So, for the past two years I have been studying for a Masters in Cybersecurity part time, and thankfully managed to pass with a Distinction. Yay! It’s an itch that I’ve been wanting to scratch for a good long while, and I’m glad to have done it.

This leads me on to my next announcement. I’m going to be studying for a PhD in IoT Security part time, alongside my current work commitments. A couple of people have asked me why I’m doing it, so I thought I’d lay out my reasons here:

  1. It sounds like fun! Seriously; I’m a bit of a nerd with this stuff, and the ability to really dig down into the weeds of a topic is really appealing!
  2. I want to discover something new! The thesis has to show originality, and again that appeals. I’m not expecting to discover gravitational waves, or evolution, but having a little bit of the tree of knowledge that I found first is a really cool thought.
  3. I think I’ll be good at it! Having had a 20 year break between undergraduate and Masters study, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but thankfully I managed to pick things up pretty quickly. Speaking to my now supervisor and putting together a proposal, it seems that I have the ability to do this, and that others agree.
  4. I want to be Doctor Allen! Maybe it’s an ego thing, but I like the idea of knowing I can use that title. I’m not going to, but it’s a cool thing, and it’s a validation. So yeah, Dr. Ash!

I’m not doing this for career progression; there are much shorter and cheaper ways of getting qualifications that employers want. I also don’t want to transfer to academia full time – I’ve seen enough to know that I’m happy in my current little niche! So, that’s the announcement. Let’s see what the next six (!) years bring…