Today, we're excited to share an interview with James Wade, a CAPSLOCK graduate whose journey in cyber security led him to a role at Jaguar, the luxury sports car company. From training with CAPSLOCK to landing his dream job, he has firsthand insights into breaking into the field and transitioning into cyber security from a non-tech background. In this interview, he shares his experience, tips on skill-building, and what it’s like to be part of Jaguar’s cyber security team. Dive in to learn about his inspiring path and the role CAPSLOCK played in shaping his career.
Q: How did CAPSLOCK help prepare you for your current role?
CAPSLOCK has a unique approach where everything is taught in a real-world context. I have been to University previously and there is a big difference from traditional education. The distinction being that in the real world, there is so much more that comes into play. Factors like finances, timescales, size, maturity of a company and most importantly people are all brought into the classroom and presented in real-world scenarios that help give you the mindset needed that is actually wanted by employers.
In addition, the style of teaching incorporates Team-Based Learning which means a lot of time is spent working with others to solve problems and collaborate on projects, so soft skills are a major part and are easily as important as the technical skills we learned.
The course in parts simulates what it would be like to, as examples, actually consult for a company and also present on cyber security matters to senior managers. There is a large orientation around cyber risk which, aside from being a great help for my role specifically, helps any role as ultimately this is what companies are hiring cyber professionals for - to mitigate cyber security risk no matter what role you sit in. To sum it up, it felt like the whole process was tuned in every sense to prepare us for industry, no matter what background you have.
Q: What did you do prior to CAPSLOCK?
I have been a bit of a jack of all trades, master of none in my previous life before Cyber. I travelled and taught English for a few years and then returned to University to study Conservation in my late twenties - after which I worked in Forestry and Habitat Management. My most recent role before CAPSLOCK involved removing Japanese Knotweed. Don’t let not having a tech background or needing to work in IT deter you from the course it really is for everyone.
Q: Why did you decide to reskill and retrain?
This is probably down to a few separate reasons rather than one big one. I’ve always enjoyed learning and wanted to find a role where I could keep doing that without quickly hitting a ceiling. Cyber security is so broad and constantly evolving. That’s never going to stop. Plus, there are so many avenues - from Risk to Engineering, Penetration Testing to Security Operations and they all overlap - I loved the idea of having so many options and the opportunity that entails.
The chance to develop and grow is also really important to me and is really great within Cyber Security. I personally wanted to know there was room to develop and build a career, especially one that isn’t going to go away any time soon!
From a purely practical standpoint there were the added bonuses that there is such a need for Cyber Security professionals which gives that job security and the chance to earn good money isn’t a bad thing!
Q: Which companies have you worked for and what roles did you hold?
JLR (Jaguar) is the only company I have worked for since finishing CAPSLOCK. I’m a Cyber Security Risk Manager, so I work closely with both Security Engineers and Risk Owners to help translate information security threats into risks for the business. I’ve already had great opportunities to help write policies and also collaborate with the operations team. No two days are the same and it’s a long way from my previous roles which seem like a lifetime ago - but I love it. From leaving my last role to going through CAPSLOCK to landing the role at JLR (Jaguar) was probably just over 5 months so, in hindsight, it was a whirlwind. It’s amazing how much has changed in a short amount of time.
Q: Did you get hands-on experience through CAPSLOCK?
As I touched on, CAPSLOCK has a big focus on framing cyber security in a real-world context. The course is centred around collaborating in a simulated working environment which helps make what is learnt directly relevant to an employer. Because it mimicked a real business context - I felt like we got experience that wouldn’t have necessarily been available elsewhere, and certainly not by self-study, with the space to make mistakes as I learnt. It’s fast-paced and expects continual delivery on various types of work which is challenging, but is also a huge selling point to prospective employers where this is often the case! That element you definitely don’t get from other means of education and I know from speaking to other alumni that employers really value it.
Personally, despite being new to cyber, my interview feedback at JLR (Jaguar) mentioned that I came out above other candidates that actually had security-specific work experience which sums up how valuable the experience gained at CAPSLOCK is. I’m not the only CAPSLOCK alumni at JLR either so it's not just me!
Q: What was your favourite thing about your time at CAPSLOCK?
Something I haven’t touched on yet, but is just as important as everything I’ve mentioned so far - the level of student care is amazing. It’s night and day compared to my time at University, and it pays off in dividends because it is a challenging course and can be stressful at times. There is a combination of professional coaching and dedicated careers services where you get 1-on-1 meetings to discuss landing that first role and creating a plan to succeed essentially. On top of that, we were assigned mentors from industry that set up weekly meetings to talk about anything we wanted to. The CAPSLOCK network is very tight-knit and is only getting stronger too. I felt very comfortable reaching out to alumni for advice, which is something I had never done in the past. Plus, you have your individual team to lean on as well along with the teaching staff who drop in to guide the learning. The level of support is definitely one of their defining features and made something that is obviously very daunting a great experience.
Q: What advice would you give to people wanting to get into the cyber security industry?
Do CAPSLOCK! Honestly, I don’t feel like I’m the best at this type of stuff so I really just took on board what I was advised on the course. Having said that, from my experience I’d say treat learning cyber security theory as one piece of a larger picture. Finding a job is a skill all in itself so don’t think reading security textbooks will necessarily work on its own. Network like mad and just be genuine with people, I think it goes a long way. At a certain point I would also choose an avenue to focus your efforts on. I didn’t have a clue which way I’d go when I started but when it comes to applying for jobs you need to have a direction.
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