We love to get updates from our alums, and we were lucky to hear from 2018 grad Travis Jones recently.
PC Alum, Travis Jones
My name is Travis Jones and I graduated from Peninsula College in 2018 with a, associate’s transfer degree in Cybersecurity and Computer Forensics. I then was accepted and graduated from Western Washington University June of 2020. Since August of this year, I have been working as an IT Security Analyst at the University of Idaho in Moscow. I’ve recently acquired my Security+ and CyberSecurity+ certifications and am working on Pentest+ and GCFE (Forensic Examiner) certifications. I owe much of my success to where I started and often reflect back on how instructors Eric Waterkotte and Steve Bearman helped me cultivate the skills I use today (and things I could have done differently along the way 😀 ).
Changing skill sets mid-life is never easy. I have a passion for computers and programming, revived from high school 15 years prior, which fell into place when I moved back to Washington in 2016. I knew I wanted to complete a degree, but didn’t know with what discipline. I remembered getting Running Start credits for classes at Sequim High School and looked through Peninsula College’s website. I immediately noticed Cybersecurity and Computer Forensics. Being a former United States Marine coupled with my propensity for computers, I decided to take the plunge!
I bought a house in Port Angeles in 2009 when I got out of the USMC.I moved back to the Olympic Peninsula because it was my home. I soon remembered how hard it was to make a living here. I accepted an overseas contracting position which turned into 4 years of traveling with L3Communications where I lived in and visited places like Kuwait, Qatar, UAE (Dubai), and Afghanistan fixing helicopters for the Army in Kuwait and installing and managing security systems for the Air Force in Afghanistan. I finished contracting in 2015 and moved to Washington DC where I contracted installing security systems for CBP, FPS, etc. I missed home and had a house to tie up in Washington State. When I moved back (again), I found the program at PC and fell in love (literally and figuratively). I met the love of my life in one of Eric Waterkotte’s classes. We have been married since 2017.
Eric was always very encouraging. He listened and explained things so well. He was always energetic and willing to share his knowledge and his passion for it. Being able to get real life advice from someone who has worked in the discipline and not just taught it was invaluable. Mr. Bearman’s generosity and dedication to explaining things is amazing. I regret not utilizing him more during my time at PC. His courses were difficult and I thought I knew everything. I learned later that everything he taught was invaluable in application. I’m still expanding on my knowledge but am thankful for Mr. Bearman’s kindness when I was flustered or confused. These two gentlemen helped foster growth that I still nurture today.
Being able to attain certifications is a benchmark of learning for me. While they don’t help me do my job, per se, they accredit my knowledge to a certain level. This way when someone starts a conversation with me and I say I am Cybersecurity Analyst certified from CompTIA, they know a general baseline for where I am or what, at a minimum, I can do. Studying for the certifications opens up new avenues as well so that, similar to formal education, I can be exposed to many facets of this already wide and diverse discipline of Cybersecurity. I’m hoping to start my GIAC Certified Forensics Examiner (GCFE) coursework soon!
One change I would have made if I had to do it over again would be to ask more questions. Use my resources more (Lynda.com is amazing). I got bogged down at times and didn’t reach out, which is where some of my frustrations came from. I learned that I don’t need to reinvent the wheel, the world isn’t on my shoulders, and — just to be funny about it — I’m only a “function();” in a much larger program. Asking questions was painful at first, and admitting I didn’t know was hard to swallow. HOWEVER, the more I asked, the better I got at asking the RIGHT questions. Like anything you train at, I became better at phrasing a question so that I could get the answers I needed. I’m still learning 🙂
If I could give advice to someone considering PC’s IT and Cybersecurity programs, I would say, “Do it.” This program is only as hard as you make it (except Java, just study, it’s hard), and you will only benefit as much as the effort you put into it — in class and out. Let your passion extend beyond theclassroom. THIS TOO SHALL PASS. You WILL move on, you WILL graduate. However, if you really apply yourself, you won’t be so surprised when you know what you are talking about during that interview after graduation. Oh, and never stop learning — I don’t imagine you will since you are in cybersecurity where we update our knowledge daily.
I wanted offer up my story since this is where it started, and I know Eric Waterkotte’s program is amazing first hand! I’m not that far along in terms of graduating and solving all of life’s problems, but I hope that by sharing a glimpse of my story I will help others who are just starting theirs!
