Clancy: Continual learning and Python

My name is Clancy and I'm a Senior Security Engineer.
My team here at Google is part of an ongoing effort to protect Google's sensitive information, customer data, PII.
Everyday is different at my job, it allows me to use different skills, knowledge sets, and no day is alike.
By trade, I am not a engineer or software engineer at all.
I was actually in accounting.
Being affected by any type of cybersecurity attack definitely gives you a perspective on the opposite side.
You get to see how this affects users, how this affects people that were attacked.
Had I known when I first started out how big of a field cybersecurity really was, it would have allowed me to explore.
Python is a developmental language.
I use it very frequently at my role at Google.
One of my favorite things about Python is the power of the language.
You can use it to create very powerful scripts that you'll use in your day-to-day role.
When I first picked up Python, the trickiest part was learning how to say things the Pythonic way.
I used various resources online as well as books, as well as picking up side projects.
One of the best things about Python it's a very widely used language and you can find many resources online depending on your skill set.
Python, as well as any other developmental language, is constantly evolving.
Continue to take on projects, continue to stretch your knowledge and you'll continue to grow.
The advice I can give for a person starting to learn Python is make it fun.
I think once you find a learning a language to be fun, it allows you to be more engaged.
Develop a good baseline for what cybersecurity is.
Make yourself a little well-rounded in the beginning and then from there you can branch out and deep dive into subjects that are interesting to you.
When starting out, it can be very tough and you feel as if you're climbing up a big hill.
Persevere, continue to learn and it will be a very rewarding experience.