Hear from Security is Youth participant and member of the winning team, Joe Searle, as he shares his journey from fitness professional to aspiring cybersecurity analyst. His story highlights the diverse pathways into the security profession and the value of community, learning, and resilience along the way.

By Joe Searle

If you’d told me five years ago I’d be knee-deep in log files, threat intel, and SIEM dashboards, I’d have laughed you out of the room. I was the bloke who avoided technology at all costs; if something didn’t work, I’d give up before trying to fix it. But life has a way of surprising you, especially when the path you thought you’d take gets cut short.

If you’d told me five years ago I’d be knee-deep in log files, threat intel, and SIEM dashboards, I’d have laughed you out of the room. I was the bloke who avoided technology at all costs; if something didn’t work, I’d give up before trying to fix it. But life has a way of surprising you, especially when the path you thought you’d take gets cut short.

When I was 17, I wanted nothing more than to join the Royal Marines. That dream ended with an injury, and I had to rethink what “purpose” looked like for me. I threw myself into health and fitness instead, eventually running a successful wellness clinic for eight years. It was hard graft, but it was meaningful. I was helping people, changing lives, and building something of my own.

Then came COVID. Like many, I had to close the doors on a business I’d poured everything into. From there it was a patchwork of whatever I could find. Amazon deliveries, remote sales gigs, and eventually a full-time sales role. On paper, it looked steady. In reality, it left me unfulfilled. I wanted more than a payslip; I wanted to protect, serve, and make a difference.

Cybersecurity, even in a broader sense, had always been in the back of my mind, but the technology side put me off. It seemed boring, overly complicated, and “not for me”. In a very cliche way, that changed one evening when I stumbled across a few YouTube videos about cybersecurity. Something clicked. I decided, with a fair bit of hesitation, to try the Google Cybersecurity Certificate. At first, it was like learning a new language. There was plenty of effing and blinding working through the content, but halfway through, the penny dropped. I wasn’t just interested; I was hooked.

Since then, I’ve thrown myself into the field. I earned my CompTIA Security+ and CySA+, completed Blue Team Level 1, and worked through the entire Tier 1 SOC analyst pathway on TryHackMe, and for good measure, the SOC path on LetsDefend. Each step has been about building confidence, sharpening my skills to be job-ready (because even if hiring managers don’t explicitly tell you this, a lot of hiring managers want an “out of the box” analyst ready to go), and proving to myself that yes, I can do this.

One real turning point came through my studies at Portsmouth University. My Global Security lecturer, John Akerele, encouraged me to join the ASIS Security is Youth Hackathon. In all honesty, I didn’t have any expectations. I mean, why should I? I’d never written incident response plans or presented technical concepts in front of an audience. Why should I expect to come out ahead of others who already work in the security industry with live experience?

That being said, our team ended up winning. But even more importantly, in my opinion, I got to collaborate with some incredible people from across the field. The experience showed me the power of community in security. It’s not just about the tools but also the people you learn from and connect with and share experiences with.

Now, my goal is clear. I want to start out as a SOC analyst and progress quickly into threat hunting, ideally in environments where my counterterrorism and intelligence studies overlap with cyber, protecting critical infrastructure, or working within defence. It feels like I’ve finally found a career that aligns with who I am, someone who wants to defend, protect, and make a difference.

The past year and a half has been a crash course in starting over, but I wouldn’t change a thing. From Royal Marine hopeful, to clinic owner, to a lost sales rep, to now – a future defender in cyber. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s this: you don’t need to start out “technical” to make it in cybersecurity. In fact, you don’t NEED any prior experience going into security. Sure, it’s a “nice to have”, but what is non-negotiable is grit, curiosity, surrounding yourself with those in a position you want to be, and having the willingness to keep showing up, even when you want nothing more than to put that textbook through the shredder or your fist through a monitor.