Hi everyone! I’m a Security Engineer, and I often get asked: "Do you just sit in a dark room and hack things all day?"
The truth is much more interesting (and a bit more organized) than that. If you are aspiring to start a career in cyber security, I want to give you a clear picture of what a typical day looks like.
Here is my daily routine.
1. The Morning "Pulse Check"
The first thing I do when I log in is check our dashboards. I look at the alerts from the previous night.
Is there a spike in failed login attempts?
Did our system flag any suspicious files?
Are our servers running smoothly?
Think of this like a doctor checking a patient’s vital signs. Most alerts are "false alarms," but we treat every one seriously until we prove it’s safe.
2. The "Daily Stand-up"
In most tech companies, we have a quick 15-minute meeting called a "Stand-up." We talk about:
What we did yesterday.
What we are doing today.
Any "blockers" (problems stopping us from finishing our work).
Security is a team sport. I constantly talk to software developers and IT staff to make sure we are all on the same page.
3. Deep Work: Building and Fixing
A big part of my day is not just "finding" problems, but building solutions. This might include:
Writing Code/Scripts: Automating boring tasks so the computer can find threats faster than a human can.
Reviewing Architecture: A developer might say, "We are building a new app." I look at their plan and say, "Great, but let’s make sure the user data is encrypted here."
Patching: When a new "vulnerability" (a hole in a software) is discovered globally, I have to make sure our systems are updated immediately to close that hole.
4. The "Fire Drill" (Incidents)
Sometimes, a real threat happens. We call this an Incident. When an alarm goes off that looks real—like a laptop getting infected with malware—everything else stops. We follow a plan:
Contain it: Stop it from spreading.
Investigate it: How did it get in?
Fix it: Clean the system.
Learn: Make sure it never happens again.
5. Research and Learning
Cyber security changes every single day. Hackers get smarter, so I have to get smarter too. I usually spend at least 30 to 60 minutes a day reading security news, watching tutorials, or practicing in a "lab" environment. If you don't love learning, this might be a tough career!
6. Wrapping Up
Before I log off, I document everything. In security, if it isn't documented, it didn't happen. I write reports on what we fixed so that the managers know the company is safe.
My Advice for Aspirants
If you want to be a Security Engineer, don't just focus on "hacking." Focus on understanding how things work. Learn how a network moves data, learn how a website is built, and learn a little bit of Python code.
The most important skill isn't knowing every tool—it’s curiosity. You have to want to know "why" something is happening.