Gerald Johnson

Coming into Forge Institute as a Fellow, I had no experience in cyber security. My job experience as a civilian consisted of Pool Construction and Behavioral Health before I joined the Marine Corps to be a Military Police Officer and Physical Security Specialist. I always thought I would later take these skills I learned and apply them once I finished my time in the Military. After some time I decided that Policing was not for me and I wanted to try something I was passionate about when I was a kid. My last few months in the Marine Corps I was accepted into the DOD Skillbridge program with Forge Institute so that I could pursue my career in Cyber Security.

Having no prior experience with cyber security made it a bit overwhelming when trying to discover where exactly I wanted to start my career. I was able to attend a beginners course for IT/Cyber Fundamentals offered by Forge that gave me basic knowledge on several subjects in the field. Throughout the course, we were introduced to several career coaches from various areas of technology, which allowed me to become exposed to different subjects in the field that I never knew existed. Having access to that type of help I feel is a huge step when trying to decide on a career path to pursue. Through Forge Institute and the knowledge, I have gained with their help, I feel much better about my experience with cyber security and trying to apply in the career field.

Forge Fellow