Fortinet is committed to helping develop a diverse, highly skilled cybersecurity workforce to help close the skills gap. As part of the Fortinet Training Institute's Education Outreach program, the Fortinet Veterans program works to fill the cybersecurity skills gap by helping facilitate the transition of military service members, veterans, and military spouses into the cybersecurity industry. The program has a presence in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia as well as a reach throughout the world with our network of partners.

Military veterans are by nature problem-solvers who understand the importance of maintaining a strong defense posture and following the chain of command when dealing with an active threat. We recently spoke with Pete Lujan, Director of Systems Engineering at Fortinet, about his experience as a military veteran and his pathway into a career in cybersecurity.

Exploring Different Pathways into Cybersecurity

1. What is your military background?

Pete Lujan (PL): I joined the Marine Corps in 1995. I signed an open contract and was assigned the Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) 0151 Personnel Admin Clerk. I was attached to 1^st FSSG and then MSSG-11, both aboard Camp Pendleton, California, from 1996 to 1999. Toward the end of my first enlistment, I learned that I could transfer jobs and I applied for MOS 4066 Small Computer Systems Specialist. In 2000, I was transferred to Cherry Point, North Carolina, and in 2001, I requested a second career move into a brand-new MOS 0689 Information Assurance Marine, now known as a cybersecurity technician. After many years spent in different capacities, I spent my last tour at Camp Pendleton, where I was assigned as the Defensive Cyber Operations Chief for the 9^th Communications Battalion and retired as a Gunnery Sergeant in 2015.

2. What did you find most challenging transitioning into civilian life?

PL: I initially felt some guilt feeling like I was walking away from the Marines. It was also intimidating facing the unknown and feeling like in my next chapter I wouldn't be doing anything that mattered as much as before when I was configuring, deploying, and managing networks that were responsible for the lives of my Marines and securing the United States as a nation. I also initially felt like no one else knew what I had been through, and that I was going to have to prove myself every single day to make it as a civilian.

3. What is your current role at Fortinet and what led you to pursue a career in cybersecurity?

PL: I am the Director of Systems Engineering for the SoCal mid-enterprise team. In 1999, I was talking to some Marines, and I remember one of the first times a Marine tried to explain to me how the internet worked. He said at a high level, when you type in a web address it gets translated to an IP address, which is a block of four sets of numbers with a value from 0 to 255. Those numbers get translated to binary numbers of ones and zeros, and those numbers get transmitted by electric current signal of 1 = power on and 0 = power off, and this is the signal from your terminal across the wire to its destination. I remember thinking that I had no understanding of what I had just heard, but that day I knew that I wanted to be part of this world. Twenty-four years later, and I am still excited about coming into work every day.

Pete Lujan featured in Military Makeover shares Fortinet's focus on veterans' careers in cybersecurity

4. How has your military background helped prepare you for your current role?

PL: Although most of my time in the military was related to cybersecurity, the position that helped me the most was my time on the Red Team, playing the "cybercriminal" for three years. Prior to my time on the Red Team, I would have bet my career that the networks I helped design, configure, and certify for deployment were secure from any adversary. But after completing some intense training and realizing how easy it was to infiltrate and gain access to almost every network, I spent many nights thinking back on instances that may have been overlooked on my watch.

Managing networks across multiple levels of classification and having to answer up the chain of command has given me a reliable perspective and the ability to sit down and relate to just about every one of my customers and have an open and honest conversation about ways to potentially improve their security posture.

5. What advice would you give other veterans interested in cyber?

PL: Cyber is where it's at! There are so many pathways that are part of cyber, all you need to do is find out what path interests you the most. You can go down the network path, or become a server admin, you can work the cloud, virtualization, even storage and programing. There are so many specialties available.

In my opinion, to be good at cybersecurity you need to know a little about everything and be able to tie it into a bundle from the start, not add it on after the fact. You need to gain as much experience as possible and know you will never be done learning, whether that's through training to upskill or pursuing certifications.

Find out more about how Fortinet's Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) and Training Institute programs-including the NSE Certification program, Academic Partner program, and Education Outreach program-are helping to solve the cyber skills gap and prepare the cybersecurity workforce of tomorrow.