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Becoming a Detection Engineering Contractor, Part II— The Preparation
You want to become a contractor or an independent consultant in the Detection Engineering (DE) space? This series is for you.
In Part I, I covered the benefits of this career path, including market rates, schedule flexibility, and the growing demand for DE projects.
Now, in Part II (Preparation), I share key tips to help you prepare and boost the chances of landing your first project.
The Topics
- Motivation: Why working as a contractor in this space?
▶ Market Demand
▶ Salary / Rates
▶ Schedule Flexibility - Preparation: What are the requirements to land a job?
▶ Skillset Needed
▶ Technologies & Products
▶ Data Literacy x Fluency - Practical Tips
▶ Get Inspired
▶ Get Exposed
Why Soft Skills Win in the Long Run?
It might sound cliché, but developing soft skills will benefit you not just professionally, but in every area of your life.
Soft skills are the backbone of success in any field, far outweighing hard skills given that technical knowledge alone has little value if you can’t communicate, adapt, or collaborate effectively.
Top soft skills to pursue?
That's of course hard to answer but here are my few cents.
I will later cover Data Literacy as a desired hard skill, but to further tap into it, you will sooner or later need Data Fluency which is the ability to communicate information from data.
For example, how to prioritize a backlog of detection ideas? You need not only data but the ability to articulate why one item should be prioritized over another. Charts/Stats help but the delivery matters even more.
Another one? Critical thinking under pressure (ex.: immediate, post-incident activities) is very different from playing around in a lab.
The next soft skill a very fresh one, especially considering contractors are mostly hired for a single product or specialization (DE, in this case).
Agency is the capacity of an individual to act independently and make free choices, a mix of…
