but with products I was not interested in, began to cause wild negativity. But I kept doing them and doing them, until my inner voice again said: "Andy, it's time to get out."

Personal Reflection:

0. It's not about the products. The reaction to uninteresting work is not a cause, it's a symptom. If things start to piss you off, it's not a signal that you're doing something wrong, it's a signal that you need to deal with goal-setting. When I blamed products for my problems, I was only avoiding the real question - what do I really want out of life and career?

1. You can't stay in firefighting mode for long. When management becomes an endless response to emergencies, exhaustion inevitably sets in. I have lived for years in a state of constant mobilization, tackling one critical task after another. At some point you have to decisively stop and start building a system that prevents fires, not just puts them out.

2. Keeping problems quiet leads to a buildup of tension. For years, I've accepted more and more challenges, repeating to myself, "You're a man, you can do this!" This is a toxic attitude that only delays the inevitable. We need to have an open dialogue, prioritize. And, my goodness, learn to say a firm "no."

3. Ignoring emotions comes at a cost. The fact that I appear calm doesn't mean there are no emotions at all. There have always been a lot of them, but I've learned to put them on mute, to muffle them, to ignore them. The problem is that sooner or later these emotions break through, and then you start doing things that are not always thought out - in my case, quitting.

4. Don't be shy about asking for help. The worst part is being alone with your problems. My therapist was the guide that helped me see the true causes of my discontent and find healthy ways to deal with them. Hobbies, sports, and side projects are my balance. Friends, mentors, communities - all of these people can provide a show of perspective and support when one's own perspective gets clouded.

Positive takeaways:

For all the ups and downs, my cybersecurity career has given me invaluable experience and unforeseen benefits. At every job I have met true professionals - people who are passionate about what they do, who generously shared their knowledge and helped me grow as an expert and manager.

Over the years, I've immersed myself in a wide variety of information security domains - from data loss protection to...application and cloud security . I was lucky enough to work in bigtech, to see from the inside how processes are organized in companies of different sizes. All this experience allowed me to form my own vision and now I can consciously choose only those products and directions that really resonate with my values.

But the most important asset is people. I have acquired a whole network of like-minded people and just good people. Some of my colleagues have become true friends - people who are a joy to meet at a professional event, to sit down with over a beer, or to ride bikes together on the weekend.

Looking back, I realize that had it not been for my path in information security with all its twists and turns, I would have been a very different Andy. Perhaps less experienced and definitely with a narrower outlook. So, despite all the crises and periodic promises to myself of "never again", I've been here for a long time and it looks like I'll be here for a long time. cybersecurity has become part of my professional DNA and I have learned to find what is truly fulfilling in it.

And if you need help, if you want to talk, if you want to sort out work tasks, if you want to pump up your skills in product marketing or take on a new product domain, if you want to build processes, drop me a message.