Previously in the music industry, Luke Chen took up the challenge of transitioning from his passion for rhythm for an exciting career in cybersecurity.
At Red Alpha, you can find trainees who are mid-career switchers from all sorts of diverse career backgrounds. One of our exceptional Alphas - Luke Chen - is certainly not your typical cybersecurity guy. With the platform of our flagship Alpha Specialist Training Programme (ASTP), we were in awe of his career journey from a full-time musician to a certified cybersecurity engineer.
Luke Chen used to rock out as a musician. By day, he was teaching in music schools, as well as giving enrichment and CCA lessons at schools. By night, he was making beats for people to unwind and have fun at clubs. “I was a musician for most of my working life,” he says, reminiscing about his days as a drummer in a local band. “I performed at bars, clubs, and restaurants about 5-6 nights a week.”
What was the turning point that prompted you to break into the cybersecurity industry -despite little to no experience in the field?
That is right about when Covid-19 hit, the music landscape was massively affected by this pandemic. With a wife (who is also in the music industry) and two kids to support, this got Luke thinking, “What else can I do to broaden my horizons?” Thus, he decided to make a career switch, while letting his wife keep the musical dream alive.
At the time, Luke had his considerations on entering the IT industry. "I felt it was a field I could probably do well in," he shared. With an increasing market demand for data science and security professionals, he decided to try venturing into one of those sectors and chanced upon Red Alpha Cybersecurity's training programme.
How did you figure out that the Alpha Specialist Training Programme was the right decision for you?
"Many bootcamps and training programmes required educational qualifications, like a degree or a diploma. Red Alpha did not have such tough requirements, and [the application process] was more based on an aptitude test. So I just took the aptitude test and as they say, the rest is history."
However, the transition into the programme didn't come without it's challenges. Getting back into the learning mindset again and overcoming the learning curve was steep, especially since Luke’s background did not consist of cybersecurity or IT. But with a determined mindset, he never gave up and embarked on this exciting journey with us.
Luke may have been a musician in his past life, but he’s now a cyber engineer at the Defense Science & Technology Agency (DSTA), working with a team to design and implement cybersecurity solutions for MINDEF.
At Red Alpha, we welcome mid-careerists to apply for our Alpha Specialist Training Programme (ASTP), where we equip our trainees with in-demand cybersecurity skills to ease their transition into a brand new field.
Watch the full interview to learn more about Luke's career switch story here: https://content.mycareersfuture.gov.sg/career-confessions-how-former-musician-found-harmony-cybersecurity/
Thank you to MyCareersFuture for featuring Luke on your Career Confessions series.
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