Discover Career Growth & Development

Why did you join Discover's cybersecurity team? What does a typical day look like for you?

I started my career in an entry-level role and soon transitioned to the cybersecurity team, drawn by the rapid growth in the field due to the rise of digital threats. News of frequent data breaches made it clear how vital cybersecurity is for both individuals and organizations. Joining the cybersecurity team allowed me to build expertise in safeguarding data and managing threats in a dynamic environment.

My typical day begins with a team meeting to review tasks and assist colleagues. I spend time addressing tickets, emails and audit requests — ensuring compliance or guiding others. Afterward, I get to dive into more engaging tasks, like testing new applications, refining processes or training teammates.

What makes Discover's approach to cybersecurity unique? What gets you most excited to get out of bed each day?

Our cybersecurity strategy stands out for its forward-thinking, proactive approach. Instead of reacting to incidents, we focus on continuous monitoring and staying ahead of the evolving threat landscape. We prioritize identifying potential vulnerabilities early, allowing us to address issues before they become critical. Alongside this, compliance is a top priority as we ensure strict adherence to all regulatory standards, minimizing risk for both the company and our customers.

What excites me most is the opportunity to learn something new every day. My daily commitment to personal growth enhances my expertise and directly benefits the organization by keeping our team innovative and well-informed. Staying curious and up to date helps us adapt to the fast-changing cybersecurity world and deliver top-notch protection.

How can someone accelerate their cybersecurity career at Discover?

Joining our team offers a blend of engaging challenges and innovation while tackling cybersecurity tasks that keep our customers’ data safe. Our workplace environment offers a healthy work-life balance, and our company culture emphasizes growing both personally and professionally.

You’ll be at the forefront of cybersecurity, developing your skills and thriving in a supportive, positive environment — all while making a real difference for the organization and our customers. Your contributions won’t just solve technical problems; they will have a lasting impact on the organization’s reputation and trust.

Give us a snapshot of what you do to stay on top of your engineering knowledge and skills. 

I keep my engineering skills sharp by embracing challenges at work, where I’m fortunate to engage with constantly evolving technology and feature-rich work. This continuous shift naturally provides opportunities to learn new languages, tools, methodologies and processes, keeping my skills relevant and fresh. When I want to build a specific skill, I take targeted courses that align with my learning goals. Additionally, I make it a priority to attend tech conferences and local meetups to help me stay informed about the latest trends and emerging technologies while connecting with fellow engineers. 

To reinforce my learning and hold myself accountable, I try to set aside dedicated time each week to build my skills, whether that’s through hands-on practice, reading technical articles or experimenting with new tools. While it doesn’t always go as planned, I’ve found that scheduling a dedicated focus session on Fridays is a great way to close out the week while investing in personal growth. Learning is a continuous journey, and staying engaged ensures I remain adaptable and forward-thinking in my field.

What are your go-to resources for keeping your engineering skills sharp?

The internet, which I know is a broad statement, but it is truly an invaluable resource for continuous learning and so easily accessible. Gone are the days of pulling out the family’s encyclopedia collection to look up information. I frequently browse platforms like Wired, Medium and Stack Overflow to stay informed, and I also turn to Codewars, freeCodeCamp and GeeksforGeeks for free tutorials and problem-solving exercises that keep my coding skills sharp. Engaging in these challenges encourages me to think creatively and develop efficient and clever solutions. To me, engineering is getting to solve a new puzzle every day, which makes the work fun and exciting. Whether I’m troubleshooting a complex issue or automating a repetitive task, I always look for ways to optimize processes while expanding my knowledge.

What does the learning culture look like at Discover® and on your engineering team?

Discover fosters a strong culture of continuous learning, making skill-building a key part of our personal goals each year. We have a robust internal learning and knowledge-sharing platform called the Discover Technology Academy, which allows engineers to share information and best practices across the company via articles, documentation, tutorials, hosted workshops and more. Recently, the company launched an AWS Certification Challenge to encourage employees to expand their cloud expertise and show the company’s commitment to continuous learning. 

On my team, we’ve embraced “Learning Fridays,” where members dedicate time to developing new skills. Many of us utilize what we’ve learned to host lunch-and-learn sessions and share our insights with the team. This collaborative approach not only strengthens our personal knowledge but also reinforces a culture where learning is valued, encouraged and shared across the organization.