Thomas Wagner ’18, ’19 (M) works in cybersecurity at Lockheed Martin

As our world grows increasingly digital, the need for cyber protection has also exploded, opening career opportunities in cybersecurity at whole new levels. Take it from Thomas Wagner ’18, ’19 (M), who has a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice (ADJ) and also earned a master’s degree in administration of justice and homeland security with a concentration in cybersecurity and intelligence.

It took Wagner five years and a lot of hard work to complete his degrees, but the education has been well worth it. With just a few years of experience, he landed a top security job as an information system security officer at Lockheed Martin. “If I hadn’t jumped into my education at Salve, I wouldn’t be in the position that I am as someone with only two years of experience in a position that usually requires 10 years of experience,” Wagner said.

Wagner was recruited to play football at Salve Regina.

Wagner loved working with computers as a kid, but didn’t realize he could turn his passion into a career until he entered Salve Regina’s ADJ program. As he began to learn, cybersecurity is a growing field and one that is ripe for opportunity — and he saw a career path emerge from his own childhood interests.

“I can say that the options are limitless,” Wagner said. “It is not an easy career field, but it is a very beneficial one. I’m not only financially secure for the rest of my life, but I have plenty of career opportunities. I could have three job offers within the next couple days if I needed them.”

Much of the work Wagner does for Lockheed Martin is classified, but some of it involves supporting government customers to ensure security compliance and governance standards. He also performs penetration testing — ethical hacking against the government’s systems to identify vulnerabilities. And, of course, he helps defend against cybersecurity attacks when they do come from the outside.

“When someone is attempting to break into the system and we catch on to them, my job is to go out and figure out how they broke in, clean up and get rid of anything they could’ve planted,” Wagner said.

Wagner attributes his success to the ADJ faculty who helped him become someone who can handle highly classified work. The graduate-level classes he took at Salve Regina helped him to think along the lines of someone who was working in the field of cybersecurity long before he actually did so. He also landed a job as a computer engineer at KMS Solutions through the help of a Salve Regina professor prior to his present role at Lockheed Martin.

“What’s nice about the program is that it’s not just one aspect,” Wagner said. “It covers everything, which helps you be successful in your career path depending on which direction you go. Audits and penetration testing, network forensics, advanced digital forensics — they even cover the cyber law side of it.”

Wagner believes that Salve Regina got him where he is today, and he is forever grateful for the well-rounded liberal arts education he received at both the undergraduate and the graduate level. “You’ll find professors that are going to help you excel,” he said. “They’re all there to benefit you.”