PERSONAL VIEW
I wasn’t always a fan of communities. I never saw the need for one. As a community, I saw that people in your business were always good but mostly bad.
Then, I got into a community and saw the impact of the community and its benefits.
The communities I joined made my whole journey in cybersecurity seamless and easy.
In this post, I will describe all the communities I am a member of and the role these communities played in my life. The last community is my bias.
TECH4DEV
I will always be grateful to Tech4Dev for the start of my cybersecurity journey. Before I go further, to become part of the tech4dev community, you have to have been one of their student or alumni.
After becoming interested in cybersecurity and taking a few online courses, I applied for the tech4dev boot camp.
Now, during my time in this boot camp, I was an active member and a serious student. This act opened the door for me in many ways.
When we finished our boot camp, a colleague invited me to join her team, preparing for a competition.
Joining that team taught me the importance of cybersecurity policies for an app, and we built a multifactor authenticator app.
A colleague from my tech4dev boot camp also sent the link to apply for the Cybergirls fellowship that changed my life.
DIARY OF HACKERS
I learned about Diary of Hackers when I was invited to speak at the first Ilorin event. I declined the speaking invitation but went to the event—one of my best decisions, as I had fun in a cybersecurity way. To become a community member, complete the form and join the WhatsApp group once the link is sent.
An example of the importance of community: Someone on the group chat advertised a job, and I messaged him about it. His company asked him to recommend people for hire. “Why not give it to my people?” obviously those who are qualified. In communities, you get access to jobs before the world gets access to them.
CYBERGIRLS
My favourite community. To join this prestigious fellowship, you must apply for their cybergirls program and pass with over 70%.
Let me tease you a little bit about what this community does for its members. As a member, you get trained in cybersecurity from novice to expert level, get vouchers to write industry-recognised certifications, and get paired with companies that align with your goals.
They host private webinars for their members and still train them even after they have gotten a job so they will retain their world-class status.
In this fellowship, I worked on my procrastination, confidence, and public speaking; the best part was that I found sisters on the same journey.
MORE
There are more communities in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large dedicated to cybersecurity and helping beginners on the way.
I focused on these three communities because I am/was a member.
Other communities I have read of are the renowned cyblack organisation, cybersechaven, naijasecforce, cyberexpertsng, securitytrybe, cyberpatron