Cybersecurity with Forensics student, McKenzie Bruso from the United States of America took a work placement as a Network Engineer with CISCO as part of her course.

“When I  got my placement at CISCO as a network engineer, I was a bit nervous as I was doing a cyber security with forensics course. I didn’t want to be behind compared to the other three placement students I met there. However, when I got there, it seemed we all knew just as much. The skills I’d learned from Networking Fundamentals made me feel confident in what I was doing and helped me pick up new things since I could understand the basics. With this base knowledge and the new stuff I was learning, I was able to help build networks and troubleshoot devices to let the head engineers test for customers. It was super exciting and I ended up building some very large projects that will be there for years to come.

“From my experience at CISCO, they cared a lot about your personality and how you worked in a team environment more than just theoretical knowledge because that can always be learned. Overall my placement year was terrific and gave me  great experience I can use in the future when applying for graduate positions. Being able to say that you have worked in a course-specific environment is helpful and looks excellent to companies when applying for jobs. My biggest advice to other students, looking for a placement, is to apply for as many jobs as possible, even if you don’t feel you have all the qualifications, many employers are looking for other skills like teamwork as well.

“Everything I learned on my course really helped me on placement. I had a couple of favourite lab sessions from each year on my course. In my first-year, I loved building PCs and playing with Arduino boards. The digital forensics labs in the second year were super exciting and challenging. I also enjoyed being able to build and set up network services in my Network Services and Administration labs. I loved the new challenge that the Investigative Forensics lab brought me.

“Whenever I faced challenges either personally or with my course, my lecturers were always incredibly helpful in advising me and taking the time to explain things if I was struggling.

“Support services at Hallam are very helpful. I used the Careers Centre when applying for my placements. This was partly because it was assigned as a task for my Professionalism and Employability Skills module; however, I returned several times. Each time I came in with a new CV or cover letter, they would always help me make sure it fitted the needs of the job I was applying for. They even helped me with my interviews when I needed it.

“I also enjoyed being a student representative for my course. I loved providing feedback and seeing the changes being made by the University and my lecturers to better fit the needs of the students. 

“After I graduate, I aim to apply for a graduate visa and stay in the country for two more years to do a graduate program. Although I’m still unsure of what area I’d like to work in, having the rounded background this course has given me will allow me to apply for jobs in many different branches of IT. I hope to find the one best fit for me.”