On International Women in Engineering Day, celebrated on June 23 every year around the world, women in the field of engineering are honored and celebrated for their contributions. The day focuses on raising the profile of women who are changing the field of engineering. In honor of this day, we are spotlighting one of Fortinet's own Systems Engineers, Sandra Tamer, as she shares about her career trajectory and how her technical skills have contributed to making the world a safer place through a career in cybersecurity. 

Fortinet is committed to advancing women with various backgrounds through its Training Institute to create more opportunities for women in cyber, helping to address the cybersecurity skills gap while also diversifying the field. 

Q&A with a Fortinet Woman Engineer

1. Can you tell us about your career pathway?

Sandra Tamer (ST): Ever since I finished my master's degree in telecom engineering, I wanted to become a cybersecurity expert. I started my career in engineering in 2017 when I joined BT as a network engineer. During my time at BT, I was able to increase my technical knowledge, while providing solutions and improvements to common industry problems. In 2021, I joined Vodafone as a product manager where I had an excellent opportunity to gain additional soft skills like leadership and interpersonal skills. At the beginning of 2023, I joined Fortinet where I had the amazing opportunity to further evolve my technical engineering skills in a challenging and exciting industry.

2. What does your current role consist of and what is it about your work that excites you?

ST: My main responsibility at Fortinet is to help our customers understand the value of our products and services. To achieve that, we build and conduct product demonstrations and solution workshops with customers to demonstrate the technical capabilities and benefits of our products and services.

3. What inspired you to pursue a career as systems engineering in cybersecurity and/or education in engineering?

ST: The consequences of data breaches or other incidents can be very significant, impacting an organization's reputation and having financial implications, among other risks. Being able to have an active role in helping people and organizations protect themselves and improve their security posture from cyber risks is very rewarding. With cybersecurity, the learning never stops, which keeps me engaged and challenged. And it presents massive opportunities with various career pathways and growth opportunities.  

4. What advice would you give women looking to start or grow in a career in cybersecurity or pursue education in engineering?

ST: The engineering sector is fast growing and hugely important to our economy, so there are plenty of great opportunities for women to join this exciting area. You can make a difference in the world so don't hesitate to start such an amazing journey.

5. How can women support other women professionally?

ST: The power of women connecting and supporting each other at work is important. As my work experiences have taught me, conversations between women have massive benefits for the individual and the organization. We have to talk to one another more about our own successes and failures. It will help build each other up.

6. Anything else you want to add?

ST: Let's change the culture and help more women thrive rather than just survive. It is time to take our place at the top.

Fortinet supporting the advancement of women at this year's Women in Tech event

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.