Information Security Analyst Review

I am a security analyst on the Data Loss Prevention team. This largely involves reviewing reports to look for unusual / suspicious behavior and monitoring access and availability of sensitive data. I also participate in minor investigations and monitor employee activity. I have the opportunity to create and improve the processes that I work on.

When I joined the team I came from a completely unrelated department with next to no knowledge of cyber security. From within the team I have been given the opportunity to learn much through online training, hands on experience and most recently this apprenticeship. I have learnt a lot but know there is so much more still to learn

I have mixed feelings about the programme itself. I was working at Enterprise before the programme and the on the job aspect I enjoy, as I did before, but that's not really due to the apprenticeship. The training classes are very interesting and for the most part pretty good with the exception of one or two that had an incompetent trainer. The portfolio work I am not keen on. It's been made clear that really that is the most important part of the apprenticeship yet it's the area I have the least guidance in and also the tasks don't align with the work I'm actually doing. Along with limitations for confidentiality this makes it difficult to complete without making it up.

My particular programme (Cyber Security Technologist) is fairly new and for that reason has undergone several changes whilst I've been doing it. Originally I was told it was a 2 year programme, now it's meant to be 18 months and yet I have training sessions booked that go beyond that. There is a structure in terms of the training sessions and the portfolio work but again this has fluctuated since I signed up. There are also some organisation issues such as classes have been set in different locations resulting in occasions where people have gone to the wrong part of London for their courses.

My employer has been very supportive of the apprenticeship. I've had no issues with having the time available to attend all the courses and they are happy for me to make the time during my work day to complete my portfolio. Unfortunately that's not always possible as my role requires some urgency for certain tasks that might come up unexpectedly so it can sometimes be difficult to make the time for the additional work. They have also tried to expose me to work relevant to the portfolio but in a company of my size with split out departments it's not always been possible.

The training sessions themselves work towards the various exams that I've taken and for the most part they have been good. Although there have been a couple of incidents where the training sessions didn't really align with the syllabus for the exams resulting in mass failures and required resits. The portfolio work hasn't come with much support. Mostly it's a single meeting every 6 weeks with a "skills coach" to run through what needs to be done.

I haven't qualified yet but I do feel I have learnt quite a bit from the various courses that I've taken as part of the apprenticeship. Half of the courses discuss the concept of cyber security and quite a bit of that I had already gathered an understanding of from my work experience but it still fleshed it out a bit more and also gave me confidence in how much I had already learned. The other half focus more on more technical skills. This was much newer to me and whilst it isn't as relevant to my current job role I foresee these skills being useful as my career progresses.

Yes. My work provides a range of extra curricular activities. There are various committees for charities, personal development etc. There is also one for employee well being that provides fitness classes for the employees. There are some social clubs such as a board game group. There are often events on at lunch times.

Yes

I enjoy working here. The company has core values that I can agree with and actually seems to follow them. The people are friendly and welcoming. They work to improve the local community with various charity initiatives. They promote from within, where possible, which allows plenty of opportunity for advancement.

If you want to apple to Enterprise I would look into the company first. Their values, their history etc. An important part of working here is the culture so make sure it's right for you. Dress to impress for the interviews as one downside to working here is the dress code can be quite strict!