The Challenge of Employment after foreign studies.

It’s always the dream of many a young African scholar to win fully paid scholarships to study in the west especially when the subject of study is a technical course like Computer science, Engineering or related courses for the obvious reasons that the technologies, methods and lecture materials are more mature and hence a proper experience. It was no different for me as I nurtured dreams of finally fulfilling my dreams of getting world class education and coming back to serve my country at the very highest level. While at it I spared no effort to learn relevant technologies and ideas of how we could improve our Country through these new processes and technologies. I took up internships to better learn the Industry and also volunteered my Cyber security skills to the local British Charities to support them safely move their activities online during the pandemic. Fast forward and having graduated with impressive skills, in fact my Dissertation research paper on the application of Artificial intelligence in the detection and prevention of loss of Personally Identifying information in the cloud was among the best papers and entered into the School of computer science Hall of fame.

Even before graduation, I began receiving offers some to the tune of 80,000 -100,000 £ p.a to work in the UK but I could not take them due to contractual restraints and also I honestly felt I was going to be more valuable working and serving in My Country. I gladly took the flight back home despite my colleagues from other African states & the Caribbean making it known to me in no uncertain terms that that was not an option to them irrespective of the contracts therein. They would rather take in casual jobs in the sweat shops of the UK that go back to their Countries and sit in the boards back in their Countries.

I have to admit that these made me hesitate several times because they were also echoed by close friends & family. Arriving just before the world was shut down by The Covid-19 pandemic, I decided to share my skills & experience in Securing people and Companies online as most went digital during the pandemic. I started a weekly blog on how to remain secure online and was a Speaker in a couple of Webinars on Cyber Security as well as a panelist on national TV during the Cyber security week where I expounded on Cyber security issues from Data security, Cyber threat intelligence, Digital security on social media, Digital privacy concerns of drones and Mobile security. To keep my edge in Cyber security, I took up free online courses on other aspects of Security, subscribed to several Security forums to widen my knowledge scope for the weekly articles and decided to finally do some certifications relevant to my Line of business. I took weekly CTF challenges to keep my edge on the technical aspects of Cyber security knowing that with that sandwich of experience and knowledge I would be valuable to most Companies. I looked forward to the first sets of interviews as the world begun to open up after the invention of the vaccine and kept my feet on the ground and heads in the cloud hoping that finally my dreams of being a valuable player in the world technology arena were not so far away.

Beyond all these, I have kept an active network with the Industry both within and without to keep me knowledgeable and have visibility on those not within my peers range. First interview was at a big four firm seeking a Cyber Security consultant and having looked at the profile they were looking for I was shoe-in on the role and the interviewers were as excited as I was after the interview and I was sure finally I was close to my dreams. A call week later and I was informed they liked my skill set and profile but did not have an immediate role so I would be on the wait list for a new project coming up soon. Around the same time I had yet another Big four firm reach out and seek me out for a senior role in Cyber Security and this time I did not make the cut for what I was later informed was my lack of market experience as this was a Sales role that required an experienced hand to bring the firm enough business. This was understandable though I was of the opinion that with my skill set I definitely would have a role in any team especially consulting in Cyber Security. Other firms wanted me aboard but as an unpaid intern for indefinite periods of time.

I kept in touch with the recruiters hoping that I would soon get a call and unfortunately it’s almost a year and a half with nothing yet. At some point I was informed by a friend in one of the firms that I needed to edit my resume and remove the fact that I had a foreign master’s degree to stand any chance of getting in. How was I going to remove the very crème of my expertise to stand a chance at a job I imagined actually needed it? The interviews then begun to come in fast and within a week I had an interview for Security engineer at Google & Microsoft and even though I did not make them both one due to insufficient experience for the particular role and the other due to my Immigration status, I learnt quite a lot about the process and decided to give them another shot in the near future.

I turned my attention to the local and regional market where I interviewed with a couple of major banks, technology firms and government agencies. For the banks I was reliably informed that despite my impressive resume, they preferred people already in the banking industry in Kenya so it was going to be a real challenge to get through to the interviews. I tried to reach out to the recruiters and have informational interviews where I was sure they would see my skills and give me a chance to help in their institution that obviously need such skills as I do. That has not succeeded yet. For the government agency I interviewed to the very last level and the interviewers were visibly impressed with the interview that was scheduled for 45 minutes taking over 75 minutes just discussing the different projects I had done. The results were interesting because a few days before the projected day of the results, I was called by the organizing team asking for my technical submission for the interview which was claimed to be missing :-) . This was the only thing submitted during the interview hence there’s no way I could have even done it without its submission. With that went the opportunity and I marched on trying to look for other opportunities within with a few more interviews most of which were start-ups in Cyber Security who curiously never went beyond asking for my resume.

By now I was beginning to question whether It was actually a good decision to take up the scholarship and leave my previous job in Cyber security assurance where I was in charge of the overall Cyber security posture of the firm with over 300 devices secured and in Compliance with the relevant CBK and government of Kenya regulations on data privacy. What begun with so much promise was beginning to be a nightmare. It increasingly became hard to attend events with friends & family as I had yet to figure out an appropriate response to the question of how I was yet to get a job with my professional background.

I then took up a Fellowship at a Cyber Security Policy institute to research on emerging technologies of Cyber warfare and the relevant Policy interventions to ensure the protection of digital privacies of users of digital platforms like Social media. I then proposed a policy framework to guide Cyber warfare with specific roles for Digital platforms, regulatory agencies, civil society and the users themselves. If there’s anything I am glad about being back to Kenya the last year is that it allowed spend time with my Mum and grand mum in their final moments alive and that I will forever cherish.

I have recently established a Cyber Security consulting firm to help advice small & medium sized firms that need Cyber security consulting services but may not have enough budgets to get the same from the big four firms. As for the promise of a fulfilling career back to my Country, It has been anything but hopeful and despite the fact my skill is obviously highly necessary to most firms It has not worked for me so far. I hope that the relevant people will fix what needs to be fixed so that other highly skilled young people are able to valuably contribute to the development of this great republic and continent.