Dealing With Burnout In Cybersecurity
Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash
Burnout is a heavily discussed topic in many industries today. I think it's a huge concern, especially in the cyber and IT space. With news articles, blogs, and content creators all over the internet, it's so easy to spend all your time just keeping up with new emerging cyber news. Sites like LinkedIn and YouTube are great for sharing content, but for many, myself included at times, it feels like so many people are doing fantastic things for the industry while you are just trying to keep up. I spent the first 7 years of my career aggressively pursuing education. I signed up for certification courses, sometimes multiple courses at the same time, trying to gain more knowledge and credentials for myself in the industry. I would push myself until I felt overwhelmed, shut down, and didn’t do anything for a few months. Then I would find myself back on the same grind. While that process did help me learn and progress in my early career, I eventually learned that it isn’t sustainable. If you plan on staying in this field for 20-30 years you need to find a process that works for you to continue to meet your goals while maintaining boundaries and prioritizing other things in your life.
I have spent the last few months reflecting on my career in cyber. My views on grinding and life balance have changed substantially since I started in my first cyber role in 2016. I think grinding and working hard can be very important at times, but you need to recognize the cost and give yourself an end goal. I am going to study for 2 hours a day for 8 weeks to prepare for the X certification exam or learn X topic. Then plan to give yourself a break for a few weeks or work on another project that’s not related to your work. I have found recently that using this approach helps me prioritize what I want to work on next while giving myself built-in breaks instead of continuously grinding. It’s okay to work in small breaks along the journey as well as needed. This approach may not work for everyone, but I have found breaking it down into chunks like this to be incredibly helpful. Am I perfect and able to do this all the time. ABSOLUTELY NOT. I still often push myself too hard and start to feels signs of burn out, but understanding what burnout feels like to me and acknowledging it is an important first step.
It’s also important to acknowledge other aspects of your life that may take priority over your work. Do you have a significant other? Do you have other time-consuming hobbies or interests? Do you have children (or a very spoiled dog)? Sometimes other areas of your life need to take priority and it's okay to not be “working” on anything if you don’t have time for it. You shouldn’t feel like you are falling behind because you don’t have a project going on. Work will always be there, do not let it get in the way of other things that are important to you regardless of what stage you are in in your career.
Try to figure out what your life priorities are and set your boundaries around them. Some people in the industry can dedicate hundreds of hours per year to improving their craft, developing content, blogging, and pursuing other opportunities. Other people just want to work a 9-5 and prioritize other hobbies or simply do not want to dedicate all of their time to work. Figure out what works best for you and stick with that. There is nothing wrong with either approach as long as you are happy with it.
With social media, it's very easy to compare yourself to others in the industry and life in general, but remember most people use social media as a highlight reel and rarely share their shortcomings or failures. I failed Security+, CCNA, and Azure Fundamentals the first time I took them. When I took my first SANS course I was incredibly overwhelmed working through the material and ended up wasting a ton of money on exam extensions from analysis paralysis. I was so overwhelmed I didn’t work on the course at all until eventually the deadline was a week away. These struggles made me stronger and more confident in my abilities helping me identify what methods of study work best for me, but they are rarely things people share on social media. Despite these lessons, I still find myself in the same situation sometimes overcome with too many options or in a position where I said yes to too many things at once.
Never feel like you are alone in your struggles whether that is trying to progress in the field, find your niche, or working to enter the industry. We all have days when things feel overwhelming or when we feel we are inadequate as I discussed in my earlier blog on imposter syndrome. It’s important to recognize when you need to take a step back from everything and take a break. Disconnect yourself from social media, pause a project you are working on, tell your boss you cannot handle any new projects right now, and focus on yourself for a while. I have made a point of pursuing some hobbies that do not involve my computer to help force me to get away and unplug. For me trying to get better at olympic weight lifting, fishing, and golf have really helped me step away. Being away from a computer and doing something outside to improve my fitness really helps me mentally (even if I am not really good at any of my hobbies). Find a few hobbies that work for you.
Burnout and information overload can be overwhelming in our industry. There are multiple methods of coping with it. What works for me, may not work for you. Read articles, share your stories and experiences with others, and identify what approaches help you handle burnout best. I hope some of you find my perspective and approach helpful or can share some of your own techniques with others. Finding mentors and others in the field who have gone through similar experiences as you is an added benefit. There are so many people in the industry who want to help each other. Reach out and find a community that suites you.
