Welcome back to the Career Hacking Village here at DEF CON Safe Mode. As many of us know,
one of the ways that we can get our skills to help our overall career development and actually
build those skills that need to be put to place in our technical careers, one of those ways is
through being part of conferences. But conferences have so many other benefits to us. We thought
that it would be really great that Sciatic Nerd would come here today and tell us all about the
career arcs of cons and careers. Sciatic, you want to take it away? Thank you very, very much,
Kathleen. And hello, Career Hacking Village. It is super awesome to be able to be here and share
today. This is one of those rare moments, right, where you realize there are not that many
opportunities to just get out there and share what it is you've been doing or what you know.
And if there's a chance, then it's got to be worth it to reach out and do the thing. And today,
the thing is talking about how conferences, virtual or in person, can be something that enhances
your story. Because we all deal with this ridiculous, frustrating thing. It's impossible
to push down sometimes. It's called, well, in InfoSec, it's commonly called imposter syndrome,
right? This is that feeling that wells up in you when you're not sure, can people see through
me right now? What exactly am I thinking? What are they thinking? I don't know that I can do this.
Well, we're going to talk about this a little more in depth, but it's a constant thing.
And in the context of this talk, it's going to be referred to kind of like a level boss.
It's the nondescript, just thing waiting at the top of the stairs, at the behind the dark door,
but we're going to deal with it one step at a time. Because I don't know how it was for you,
but when I was growing up, my older brother, he had the stereo, which meant I got to listen to
whatever he wanted. And that made me crazy in the way it would, right? You don't get to control what
you're hearing. You're force fed things into your ears. And in this case, for him, it was,
it's the 80s. Yes, I'm that age. In the 80s, the band, Yes, had this ridiculous album called
90125. It's very different from all their other work, but so what? It had a lot of high production
value and all this stuff, but it was pushed into my head. And the song, Owner of a Lonely Heart,
in particular, was the kind of anthem thing. But I wanted something for me, something I could
listen to. And I said, you know, I'm going to do something really different. And I got a hold of
the Art of Noise. Now, this is just an album cover for one of their pieces or a fairly well-known
thing called Paranormia. But it turns out, you find inspiration in strange places. Specifically,
the Art of Noise wouldn't have existed unless 90125, the actual album my brother was listening
to, had gotten made. It turns out the music programmer who was recording some drum beats
for the band, got the idea in his head to work with this relatively new recording technology,
the sequencing technology, and the Art of Noise was born. Even though I may not have been a super
fan of that band at the time, it's the reason that the band I was enjoying came into being.
So the moral here is intended to be, you might find inspiration in unique places,
and don't skip going back to learn something new. Re-examine something you thought you had
an idea of before, because it can change who you are and what your career path is.
That's just like a career though, I mean, right? It takes time to figure out who you are and the
kind of work you really want to do. It's difficult to just show up one day and a guidance counselor
or somebody you trust, hopefully, asks, well, what do you want out of this thing, this stuff you do?
You just stay up all night and tinker? What is it that gets you out of bed and makes you
want to put hands to a keyboard or do whatever it is that you do? So learn from your mistakes,
right? You've got to go back and at some point, maybe try to even help those who are coming after
you to find a different route too. We're going to talk a little bit more about that as we go,
because one of the biggest challenges I've ever found was figuring out how do you and I,
I mean, that's a ridiculously HR sounding thing, but when you come to a situation,
whether hanging with your friends or putting together a camping trip or anything,
how do you bring value? What is it that you are going to do that makes it more enjoyable,
improve the situation? What can you do to be positive about growth? And that's something
that is, it's an intangible, some would call it a soft skill, but it's a very important and
challenging thing because it means something different to every person. It's not going to
always mean the same thing, but maybe you come along and make people laugh. Maybe you do something
ridiculous. Maybe you help with conferences, whether it's planning them, helping with the
safety and security aspects, talking to people, helping get the sponsorship going. All of these
different pieces help make the whole better. So let's talk about the most epic of stories. Let's
talk about yours because when it comes down to it, we have to think of things. Well, I prefer,
excuse me, I prefer to think of things in terms of a story because that's what it is.
If you're a fan of science fiction, recently, one of the characters said, you know, have a story,
but make it a good one. And here we're going to address our concepts that way. So it's your early
arc, the middle arc, the late arc, or in our case, we're going to talk about these arcs are kind of
chapters or a group of chapters that sum up a large portion of growth. And what do I mean by
growth? I mean that there's usually a beginning and a middle and an end to a segment, whether
it's part of your life because you met a new friend or they've departed your life, or you push
them out, whatever the situation. There are usually times and chapters. And with that kind of idea in
mind, we'll talk about things that way. But some disclaimers that we have to talk through on our
way into this journey, your journey, there are going to be jerks. There are going to be people
who don't want to help. There is going to be a requirement to leave the comfort of the herd,
if you watched that show in the 90s, or was that in the 2000s? I forget. The point is,
the joke is on us. We love to stay out of things. We don't want to get involved. And if you do,
then there has to be the right timing to get involved. Nothing comes easily, right? It takes
effort. Because there are people who will want to be roadblocks. There are people who are going to
be just gatekeepers, or they're going to even tell you directly, you aren't cut out for this.
Go somewhere else. That was literally one of the driving inspirations for me to finish my degree.
Because a professor literally looked over my work and said, it gets serious from here,
maybe you should consider changing. But that's just my experience. It doesn't have to be college,
it can be anything. We're going to look at instead, don't worry about higher ed, this ed,
certifications, none of that yet. Let's talk about conferences in general, and then we'll work our
way into the levels we can go up. Whether you're killing chickens out in the yard to get a few XP,
or you are already at a point where you're trying to help contribute to the development or
furthering of a conference in your local community, we're going to go through it.
These arcs, as I was talking about, are meant to kind of take us from drinking from the fire hose,
coming up to the part where we're actually trying to run the show, and how to defend against the
beast of burnout. So you're watching this from DEF CON safe mode, I'm going to at least hope.
So this is, you know what a conference is. But a conference can be many things. I've heard people
who have amazing stories of going to an in-person event where it opened their eyes to lots of new
things. But there are other stories where it didn't go so well. It depends on where you are.
You might want to start in a local regional thing. It could be as small as a meetup, because there
are so many different types of events. Whether you want to go locally and look up to see if there are
groups in town, I have had people approach me and ask, where am I supposed to go to do this?
You're mentioning this, go over here. I live in an area where we don't have anything.
There are group sites like Meetup, or you could use the Book of Faces, or you could use Twitter,
or social media. Look for meetups in the name of your city, or your town, or your area code.
It may take a little digging, depending on where you live. I live in Texas right now, and there are
a lot of different events. They may not be closed to me, but there are events. And some of them,
I wouldn't know if I didn't go and look it up. Also, I'm going to shill for a minute and say,
look for your local B-Sides events. They're fantastic ways to get your feet wet. In a way,
I almost think that the local meetups, whether it's for lockpicking, or hardware hacking,
or software reverse engineering, whatever the detail, these are great places to not only
meet people who think in the space you like to think in, but also a way to practice getting
your ideas out, and learning from others, of course. And sometimes there just isn't anything
really close by that does what you're looking to do. So it might be important to go out and get
yourself stretched out. Go out there and get in the car, or get on the bus, or however it works
when there's not a pandemic, and go and travel to other events in other places if you can afford to
do so. Got that cousin you haven't seen in a while? Maybe they've got a couch you can try out.
Don't give up just because it isn't nearby. I'm not saying you are giving up. I'm saying this is
kind of the mindset that has helped me along the way, as I try to get into and learn about this
industry that I accidentally fell face first into when I was trying to be a video producer back in
the late 90s. So it turns out that sometimes people will pay you for the thing you're good at,
not what you want to be good at, if that makes any sense. The thing you had a knack for. Anyway,
sometimes there are just no substitutes for going to events that are specific to your interest.
But maybe you don't know what that is. Just keep in mind there are specialized events.
They will come up later, for sure. So maybe you don't get to actually go when it's convenient.
Maybe you're going to have to go over a weekend. You're not going to be able to take off work. Some
of these events go all the way through the weekend. And people have asked, why would you
do that? Why would you go to a work-like thing on your time off? When you find your group,
your tribe, your thing that you're that interested in, it won't be a challenge. It won't be a question.
It will be that there are opportunities there and a chance to learn from other people that you
respect or have a curiosity about. And it will no longer be one of those things where you're just
looking at it from a time perspective or a cost perspective. Sometimes, and most of the time,
it boils down to the relationships you make or build, the connections you make, the people you
meet, and around rare occasion, the buffet or restaurant you found along the way. No, okay,
maybe not. But some of us are led around. I didn't get to be in this shape without finding the food,
at least. The point is, there are events at these events, sometimes inside the larger event.
When we're looking at, hey, I want to go to this reverse engineering event, but it isn't just going
to listen to people talk at you. Maybe, maybe you learn a different way. So maybe you prefer
challenges. So there are events like capture the flag events, and you can go participate in,
they're called a lot of different things. There are many events, whether it's a skills challenge
that climbs the ladder, whether it's a cryptography challenge, where you have to come
out ahead first or come up with the right answers. Maybe it's a speed trial. Maybe it's a creative
event where it's either story writing or making custom hardware work in a way it wasn't meant to.
There are so many opportunities, reasons to get out of your shelf, excuse me, to get out from being
by yourself, out from behind the counter or desk. There are reasons to get out there and to go and
engage. And we're going to talk about more of them. So let's think about when you first go,
if you're going to your very first event, you're level one, you've got a sword made of wood,
and you can barely defeat the chicken or the cat in the backyard. I don't know why you're attacking
the cat. That's probably not a wise choice. They come with knives, you know, but they are so many
different things you can do, but don't go alone. If you're going to your very first event,
I strongly encourage you to take a conference buddy, someone who's willing to go with you,
even if they're not part of that industry, because it's good to be able to sort of cling
to someone else, maybe because you want to pick and choose the different events to look at during
the day. Maybe you want to share each other's experiences and talk about them. Maybe there's
someone you work with. And that's why we're going to go through these arcs at different approaches.
Who does it benefit? See, if we jump back half a second here, we're going to talk about how each of
these things applies to the different use case. So, if you're at the inn, you're going to have
that tavern scene before the brawl breaks out. You're there with your conference buddy, I hope,
and let's look at your support job. Maybe you're just starting out. And in this idea, I'm going to
encourage you to get on some kind of social media. Don't necessarily post your picture.
Don't necessarily say all the things that come immediately into your head. Realize social media
is a two-way street. But if you're looking to figure out what's out there in your community
and going on in your industry, I highly encourage you to get a social media account. Try out Meetup,
for starters. See what the local scene looks like. You don't necessarily have to pay,
but you will need to create an account. And again, this is leaving the comfort of the herd moment,
where it's time to start striking out a little bit. And again, that buddy is not a bad idea.
You might get on Twitter or Discord or Slack or participate in Reddit. All of these different
ways to connect. The thing is, each of them are their own chapter. So you're going to need to
spend a little time if you've never done it before. And if you really want to know, go and
ask people who are already doing it, just to get an idea of how they approach it. Because you're
going to want to, in my opinion, release as little personal information as possible, especially in a
day and time like now, where potential employers are always looking at social media to see what
image is being put forth of the person behind an account. So keep in mind that try not to say
anything you wouldn't say to someone you care about, right? Try to keep those things in mind.
Or if you're an outspoken person, that's your business. The point is, realize that's there.
It's the internet. It never goes away. So just keep in mind that whatever it is you're saying,
it's going to be there a while. So try to be thoughtful about what gets put out there.
But this is a prime way to go out there and see what's happening in the world. So at this level,
when you're kind of that level one, level two startup account human being, you're just happy
to be on the show. If you saw Galaxy Quest, this is someplace where you have to be careful about
monsters. You may be eaten by a grue. I'm saying it's very easy to be distracted. And there are
things happening out there that you may not be aware of. So conference buddy, and then go and
maybe think about sharing something you do, right? Even if the presentations aren't your job or
something that you would do normally, it might explain how something else gets done. My very
first experience at a B-Sides in Las Vegas in 2011, I walked in without anything. I helped
move some boxes. Turns out there was an opening in their AV team. And I sat through a track I
wouldn't have selected for myself. I had no idea what this thing even was. Here I am sitting in
this chapel in the back row with this camera and recording gear. But I learned some things just
because I was able to sit through all these other talks. It opened my eyes to so many things
and ideas I didn't even think about. Now that's just me. You'll have your own experience. Your
mileage will vary. But this can help your career, you see, because this is part of a pattern that
will repeat itself time and again. This is a breakdown to you, your management, the team you're
on. And again, not all things to all people, right? But I just want you to keep in mind,
this has an impact. It helps us grow. So in your career, going around to the local events may help
you learn the layout, the lay of the land, if you will, about who's out there. What companies are in
your neck of the woods? Who visits? Do they come often? Do they come bearing treats? It may be a
squishy ball thing with a face on it. It could be software. It could be free training or an internship.
These are all opportunities to bridge the gap between what companies want and what you offer.
These are helpful things. And again, this is at the very beginning of the conference career.
If you are already working and you go to an event, what does this mean for your management?
Your management may be interested in seeing what you did. Maybe, and as my mentor has shared
with me, write up a trip report when you go to an event. Sit down at the end of the day or even
during the day and get a break and just make a few notes about what you're learning, what you're
experiencing, who did you meet? Are you supposed to connect with them again later? You know, instead
of live tweeting the thing, make a note on your own device. And then at the end of the day, you
can go back and look. Oh, I forgot. I also met this person over here in the food line when we
were waiting to get half a burrito together. And it turns out they want to share some information
because I'm learning how to code and they've been doing it for 20 years. It could be anything. And
it's important. And don't discount that initial opportunity to make a connection. So what does
this mean for co-workers? If they hear that you're attending these events, they may either A, want to
go with you. B, might want to see if you brought back any good information. Or C, maybe they're
going to say, oh, what did you learn? Let me share something I was looking at. It opens doors.
It starts a conversation. Everything in this life, it seems, is tied to that. And this is no
different. But the value to you is now you are going out and seeing something new. You're
introducing yourself, putting yourself in the path of discovering something that you didn't
already know. Or if you did know, maybe it fills in some blanks for you. But here, again, if you
look, you have an opportunity to grow. Even after that, when people start to take notice,
maybe offer to pick up work you wouldn't normally do in your office. Offer to join a team or
participate in a group event. Because your intelligence alone isn't enough to save you.
You can be the smartest person in the room. But without the understanding of when and where to
knowledge, it's not going to be as much help as it could be. And we all could stand to learn more.
I know I could. So I chase it over and over again. And if you're still with me here,
cool story, bro. Maybe that's what you're thinking. Because you don't know me. Well,
that's right. I don't know your situation. Everybody is going to be different. And that's
okay. This isn't supposed to be tailor made for one. I'm sharing experiences I've had so far.
Because this is what's gotten me to where I am. And so far, it seems like we all suffer from
imposter syndrome at one point or another, where we're not quite sure if we're good enough to do
the thing we're doing. Or at any given moment, someone will see through us and realize, fake,
person doesn't know it. They shouldn't be doing this. Or someone comes at you that way in any
other direction. And it sticks with you and chews at you while you're going eating takeout and
quietly scarfing things and watching the TV show. Wait, that was just me. Sorry. Whatever
your situation, we all fight with it. So how do we move past it? You step up, you go further,
you have to push through and defeat your personal level boss and move on to specialization.
By the way, that time where you were in the jumper back there in the first arc as a starting
out person, that's not... there's no given time frame. That could be six months, it could be six
years. Everyone is different. The people in your life are different. You have to keep pushing to
get to the next level. You may even have to back up and redirect. But don't give up. Because now
let's imagine you've been going to events for a little while, you've gone to a B-Sides, you
traveled out of town for a bigger event, maybe some name brand something. All kinds of events
exist. Some don't anymore. We exist in a special time right now. Use this time to go and start
watching videos at virtual events, just like this one, local ones, ones in other cities and other
continents. Because now is an amazing time to connect with people you might not otherwise get
to meet or learn from. Because conferences are a great way to come together and learn new things.
So here in the specialization arc, now's the time that after you've done a few things,
maybe you start realizing there are specific things you're interested in learning, things
you want to do. And now you can start ticking off the boxes in the online schedule for that event,
because you only want to learn about butter sculpture. So you look for all the events that
have butter sculpture in the name, and you're going to look at the one where the person's using
the razor blade and carving very tiny intricate things, and the one with the chainsaw who is
making baby Yoda out of butter fat. You never know. The point is that when you start to narrow
your specialization and figure out what it is that interests you, it changes the way you attend
an event. And at larger, more nationally attended events, there's a much broader cross-section,
right? You're going to have different people coming to present. That is not to invalidate
the people you met before. It is simply to say that you can get more ideas, because if you go to
all the meetups and all the things in your local community, maybe you've heard it a little bit,
and now you're looking for another perspective. The other thing is, while you can go and much of
the events that you go to when you travel, when we get back to that, seems to be tied up in the
talks. For me, it started to become less about the talks and presentations that way. It became
more about the sidelong events, the villages, the meetups, the impromptu get-togethers.
And those things suddenly became where I connected more with the people who were at the event
than going to talks alone. And that changed, I guess it changed actually my perspective
on why I was going. And that's just me, because to me, growth personally means connecting with people
who either share and help me grow, or I can give something back to in return. So let's go back
to not forgetting to bring a conference buddy. At a larger event, it's even more important.
Whether you're meeting up with someone from another locale who's coming to where you're going
to be, do not leave on the mission alone if you can help it. Because it helps to be together,
and it takes time to find a tribe. It took me, goodness, it took me years. I felt, I feel now
like I'm part of a much larger group of people who are all about learning and sharing and growing.
Yes, I make it sound incredibly idealistic. Not all moments, but most of them. A lot of good ones.
Whether you're coming together to raise money for a charity somewhere else, or you're just trying
to learn how to do Python together. It's worth it. And so sometimes it takes multiple years also
to find either the tribe, or to stop drinking from the fire hose, and figure out that thing
that really drives you. But now that you've gone to these bigger events, where is the value?
The value to management now, they're going to hope that you're bringing ideas back. Did you
write that personal trip report when you went to the first and smaller events? Well, now it'll seem
like second nature when you hit the big events, because now you're almost dialoguing with yourself.
Now I talk to myself an awful lot. I don't recommend it for everyone, but people have
come to expect it from me. The point is, whether your monologue is internal or external, having a
log of where you've been, who you talked to, and what you learned will help you keep track of where
you are on your journey. And maybe even setting up personal tools to measure where you feel you are,
and where you want to go. Because there must be an opportunity there, because management is going
to see that. That's going to look like getting your act together, and management will maybe offer you
the opportunity to collaborate with other teams. Don't miss out on those group opportunities.
They may be painful and frustrating, but therein lies growth, and partnership, and advancement.
And that's not to be missed. There are some amazing opportunities out there, because your
co-workers are going to see that you're coming back with this stuff. You will have access to
new people, the presenters, right? You'll be seeing new people. You'll be talking about new things.
There are so many opportunities to just share something and partner. I missed out on a couple
of great opportunities because of my own imposter syndrome right at the very beginning of my journey,
because I felt like I would be taking away from the voice of the person who had a clue,
because I knew I didn't feel like I had one. So, give yourself a break. But also, if you go to
these events and you feel that self-doubt chewing at you, know that everyone else is going through
it too. Maybe even the person standing up at the podium. The value to you at this ARC, when we're
not drinking from the fire hose, we're specializing, stay connected to people on social media. Begin to
build your interconnected network of people. And by doing that, I mean just be a human being to
other people. Actually get out there, get on social media, see what's going on in the world. Oh wait,
I saw an article about this thing that the person I follow was talking about. Maybe I could share it
with them. Ask if they've seen it before. Try to watch as you ask questions. Don't present like you
know everything. I know I've stepped in it a few times and had to go wash my shoes off with a hose.
It's going to happen. It just does. But realize that there's a chance to be and grow in part or in
whole as part of a community. And that's amazing. Give yourself time to grow. Give yourself a chance
to learn these things. And it may not come again on any particular timetable that we want or desire.
There's a larger picture here. You are drafting your great novel of your career path and
conferences can be a part of that because the people you meet along the way will contribute
to these chapters. Yeah, that's great. I think it's hilarious that you're going to tell me to
do all this stuff and get out there and go out and do all these things. You don't know what I'm
going through. I face all these issues. My butter sculpture is melting in the backyard right now,
you lunatic. And while I'm listening to you, I'm not out there tending the garden or fixing this
up or the milk is curdling or whatever. No, I can't possibly know that unless we interact.
And then it takes time and effort to stay connected. And we can't give up just because
things get bad or ugly. Because they will. Because life isn't easy. But we can take it
and we can turn it and push it through our imposter syndrome. Because there it is again.
Right as you've gone out and you said, wow, I've had a great time at this event. And you come back
with your little trip report you wrote up. And someone says, that's terrific. While you're off
partying, the rest of us were here working. That's where you pull up that trip report and say,
actually, John, Bob, Sally, Sue, Chrissy, whatever your name is. Here's what I was doing.
I actually got to meet these people and do these things. Whatever I do. I don't know if you have
a personal life, Sally, Sue, Johnny, Bravo, Samson. But it's not all fun and games. There
will be moments of levity. Goodness, I hope so. But there are also lots of times of learning and
growing together. So now let's say you're on to the third arc, the prestige class. You now have
a fancy hat and maybe some things, epaulets on your shoulder, a little pin here. Who knows? Maybe
you have a custom patch you wear. Because you are reaching out to the prestige class level.
You have now taken it to the point where you have gone and absorbed. This is the montage
has passed. And now it's further along. You maybe have a little gray at your temple. Who knows?
The point is you're at a level where you can turn around and start sharing what you've learned.
Maybe you've attended a lot of these events and you said, you know what, I actually feel pretty
good about my knowledge of sculpting icing into small animals that I now will wrap around
mechanized zoids that will now walk. And I can now go and tell people about this. Well, it turns
out there's lots of things you know that others may not know. It's your turn to start sharing
that information. And it's not going to be an easy road, necessarily. Maybe you were the class clown
and maybe getting up in front of people was easy for you. Not so for a lot of folks, right? Some
people, I think, would much rather pull their own teeth out with the back bumper of a vehicle than
try to get up in front of someone and share an idea like we're doing right here. But it's worth
it because it might be a progression, okay? So go and watch stand-up comedians, if you don't now,
and learn. Or if you really have no idea where to start with public speaking, there's a group
called the Toastmasters. Now, this is an entire subculture, okay? They exist. They're larger than
any DEF CON or B-Sides or any one group. There are thousands of these chapters around the world.
And they have their own competitions. And they will help harden you, prepare you, start you out
in understanding for how public speaking works. It is invaluable. It is amazing. And it's really
quite humbling because they have their own competitions, their own ladders to climb, but it
helps explain how public speaking works and gives you the tools to put in your backpack to bring
with you to conferences so that it isn't the scariest thing you've ever done. And that's
actually worth it. Again, Toastmasters, please take an opportunity, if you're going to learn to
present, and check out the local groups in your area. I can almost guarantee you there are several
wherever you are. And I mean that. That's not just where I live. I mean the chapters are amazing.
So grab your hairbrush, get in front of that mirror, and start talking. About what? As a friend
recently shared, the presentation that only you can give. If you spend 80 hours a week brushing
dogs, then that's what you're going to make your first talk about. Because that's what you know.
But get it down. Figure out how to tell your story. And if you can put up with it, I highly
encourage you to record yourself doing it. Get in front of the mirror. Go through it the first time.
This is going to take some time and effort, but you have to record it so you can go back and
look at what you've done. You have to be able to get back and examine and look for the nervous tick
you didn't know you had, and you're going to have to work on correcting it step at a time.
Whether it's trying to bite your nails on stage, or it's perhaps adding ums. How many ums have I
had in this presentation today? How many times did I stop, cough, or blink oddly? Have I constantly
rubbed at my eye with this finger? Whatever your situation is, it'll come out when you see the
recording. Now, always bring the video adapter with you. This is one of my little top tips because
I've worked AV for events. The expectation is always going to be that when you get there,
there is only going to be a live chicken and a small old bowl of oatmeal. So if you can bring
anything with you that will help the situation, I encourage you to do so. That means having your
laptop. Having your laptop with a connector that can send video out. Also having your presentation,
not only on the laptop, but on a thumb drive that you have brought with you and is in your
personal possession, maybe touching your body somewhere. Beyond that, I'm also going to encourage
you and say it again, bring the video adapter that goes with your laptop and has at least two kinds
of output on it. At least two kinds of output. Because sometimes you get on site and there isn't
the same projector you worked with at home. Or your laptop doesn't work well with it, but they
maybe can have a presenter laptop on hand for you, so you whip out the thumb drive. Or if all else
fails, you keep a backup also in your cloud that you can then download to your local device and
share using a local connection kind of technology. The point is, you need backups, folks. Backups,
of all things. If there's a carbon copy behind over here, that would be awesome, because it'd
be great, because I need them to go and fold the laundry right now. If you can have a backup for
you at your presentation time, have it. Especially, do you do demos? Do you like to try and invoke
crazy moments of random when you try to open something that worked five minutes ago, but now
you're live and on air, and you don't have something that plays? I'm telling you, you got to get out
there, but you got to go prepared. So please, pre-record your demos just in case. It's easier to
run a video than to stand there and dry wash your hands in front of people. Now, when you're going to
do it, you've got to go and prepare yourself for rejection. I know that sounds tough, and it kind of
is, but it's worth it, because you have to audition in a sense, and it's called the CFP, or call for
presentation, and every conference will have a different process. It might be helpful to go and
look online for conferences in your part of the world. For example, if I go and look for
Information Security Conferences North America, I have been able to locate schedules that include
not only the name of conferences that are coming up, but also of when their submission times are,
and when they wrap. Someone has a heart for this. There are folks who have a passion for
helping others to share their ideas, and since that's what we're about right now, go for it. You
can choose to do it locally, practice at your local meetup event, but then take that show on the road.
Go do it, and your confidence will come through to the audience. But okay, so why am I doing that?
Why would I go and put myself through all this stress, and singing into a hairbrush, and why would
I go to all this trouble? Because it adds value to who you are, and what your contribution can be.
Conferences can inform our self-confidence, because now if we imagine that this is easier,
I had to go talk to my boss, and my boss makes me nervous. I just got up this weekend and presented
in front of a hundred people, a thousand people, ten people, whatever it was, and isn't this easier
now because you've done that? Sure, you know this person doesn't necessarily have a response, but you
didn't get booed off stage, did you? No, you made it through, and if you did get booed off stage,
that's okay. That colors things in, too. Definitely that would have sucked, sorry,
but come back from it anyway. The ability to present is an essential part of communication,
whether you're pitching ideas in an elevator, or you are trying to share about a report that
comes out every week. And every time you get up to share about that report in your group,
or in your team meeting, you will have learned or taken something away, whether that informs
your ability to present at an event, or your presentations at an event help inform your
internal confidence. It is so worthwhile to management because you're going to go and say,
I can do, I can do this thing. Just keep in mind that if your boss or your team sees that you can
now present and they start pushing you out there, try not to outshine the top dog in your community
because it's about showing respect as well as having the ability to represent. So again,
if you're really good at it, just try not to show up other people. Be respectful of what they're
doing and what they're there to do for you and what you're doing for your team. So learning to
speak will help your self-confidence and it will help on very tough situations like job interviews,
which are very much like presentations because that's the dog and pony moment, isn't it?
Your resume is the only place where you will ever be this perfect, ever. By the way, if you haven't
taken advantage of it, I hope you stopped and take advantage of the opportunity for live resume
review that may be going on right now. And if it happened in the past, go look for it in a future
event and look for career tracks and opportunities to have someone help you examine a third person,
an outside party, to take a look at that resume, to make sure that you're polishing it the right
way, to make sure your tone and your story is getting told in the best way it possibly can.
Because getting back to it, presenting at conferences puts you into a whole new group of
people, the actual presenters, and they will grow as part of your personal network, just like you
are becoming part of theirs. It can allow for opportunities to bounce ideas off of someone
in your field or in a different field. Maybe you get to learn more about their story and they can
definitely help you polish up yours. This has actually been one of the best experiences I've
had, where I've been able to communicate and connect with someone I met at another event,
and we share ideas when trying to come up with new talks. And they're hopefully going to be honest
with you. And because they do it, they're hopefully thinking in a way that supports you as well.
But that's just me talking, right? Cool story, bro. You don't know. I have crippling anxiety.
I have a missing left arm. And if you do, more power to you, because you're awesome and you get
through the day and you do what needs to be done. Those who make it happen, make it happen.
You are going to be one of those people if you can, right? So take advantage of the opportunities
in front of you and go for it. I don't know you. You don't necessarily know me, but I know we all
deal with imposter syndrome. See, here we are again at that level, boss. I'm terrified of getting in
front of people. What if I stutter? What if I trip up? What if I say something? What if I drop
the microphone? What if I literally trip on stage? You get up, dust yourself off, you say, excuse me,
take a couple of breaths, and you pick it back up. I started out very early on being
very filled with anxiety and nervous, and I showed many personal things I thought that would lighten
the mood, which turned out not to necessarily be the greatest thing to do during the presentation.
So if I can encourage you, wiggle your toes. Yes, I'm serious. When you're standing up in front of
people, wiggle your toes. Those of you wearing open-toed shoes, this may not be for you.
However, wiggle your toes like mad. Why? If you like to podium dance, you have a thing you like
to do, and you don't know that you're doing it, and it kind of can get distracting from your topic,
wiggle your toes. And I mean, like, go crazy with the wiggling, because what it does is it puts all
that nervous energy away from where people are looking. Now, me, I talk a lot with my hands. I
try to keep it down, but it's just kind of a thing. A friend used to joke that if they handcuffed me
hands behind my back, I might not be able to talk, and I think they're right. But if you're in front
of people, if you wiggle your toes, you'll find that it takes some of that nervous energy and
puts it somewhere else, and it's not a distraction for you or others. And it lets you get on with the
thing, where you can start the fourth arc. Now, now you've arrived. You are going to turn the tables
because you've obviously lost your mind, because you're going to try to put on an event. When you
get to this level, giving back to the community becomes an important mission of its own. Seek
partnerships, because that's what happened to me. I started to go out and present and share a little
bit here and there, and then realized there was an opportunity in my local community in San Antonio,
Texas. I've been here 30 years. I got to tell you something. This has been one of the most rewarding
reasons to stick around, is being able to help other people to find their career path, whether
they're at the very beginning or getting ready to retire. Finding people who are willing to share
their ideas, give of their time, it's very rewarding. It is, however, a little maddening,
because at this point, it could open doors to bigger things at work. Once people see that you're
starting to organize a group, or they hear that you're putting on an event, and it gets known, you
may be asked to present about that, or how the organization supported it. There are many, many
opportunities, but don't miss out on them. And just because you participate in the operation of an
event or a meetup, it does not necessarily mean the same thing as business management, by the way.
Herding cats and herding cats. There are different kinds. Just like there are many kinds of cats,
there are many types of management. So it's easy for this to get confused, but it can still provide
value. And it can take longer than you think to get it right. The very first B-Side San Antonio
I helped with, I was like the number three person. And then a few years go by, and I'm asked,
given the opportunity, and I had to take it. It's not easy, but now you're looking at a whole new
kind of value to bring to the team, because you can now build contacts. You can leverage your
coordination skills. Ask for help. It's easier than you think, and much harder than you think.
But asking for help is important, because otherwise it's very easy to sink. And you'd
rather not try to test those waters. So be honest with yourself when there's a problem,
and be thankful, oh so thankful, for willing partners. What I mean by be thankful is tell them
you appreciate them. Let them know that that thing they just did, that rock they moved out
of your way that you could not move, let them know you appreciate it. Do not wait. Send them
a thank you note. Send them something edible that works for their digestive tract. I know that's a
silly way to say that, but you get the idea. Be appreciative. Remember, this doesn't happen
without the help of other people. So there are all new challenges when you get to the fourth arc,
by the way. Marketing, budgeting, planning skills, I never really knew I had. They're
going to come up, and you must learn to work with your volunteer army. All of this to tell you,
that each of these steps along the way, you have to work with other people and resolve on the fly
sometimes. But that's a fun story, because I'm not even... I have an internship. I don't even have
that. I'm just trying to decide if I need to go for a degree plan, or if I need to get a
certification, because you don't know what I'm going through right now. You don't know how hard
it is. I can barely put food on the table. I'm supposed to go and help someone else learn how to
start a career path. You'd be surprised. And you will, if you get off that wall, get out of the
chair, get off the couch, and get engaged. Because even though I had massive imposter syndrome,
trying to operate beside San Antonio, we had a very successful year this year. Not because of me.
But everyone from our sponsorship team, to our events team, the AV folks, everybody, even our
ombudsman. And you can ask the organizer of this village about the ombudsman, should you be curious
what that's about. The point is, there are so many ways that we can overcome this, if we try.
And all of this work, all of this effort, all of these things that we try to do, we must beware
the beast of burnout when you are done. So done. How done are you? Everything stresses you out.
There's nothing that could bring you back from the edge. You cannot even imagine getting up and doing
the thing again, whatever it is. This is the time to take a well-earned break, take a step back.
I don't know if you've ever had one, but I have days where all technology feels like it has turned
against me. I don't know what happens, but it's like I could pick up a small plastic object,
and it would snap in half just by me touching it. And oh, if it's one of those days, maybe it's time to
take a step back and read a book or go for a walk or something. Get away from it for a while, but then
when you come back, look and see what it is that got you interested in the first place. What was it
that sparked your interest or gave you the drive to do this? And we go back to the art of noise
story from the beginning. I did not like the Yes album 90125, and I went out of my way to ignore it
and push all of that stuff away for years. 15, 20 years passes, and I go back and read an article out
of one of those Where Are They Now magazines or retrospectives about a band, and the article
mentions how there was a major change in what they were doing and how they partnered with a specific
group of people during the time. Because Yes as a band failed. Someone else came in, a new vector
came in, and they partnered with someone. It changed everything about that band and gave them
another 25 years of life. Why? Because just like burnout, when something has run its course
and you're not sure why you're doing it anymore, there is benefit to be had by going back and
re-examining what it was that got you started. Or read into the very thing that sparked your
interest to begin with and see if anything new has come up. It can take you down another road,
a new path, and open all new doors. Inform something you thought you knew for a long time
as a held belief, and maybe that fundamentally changes for you and changes you in the process.
So that reflection can change so much about you, because at the end of the day, we need each other,
right? I mean, everybody who, even people who don't like other people, need someone to tell
that to, okay? And because I firmly believe this, and sounding boards are really helpful. You've
got to be able to share your ideas and figure out where things fit. And honest feedback makes
everything better, as hard as it can be sometimes. No, no, the baby's ugly. Yes, I'm sorry, I have to
be the one to tell you. So, fine. That's all easy for me to say, right? But I'm here to tell you that if
the underperforming kid in seventh grade who went on his lunch and hid out in the AV room and
enjoyed rolling the cart into the classroom with the filmstrip projector, and being the kid who
could turn the thing that meant to turn the knob, if you can be that guy and end up where I am now,
oh my goodness, I don't know any way better than that to tell you. This is something you can do.
This is something you can actually do. You have to be able to break your own mold and move past
it. We just put on a B-side San Antonio that blew away all of my, our expectations, right?
We had over a thousand people. We had people participating from six countries. I didn't expect
that, but you can't expect it, but you should try for it. So that's what we're here to do.
Cool story, bro. You don't know me. I'm fighting my own imposter syndrome on my own battles,
but that's the point. We're here to build a community and let's try to build it together
and make it better. I very much appreciate your time and your ears and your eyes,
and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. And thank you. I hope you have a great time
checking out the rest of the Career Hacking Village and DEF CON Safe Mode. Thank you very
much. I am Psionic Nerd. Stephen, thank you so much. I really appreciate you sharing how you've
woven your career throughout all of the career, all the conferences that you've attended and
produced, and it's a really great roadmap for everyone in their careers. I know everyone's
going to be looking forward to asking you questions in the Discord channel. And as you
mentioned, we do also have resume review going on and career coaching. Just ping us in the career
channel and we'll be able to tell you where that is. Take care, everyone. Enjoy the rest
of the conference.