Emma Foulger

"My main personality types were Coordinator, Explorer, and Influencer, and all three of these fit brilliantly with my current role.For a job like this you have to be thorough and reliable - making sure customers are aware of cyber attacks is important because an attack can have severe consequences for a business.Although much of my work is independent, having a job in an innovative company that is working at the very forefront of cyber security means that every day is a challenge - we are constantly learning new things and coming across new concepts. This makes my job exciting, but can also make it more difficult at times. Being able to work in a team, asking questions, helping others, and explaining things clearly is incredibly important. Resilience is also a key skill - if you don't understand something, don't give up! Ask others for help and you will learn more every day. This job is also perfect if you enjoy researching new concepts, understanding ideas in detail, and investigating."

"I am a Cyber Security Analyst, and primarily help to ensure customer's computer networks are safe by warning them about vulnerabilities they have, as well as alerting them when there is unusual behaviour going on in their network that could indicate a cyber-attack. I see new types of threat every day, and they range widely from full-on ransomware infections to email phishing and employees simply doing things they shouldn't be. The current starting salary for this role is £26,000.Not only is this job interesting and exciting, but it also makes a real difference in keeping businesses (and their own customers) safe."

"My interests have varied over the years - as a kid I very much wanted to be a pianist, but by A Level I was starting to discover how fascinating the world of mathematics is. I couldn't decide between maths and music when I went to university, so did both! By the end of my degree I knew I no longer wanted to pursue a career in music, but couldn't work out whether academia was for me and so I did a masters in just mathematics. Meanwhile, cyber-security was becoming of more and more interest, and I made sure I did my maths masters in an area somewhat related to security and cryptography.After deciding the world of academia wasn't for me, I spent some time tutoring school students in maths which was a lot of fun - I really enjoyed sharing some of my knowledge with them, and it forced me to looks at concepts in new ways which is always an incredibly worthwhile skill to have. While doing this I was also gradually building up my knowledge of computer security in preparation for starting a career in the sector, and was lucky enough to get my perfect job at Darktrace. It's particularly great that they hire people from a variety of backgrounds, and this is often an advantage, as it gives you a different perspective on things."

"My childhood heavily revolved around music-making and I continue it now as a hobby - I mainly play Piano, but also do a bit of Violin and in my spare time I've played in many amateur groups including orchestras and for amateur-opera peformances. Alongside this I also spend a lot of time painting and knitting. Other notable hobbies include reading, watching films, playing computer games, and taking pictures of my cat."

"Each day at work I analyse activity on customer's computer networks. Much of my day will revolve around writing reports to summarise any unusual things going on that could indicate a cyber-attack, as well as advising how customer's can make their networks more secure. I also get to analyse and write reports on malicious emails being sent to customers. The other major part of my job is working on-call: I have to be ready at a moment's notice to investigate serious threats like ransomware, and let customers know as quickly as possible so that they can stop an in-progress attack.When I have spare time, I will spend it reading up on the latest security threats, as well as learning how to use some of the tools used by attackers themselves - not only is this fun, but it also helps me to better understand the activity I'm looking at in the other parts of my job."

"In my later years at school, I was indecisive when it came to choosing between music and maths - I loved both subjects and simply didn't want to stop studying either at this point! I therefore did the following A levels:Maths (A*)Further Maths (B)Music (B)Biology (B)Alongside this I also did AS level Art.After, I continued my maths/music obsession and did a joint-honours degree; a BA in Maths & Music (2:1). I then explored what mathematical research would be like by doing an MRes course (a research-based masters) in Pure Mathematics."