SQA cyber skills put Martin on path towards secure career
From home life to businesses, everyone needs to be cyber aware and resilient in a growing digital world. That’s why SQA offers a wide range of qualifications in the cyber and computing sector.
Learners who use SQA’s cyber portfolio have a clear pathway into the cyber security workforce. SQA developed these qualifications in partnership with leading employers, college lecturers and experts from across the cyber sector.
Martin Meszaros recently completed a HND (Higher National Diploma) in Cyber Security at North East College Scotland in Aberdeen, allowing him to progress to the third year of a degree in Cyber Security at the city’s Robert Gordon University.
Receiving ‘A’ grades in both his first and second-year graded units, Martin went on to compete in the World Skills IT Support Technician Competition, receiving a silver medal in the final. At his graduation ceremony in late 2022, Martin won the SQA Student Award for his achievements and passion for his studies and learning. He shares his story below.
“I came to Scotland from Hungary just over 10 years ago with the hope of continuing my studies, but I became very anxious about my English level. I felt it wasn’t enough to study here, so I started working instead. I worked as a manager for a big fast-food chain, until I sat down one day and thought, ‘What am I doing with my life?’. I never wanted to be stuck in a workplace out of convenience, so I decided to work on pursing my dreams of one day working in IT.
“I applied to study Level 5 Computing at college. I still remember the day my interview happened as I was very anxious about my English skills, but I had nothing to worry about. The lecturer was extremely polite and as we started talking about computing, he advised Level 6 would be a better fit for me. This is where my college journey began.
“It’s crazy to think I came from a small town of less than 1,500 people in Hungary, to winning a medal at a national competition. I started off doing a small Computing course because I wanted to do something with my life, then moved onto a HNC and HND, always finding my lecturers extremely helpful along the way.
“I would recommend a cyber course to anyone looking to study computing in general. It came as a surprise to me how much content the cyber courses cover. They teach all the fundamentals of computing and security, and I found myself interested in everything we covered. My classes always felt challenging but not too much. It really felt like I was learning every day, which is an amazing feeling to have.
“I’m sure my HND will provide exciting opportunities for the future after graduating. I’m especially interested in mobile device security and my long-standing dream is to one day work for Google. I hope one day I can support them in making millions of users’ lives more secure.”
Further information
To stay up to date with latest developments and view all Computing, IT and Software qualifications, visit https://www.sqa.org.uk/computing.
