From Nursing to Physical Security Tech with Iana Relampagos | Ep073

What happens when the career your family picked for you isn't the one you actually want? Iana Relampagos grew up in a Filipino household where the path was already decided. Be a nurse. Be a doctor. Chase the stability. So she enrolled in pre-nursing at UNLV, even though her favorite classes had always been computer classes. Two years in, her grades started slipping and her heart wasn't in it. She switched to computer science, then eventually dropped out of school entirely while working full time to pay for it herself. From there her path went sideways more than once. She tried real estate school right before COVID shut down the housing market. She took a job as a security officer with no IT team on site, and started asking the tech every question she could think of just to understand how the cameras and badge readers worked. That curiosity led her to a free bootcamp called Tech Impact, a 16 week program that paired her with a mentor, placed her in an internship, and helped her land her first help desk job. WHAT IANA DOES NOW: Iana currently works as a PSOC Technician in a physical security operations center. She recently moved into the role for a pay raise after her help desk position wasn't financially sustainable, and she's using the shift to build relationships with cybersecurity professionals while she continues working toward her long term IT goals. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS CONVERSATION: Family Expectations Aren't Always the Right Fit Iana separated what she wanted from what her family expected of her, and that's what made switching majors possible. A Step Back in Title Isn't a Step Back in Career Taking the PSOC role felt like leaving IT behind. Instead it taught her how physical security and cybersecurity depend on each other. Imposter Syndrome Doesn't Disappear, You Learn to Work Through It A mentor gave Iana a book on the topic that she still references before interviews and meetings. Curiosity Is a Skill You Can Practice Asking "how does this work" turned a security officer job into an IT education, one shadowed task at a time. Community Changes What's Possible Her Tech Impact cohort studied together, supported each other, and nearly all 20 members passed their certification. TOPICS COVERED: Growing up with a tech-savvy dad and floppy disks as a kid Choosing nursing because of family and cultural expectations Leaving pre-nursing at UNLV for computer science Working full time while attending school full time Trying real estate school before COVID changed everything Becoming a security officer with no on-site IT support Teaching herself how cameras, badge readers, and servers connect A coworker reciting port numbers that led her to Tech Impact What a 16 week bootcamp cohort and mentorship program look like Landing a help desk job at a large hospitality company Taking a pay raise into a physical security operations center role Why she calls herself a "jack of all trades, master of none" WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR: Anyone weighing a career change against family expectations Early career professionals dealing with imposter syndrome People curious about the overlap between physical security and IT Job seekers wondering if a tech bootcamp like Tech Impact is worth it Anyone who feels like a step back in title might actually be a step forward CONNECT WITH IANA RELAMPAGOS: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iana-relampagos-b5004828a/ ABOUT CAREER DOWNLOADS: Career Downloads covers technology careers through conversations with professionals who share their journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice. Hosted by Manuel Martinez, each episode exposes listeners to different technology roles and helps them manage their own careers more successfully. New episodes release every Tuesday. Connect with Career Downloads: Website: https://careerdownloads.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/career-downloads YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@careerdownloads TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@careerdownloads Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/careerdownloads FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Career-Downloads/61561144531249