Working from Home in the SOC
Working from home is new to the SOC. Prior to COVID, almost all employers required you to work from a dedicated room for the SOC. This was in a highly secure area, often times with no windows. I quit a six figure SOC job just because they had us crammed in a room like sardines. It was so hot and there was so much drama about the thermostat it was unbelievable. It was just a tiny narrow windowless room at the center of the building that was designed in a working concept known as a bullpen. A bullpen is where there are just rows of monitors and chairs at a long desk with no dividers or personal space. I left that job and got my own happy little cubical where I spent the next few years. Then I landed my first remote work role.
The first thing that I had to learn is about routines. The SOC is mainly shift work so you’ll have set hours that you need to work. This is either morning, day, or night shift. So I am going to stray from calling it a ‘morning routine’. In my most recent roles I have been working with the SOC as an Advisor but I set my own hours and it only becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the boundary of work and personal. Before you work there needs to be a ‘getting started routine’. This could be anything from listening to a podcast for an hour while you eat, putting your favorite pug slippers on, and then logging into work. Or even watching an episode of the Simpsons, filling your water bottle up, and grabbing a snack before sitting down at your desk. It doesn’t really matter what the routine is, but you need to do it every single day to train your brain that this is me going to work.
I am commuting now.
And the same thing for when you end work. When you end work you might go check your snail mail, take a walk, or cook dinner. Do it everyday. This is you commuting home. What you are practicing is setting boundaries. In Microsoft Teams, or Slack, or other instant messaging clients used for work they have settings for when you’re off work. Use them. When you are not at work, there is no longer an expectation that you can be contacted immediately. If the building burnt down for whatever reason and they needed you, HR and your manager has your phone number. Do this even when you want to work all the time. These are your boundaries and you need to stick to them.
I mention this because I have been contacted by colleagues from other countries who for them it is normal business hours, and I have been tired and in bed, and against my best judgement have answered these messages and aside from not answering them correctly, I wasn’t in good spirits. I began to develop a resentment that I was having to ‘work all the time’ but it was my own fault. My manager never had the expectation that I needed to be working then.
You must create boundaries.
For the first couple of years of remote working, I siloed myself, lived in a desert alone, and as a result I just wasn’t able to get as much done. I had to learn things like how to build rapport with my teammates and that it needs to be intentional. With remote working you don’t get that ‘water cooler’ talking and accidentally bumping into each other in the halls anymore. Its easy not to place an importance on just taking a little time to chat with your coworkers from time to time. It’s easy to get isolated and not feel a part of the team. When you need help with something it’s awkward to ask strangers so you waste more of your time and the companies time trying to figure it out yourself, and strangers don’t know you well enough to know your strengths to ask you for help so you’re not building any leadership or mentoring skills that will help your career in the long run.
The biggest thing that I have learned to avoid in remote working is isolation.
Appearance does matter and I’ll be the unpopular one to tell you that. And it has a lot to do with lighting which is an easy fix. In my honest experience, and there are a rare few exceptions, nobody cares if you are fat, or skinny, where you come from, or what color you are, and they don’t care how you define yourself. I wouldn’t recommend making it your headliner either or put it on your resume. What they care about is that you look like you take care of yourself. If you don’t take care of yourself the first impression is that they won’t trust you to take care of your work. Bad lighting can make a model look homeless. That is my big tip for improving appearances, other than keeping your hair cut. So you’re welcome.
Most people come on camera in T-shirts and most women on your team will only wear makeup the first few meetings then it’s like having a sister. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a sister, but they don’t wear makeup when they’re hanging around the house.
I use a small device called a Lume Cube that I just recently found out about. I am mentioning this because I have terrible lighting in my office and I’ve learned the hard way that it plays a role in your work life. Also, on video it looks better to not have to use the automatic background remover with Zoom or Teams, so try facing your desk against a wall if you can but it’s not nearly as big of a deal as lighting. The Lume Cube can suction onto your laptop and you can use it everywhere you go. But note, I haven’t found the suction cup to be all that great so it might be worth getting the stand for it, too. Since I only use it at home I rubbed purple glue stick over the suction cup and put it on the back of my monitor and it hasn’t moved since. Its a simple solution and I’m happy with it. Lighting can get complicated and I just needed something that didn’t make me look like a troll. Other than for work, I use it to record my trainings for my Udemy classes.
Note: In your interview wear a button-down t-shirt and wear nice pants, belt, and shoes if youre a guy. You want to feel as confident as you can for interviews. Looking your best even though they don’t know makes you feel good and it shows. I’m not qualified to give advice for ladies, sorry.
Tyler Wall is the founder of Cyber NOW Education by night and works full time in the cybersecurity industry as his day job. He creates cybersecurity training material in his free time, often after feeling the need to shout what he’s just learned and also because a little bit of passive income never hurt anyone.
He holds bills for a Master of Science from Purdue University, and also CISSP, CCSK, CFSR, CEH, Sec+, Net+, A+ certifications
You can connect with him on LinkedIn.
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