Episode 17 - Meshack Mortiz - From Heavy Equipment Operator in the US Marines to US Government Space Agency SOC Analyst

Meshack Mortiz immigrated with his family from the Philippines when he was 13 years old. His family had plans for him to go to college and become a Nurse, or learn medicine through the US Air Force. But Meshack found a special camaraderie among the US Marine recruits that persuaded him to join the most elite fighting force on earth.

Learn about his journey from being an Engineer Equipment Operator (MOS 1345) to becoming a SOC analyst for a top US Government space agency, and then his most recent transition to the private sector as an Incident Response Analyst. Meshack shares tips and tricks that helped him along each stage of the journey that began with the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA) https://military.microsoft.com/programs/microsoft-software-systems-academy/ and how he prepared for his interviews, built a home lab, and sought out mentors.

00:00 Introduction to Meeshack, a heavy equipment operator in the United States Marine Corp

4:30 Meshack explains the mindset it requires to  have a successful career transition into Cybersecurity

"You have to enjoy it."

5:30 Meshack explains how he prepared to get into cybersecurity, through certifications, in particular the Security+ exam.

8:00 Meshack shares how he got his first job in cybersecurity by using OSINT skills to research Social Media

He looked at job postings to see what employers were looking for, then he worked backwards from there.

11:00 Meshack shares his elevator pitch that he used to get people to respond to him on LinkedIN. He got a great response rate!

14:00 Meshack shares his interview strategy: 50% likability and 50% technical skill

16:00 Meshack describes his first home lab setup involved a Raspberry Pi DNS Sinkhole 

and pulled everything into the free edition of Splunk 

Joe also had given him guidance on using host based IDS such as SNORT 

19:30 Interview technique: explain what you have done in your home lab before they start asking you technical questions, especially when you have no prior job experience

31:34 Meeshack shares how his family immigrated to the United States when he was 13 and his family wanted him to become a nurse but he shocked them when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corp.

39:00 For those who want to get into Cybersecurity, Meshack recommends A+, Network+ then Security +.  He also recommends CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) 

For those who are already in Cyber SOC positions, Meshack recommends SANS GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)