How SNHU Grad Cyndie Ramirez Built Her Second Career in Cybersecurity

Cyndie Ramirez '18 wasn’t familiar with the cybersecurity field until she was nearing the end of her bachelor’s degree in information technology at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU).

She was drawn to computer networking and working with servers — something she did a lot of in her classes. But then she started wondering how to protect all this work that’s being done from cyberthreats.

So, she asked her instructor about it. Her instructor followed it up with a different question: “Well, did you ever look into cyber?”

Over the last seven years, Ramirez not only looked into it. She built her second career in it.

Securing the Concentration

Despite being at the end of her information technology program, Ramirez decided to stay in school a bit longer to add a cybersecurity concentration.

“That was the best thing I did,” she said.

The class she most enjoyed during her time at SNHU involved white hat hacking — also known as ethical hacking.

“It allowed me to have hands-on experience — think as a hacker, but obviously, you know, ethical(ly),” she said. “It allowed me to see the other side, and it really switched my way of thinking.”

In the years since, the mindset and tools she gained in this class have helped her conduct investigations time and time again in her career as a cybersecurity analyst.

Building Her Career

Ramirez first joined the field as a security analyst in a security operations center (SOC). After spending a few years in that environment, she transitioned to an insider threats team — a facet of cybersecurity she said she loves.

She credits some of the school-sponsored and self-made extracurricular activities she participated in as her differentiator in the job search — particularly where she was coming to the field without any experience.

“I believe it helped me to get my first role because when I talked about ... the different things I did, obviously I explained what I was doing, why I was doing it,” Ramirez said. “It showed my understanding, right? Not just — I took the classes and that was it. It showed that I understood what I need to do, and here's the additional things I was doing just to get some hands-on experience.”

Among her extracurricular activities were Capture the Flag activities, the Grace Hopper Celebration and home lab projects.

She did all of this as a mom, working full-time as a middle and high school teacher. 

“(This) was actually really fun to do as well, because I was mentoring my own high school students,” she said, encouraging some to pursue computer-related career paths.
Read more about how she built experience to get started in cybersecurity.

Read more about how she built experience to get started in cybersecurity.

The Power of Mentoring

Mentoring means a lot to Ramriez — particularly as someone who didn’t see a lot of people who looked like her in technology.

“I've always loved the technology field,” she said. “However, I didn't have a lot of mentors to look up to as a woman. I found one that did help me ... and that's kind of how I pivoted to cyber.”

Now, as a senior manager of an insider threat team, Ramirez mentors others. “I believe in the power of mentoring, because I believe I'm also a product of mentoring,” she said.  

She enjoys encouraging young girls to break into the field and helping them navigate the career path that most interests them.

“That's what I would love to continue to do, is encourage the young girls to get into this field,” Ramirez said. “Although they might not see people like me on TV... we're out there.”

Rebecca LeBoeuf Blanchette '18 '22G is a writer at Southern New Hampshire University, where she fulfills her love of learning daily through conversations with professionals across a range of fields. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a minor in Professional Writing at SNHU’s campus in Manchester, New Hampshire, and followed her love of storytelling into the online Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing at SNHU. Connect with her on LinkedIn.