What's your job about?
CrowdStrike, specifically the Falcon Complete team, stops breaches on endpoints, workloads, and identities, with analysts investigating and remediating these breaches to protect our customers.
Throughout the initial months of my internship, I have been training to analyse and remediate detections that arise within customers’ environments. During my training, my areas of responsibility have included assisting customers with issues and queries they have while navigating the Falcon console. I am also working with my team members to assist customers, while simultaneously training to become a Falcon Complete Analyst, obtaining CCFA and CCFR certifications, and learning about the threats our customers face.
Specifically, my internship has allowed me to gain knowledge about the industry I wouldn’t have been able to through my university degree, as well as gain valuable experience and meet people with similar career goals and interests.
What's your background?
I was born in Christchurch, New Zealand and lived there until I was 7 years old before moving to Australia and finishing my schooling here.
Throughout high school, I always had a very big interest in technology and computers, opting to spend a lot of my free time gaming and learning about the IT world. My father working in IT was a large influence on me and my ambitions and subsequently, I took up software development subjects in late high school and enrolled in a Bachelor of Computer Science. Throughout the later stages of my schooling and first two years studying at university, I worked at Coles which I found to be a great place to work and gain experience within a company.
I applied for my current position through my degree, which features a year of industry-based learning and internships. I spent several weeks applying for and researching jobs, and I found the opportunity at CrowdStrike to be best suited to my future career goals. It was a chance for me to gain a greater insight into the world of computer science and information technology with practical experience, as opposed to the theoretical learning featured throughout my degree.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
I absolutely think someone with a different background would be able to do my job. The onboarding and training I have undertaken at CrowdStrike have been invaluable, and although some of the topics can be daunting, there are a lot of great tools and people to help with personal development goals. Being willing to learn and having the ability to work within a team are great skills to have when looking into a possible internship with CrowdStrike.
What’s the coolest thing about your job?
I enjoy seeing the broad range and different types of organisations and people I get to help on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, I lacked confidence in customer communications when starting out, but I have been able to develop my skills in this area, and now the daily interactions with customers from all across the world are something I find very interesting and rewarding.
What are the limitations of your job?
I spend the majority of my time working from home, which can be challenging for me personally as I enjoy separating my work environment from my living environment. Luckily there are plenty of chances for me to meet up with my team in person, which is something I consider really meaningful as it helps create professional relationships that last a long time.
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What is your team like?
My team is great! Everyone is very welcoming and friendly, and they’re from all different backgrounds. The weekly catch-ups and frequent communications we have through Slack or Zoom are something I find really helpful, especially when I was first starting out at the company because it was daunting not to know anyone. People on my team are always happy to help out or answer questions, and I have found it much easier for me to develop my skills with such a supportive team around me.
How do you feel your job plays an important role in society/to the clients?
The protection we offer to our clients is something I consider to be a necessity for the organisations we protect. The number of breaches and detections we handle on a day-to-day basis really helps put into perspective the value of the work CrowdStrike does. Being able to see first-hand how we have protected our customers is something that is really motivating and rewarding.
How do you network and interact with other people at CrowdStrike?
During my internship, I have had several opportunities to meet and network with other interns and employees at CrowdStrike. Having dinners to meet people within the team I would not normally interact with and office days in which we all get to work together in person have been a highlight of my internship so far. These events have been instrumental in helping me create the relationships I have with my team and other interns within the company.