What are the odds?

I recently got to thinking about the odds. It's no secret that I can't do numbers, so I asked ChatGPT to help me out with the maths.

As a teen, I briefly lived in a small village. My time there felt like a fleeting chapter in my life. During this period, I attended the local secondary school because of a twist in circumstances. Life moved on, and that small-village life became a distant memory.

Fast forward to August 2024, when I attended a cybersecurity event. Among the drinking, discussions and networking, I ended up chatting with the event’s founder during the after-party. The conversation turned to the usual “Where are you from?” small talk. They mentioned growing up in a certain region. “Me too,” I said, intrigued.

“I lived in a small village in that area,” I added casually, watching their reaction.

They hesitated, clearly unsure how much to share. “Did you go to the local secondary school?” I asked.

“Yes,” they answered cautiously.

I asked a few more questions to confirm, and they responded with brief yes or no answers, carefully revealing just enough. Eventually, it all lined up. We had attended the same school, just eight years apart. They half-joked that the odds of such an encounter were so slim I must have carried out some OSINT (open-source intelligence) on them before the event. But no sleuthing was involved. It was pure chance.

What started as a random conversation has grown into a solid friendship. We now speak daily, sharing ideas, challenges, and plenty of laughs. It is a connection neither of us could have predicted but one we both value immensely.

Naturally, this encounter got me thinking. What are the odds of something like this happening? After crunching the numbers, the chances of us meeting at that event, realising our shared connection, and becoming close friends came out to 1 in 10 million.

But that was not enough for me. Once I had worked that out, my curiosity took over, and I had to know: What are the odds of me even being in cybersecurity?

The truth is, my journey into cybersecurity was anything but ordinary. The odds of someone with my background entering this field are astonishingly slim. When I started breaking down the numbers, they highlighted just how far I had come:

• Entering cybersecurity without a formal degree: 16% of professionals globally, or 1 in 6.25.
• Transitioning into cybersecurity from a completely unrelated field: 1 in 100.
• Meeting the right person at the right time who opened the door to this career: 1 in 200.

Combining these factors with the general odds of overcoming my life’s challenges to pursue a professional career puts the probability of my path into cybersecurity at 1 in 12.5 billion.

The numbers speak for themselves. The road here was not straight or simple, but every twist and turn shaped my journey.

Finding My Place

Despite the staggering odds, I made it. I have not only built a career in cybersecurity, but I am also making a real difference. I am creating safer, more inclusive spaces, helping others thrive, and showing that there is room for everyone in this field, no matter their starting point.

Along the way, I have made lifelong friends and found a community where I truly belong. This is my story, and a reminder that even the longest odds can be beaten and that success is not always defined by the conventional path.