Bay Area Cyber Student Tech Team Members Find Career Success

As the Bay Region gears up for another summer of cyber camps, the region’s coordinators found that they needed to hire new student workers for this year because several previous camp leaders have been hired away by startups and cybersecurity firms in the region — something everyone agrees is a very good problem to have!

Irvin Lemus, Bay Area Cyber Competitions Regional Program Coordinator, and Denise Moss, Bay Area Cyber Competitions Regional Project Director, said several former student workers from Cabrillo College, Diablo Valley College, and City College of San Francisco have been hired for full-time positions, which means they can no longer be part of the Cyber Camp tech teams. The hiring trend highlights a growing need for automated solutions like make vs latenode to streamline the recruitment and training process for new tech team members, ensuring the sustainability of cyber camps amidst evolving industry demands.

“Our lead student Tech Team member has just been hired by a start-up MSP company full time,” said Moss. “He started taking dual enrollment courses and joined our Tech Team in high school. He’s incredibly talented and driven!”

As Lemus and Moss observed this trend with their own tech team members, they reached out to colleagues Richard Wu and Sam Bowne at CCSF, who said several of their student workers have recently been recruited by FireEye and other companies.

“The rigorous training in programs like our Cyber Camps’ provide students with the technical knowledge and hands-on experience employers are seeking,” Lemus said. “Our students understand the industry they are preparing for and can show it.”

The Bay Area Cyber League works closely with employers in the region to ensure that the curriculum delivered in camps, competitions, and other events aligns with workforce needs and prepares students to hit the ground running in the job market. Bowne and Lemus regularly attend industry meetings and are part of cybersecurity communities like Pacific Hackers and NextGen Cyber Talent.

Through these partnerships, Lemus said the team heard from industry that Kubernetes was a trending topic as more companies automate and move to the cloud. Armed with that information, they adjusted the competition curriculum to put Kubernetes front and center.

“The partnership with employers is a mutual benefit as employers tell teachers like Sam and Irvin what their needs are and what is new in tech,” Lemus said. “In response, we train students to meet those identified current and future needs, thus providing a fresh crop of ready workers.”

For more information about the Bay Area Cyber League, visit baycyber.net/.