Part One: Set Your Educational Goals
My main educational goal in the CS program is to graduate with a strong foundation in cybersecurity and automation. I want to finish with a GPA above 3.9 and develop at least five practical projects that I can include in my portfolio — two related to cybersecurity (like penetration testing or scripting with Python) and three that show automation and data processing skills (such as workflow automation or analytics dashboards). I can picture myself in my workspace, pushing my final project to GitHub, preparing for graduation, and seeing the growth I’ve achieved in both coding ability and confidence.
Beyond this degree, I plan to pursue a graduate certificate or master's program in cybersecurity while continuing to develop my technical certifications (I already hold CompTIA A+). I want to stay ahead of trends in the field and build a career that merges defensive security and ethical hacking.
Part Two: Set Your Career Goals
In the short term, I’m aiming to get a full-time job in IT or cybersecurity support not long after I graduate. Ideally, I’d love to work for a school district, a city agency, or even a private company that values people who are eager to grow and contribute. I’m looking for a role where I can actually put my scripting and automation skills to use, maybe even help with basic security checks or support the team during incidents. I want to be someone who can solve real problems and keep things running smoothly.
Looking ahead a few years, my goal is to become a Security Analyst or Penetration Tester — hopefully in a remote or hybrid setup. I’m aiming for a salary between $90K and $110K within five years. More than the money, though, I want to feel like I’m really making a difference by stopping security threats and helping protect organizations from attacks. I want to be that go-to person who can figure things out when something goes wrong.
Part Three: Wild Guess of My ETS Computer Science Percentile
After checking out the ETS Major Field Test in Computer Science, including the example questions and structure, I feel reasonably good about where I stand right now. I still have a lot to learn, but I think 18 months gives me enough time to close the gaps. Right now, I’m pretty solid in areas like programming, discrete math, and software engineering. I know I need to put more time into systems topics and networking — those are definitely my weak spots.
If I keep reviewing consistently and keep building projects to practice what I’ve learned, I think I could score somewhere around the 80th percentile — maybe a bit higher if I stay focused. It won’t be easy, but I like a good challenge.
Part Four: What I Learned This Week
This week’s readings helped me see how important it is to take control of my own career development — especially the article on setting career and salary goals. It was interesting to learn that the famous Harvard goal-setting study might be a myth, but the broader lesson still holds: people who write clear goals and track progress are more likely to succeed.
I also reflected on the idea of constantly updating skills and avoiding career complacency. This motivated me to keep improving my portfolio and track my accomplishments throughout the year. I’ve started keeping a document with milestones I’ve achieved so far in this program — like building a partial inventory system with Python, working with Excel automation, and studying for CompTIA Network+, and Security+.
Finally, I explored the structure and content of the ETS Computer Science test. It gave me a better sense of what to expect and what areas I should start revisiting soon, especially discrete math and algorithms. It’s one more reminder of how important preparation is — not just for school, but for the kind of career I want to build.
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