Adedayo: SQL in cybersecurity
My name is Adedayo, and I'm a Security Engineer at Google.
A lot of people think you need to have a degree in computer science, right to be able to get into cybersecurity. I don't think that's true.
Take me for an example, I started learning IT from Lagos, Nigeria where I was born and raised, and then I'm all the way here now
in Silicon Valley, working for Google.
I think that's just amazing and a dream come true.
You taking this certificate is a first step to you making a commitment to switching your career to cybersecurity. Kudos to you on that.
SQL is one of the skillset you need to have in your toolbox as a cybersecurity professional because you can very quickly make decisions, not just off the bat, but make decisions with data backing you, and be able to communicate with your team, with stakeholders about why you made a decision because it's one thing to be able to say, we need to do this, it's
another thing to say we need to do this and here's the data that I wrote my SQL statements about.
I learned SQL by, first, as a coursework in school, that was really great, but I think I forgot everything about that after school.
The next step that I took was taking online courses, such as the one you're taking right now to learn SQL and the fundamentals
about it and how to really use it.
Then the first time I used SQL practically was at Google.
You really need to practice.
I think with anything else, practice makes perfect.
Being able to, even if it's just a few hours a week, put aside time to practice writing SQL statement.
Having that skill is something that will be very applicable to your first job, and you can use that to make data-driven decisions.
I feel very fulfilled working in cybersecurity.
I feel very energized, come into work every day.
Not only because I get to work on really complex problems and try to figure out solutions for them, but I also have great teammates that we all come together and tackle the problem.
Being able to go to bed at night, knowing that the work that I do is for the better of Google users and Google employees
is a very rewarding feeling for me.