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October 4, 2022

Raven Antiquiera, a 27-year-old, had a degree in sociology and was looking for the right opportunity to change careers when he learned about the Workforce Partnership’s CyberHire program. While completing the program and starting cybersecurity training, he landed an internship with a tech company and, eventually, a job within that company. We talked with Raven to hear about his experience in the program and its impact on his life. 

Raven 1I had wanted to make a career change for a while. One morning while I was watching the news, the segment featured this new program called CyberHire that would teach you all these tech skills, and I thought it was the opportunity I needed to make the change. I always had a passion for computers and technology. I would build gaming controllers as a hobby, but I never thought about it as a career. Coming from a sociology background, I didn’t believe any of those skills would translate into tech.

Before applying to the program, I did a lot of research and compared it to other programs offering similar services, and the San Diego Workforce Partnership’s CyberHire program is honestly the best program I saw. Once I started the program and enrolled in San Diego College of Continuing Education’s Desktop Technician certificate, I began to learn so fast. The program has had a heavy impact on my life; it’s been completely life-changing for me.

The certification training gave me all the foundational knowledge I needed to succeed and start out in the industry. I was nervous at first because I had zero work experience in tech, and there were so many new concepts to learn that came at me fast. Even though the training was challenging, I knew I could succeed if I put in the time and effort.

2[72]When the internship opportunity arose at Dispatch Tech, I knew it would give me the hands-on training I needed. I didn’t know what to expect when I first got there. I walked into the internship and Aaron, my now mentor, handed me a broken PC and said, “Fix it.” I didn’t know how, so I started by pushing a button, and that’s how I began to learn. Aaron gave me so many opportunities to learn and grow my skill set. My skills have pretty much quadrupled in a very short amount of time. After my internship, they offered me a job and I am now the Assistant Chief Information Security Officer Director at Dispatch Tech.

It’s extremely surprising how much of my sociology degree comes into play in my current role. I love policies and theories and am now working with those concepts in this current role. I review every cybersecurity tool, how we can apply it and what is needed. I cross reference that with the government policies to ensure everyone can score their government contracts. I want to learn more, so I am going to pursue more certifications and obtain a master’s degree.

I’ve been recommending the program to everyone left and right. The Workforce Partnership programs allow you to produce the skills you will need to do something extremely hard in the workplace environment, which is to change your career path.

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