Everyone has a reason for joining the military. Mic Merritt’s may be one of the most intriguing.
“I joined the USAF on a dare,” she said, referring to a friend who was enlisted in the Marine Corps at the time. “He dared me to join any branch of service.”
Merritt saw the military as an opportunity for travel and educational benefits. She didn’t plan to stay long. But as the years passed, she found she enjoyed the job and its opportunities.
She learned leadership, problem-solving and strategic thinking – qualities that are often called “soft skills,” but which in reality are “power skills” that have boosted her standing in her current career field.
Over 20 years after enlisting, Merritt retired, confident that she could bring those skills into the civilian sector and apply her experience in other roles.
Merritt’s first job in the Air Force had been in law enforcement, which relates to her current passion for cybersecurity.
“I learned how to protect and safeguard,” she says. “Initially, it was about people, bases, assets and equipment. I still protect people today, but in a completely different way. Cybersecurity is just a continuation of my service, where I protect people using digital systems.”
Student Veteran Experience
When Merritt enrolled at Western Governors University, she chose the program based on its flexibility. She was surprised by the extent of the staff's experience with student veterans, and by the extra career counseling the school offers.
“My program mentor understood my odd hours, my weekend and night on-call work, my deployments and field time,” Merritt says, adding that her WGU mentor would “adapt her schedule to mine when I needed it and was available at unusual hours when I wanted extra support.”
“I felt like WGU understood what military members were dealing with regularly, and the culture and respect I received were amazing,” Merritt continues. “Additionally, I felt I was being trained in real-world and directly applicable skills to my job. I felt seen and heard as a veteran.”
The flexibility of the Western Governors University program was among its biggest benefits for Merritt, who already had experience in cybersecurity when she enrolled.
“WGU fit my schedule as a full-time working professional with two young kids at home,” Merritt says. “The competency-based model allowed me to progress at my own pace and build on my existing knowledge and experience. I wasn’t spending a ton of time on courses I knew well and was able to instead focus on learning new concepts in the program to grow my knowledge. Cybersecurity was a natural fit for me because that’s what I was doing daily. I was working as a penetration tester, so choosing a degree in cybersecurity just made sense.”
Helping Others and Building the Future of Cybersecurity
Through a newsletter and her LinkedIn account, Merritt writes about cybersecurity news and trends in order to help others in the field apply the information to their own careers.
“My goal has always been to help people navigate the complexities of cybersecurity and to mentor the next generation of professionals,” she says. “We need new people, we need young people, we need more diverse people. When someone transitions into cybersecurity from another field like healthcare or manufacturing, we directly benefit from their knowledge and different approaches.
“I wanted to encourage people to consider roles in cybersecurity and to help people understand that there’s room for all types of people and that not all of the work is nerdy, highly technical stuff. You don’t have to be a math major to have a successful career in cybersecurity.
Merritt began teaching at WGU, guiding others through the academic aspects of cybersecurity.
“Cybersecurity requires constantly seeking knowledge, questioning methods, analyzing data, and thinking through problems,” she says.
Technical skills are important, but Merritt believes the true key to success is being able to think more broadly, in terms of strategy and analysis.
“If I were just starting today, I would focus on learning to think analytically, walk through a problem methodically, take things apart and analyze components of various systems or processes and focus on the relationship between digital systems and how we support businesses,” she says.
Merritt is living proof that taking a leap of faith and making a big decision – even on a dare – can lead to a world of opportunity.
Mic Merritt's journey to a rewarding cybersecurity career illustrates how unexpected paths can lead to success. Her military background equipped her with essential power skills such as leadership and strategic thinking. If you're ready to protect digital systems, consider Western Governors University's BS in Cybersecurity program, designed for flexibility and real-world application. Take the next step in your cybersecurity journey today!
