Tell us about your role as a Graduate in the DTA

I have spent my graduate year at the DTA in the Cyber Security team, working on tasks which range from daily, business as usual activity, such as monitoring security software and responding to issues as they arise, to larger projects which require extended work and interaction with other teams and/or stakeholders.

What projects have you worked on

I have worked on projects including writing and updating internal policies and standard operating procedures, designing and conducting phishing simulations and cyber security training, writing cyber security articles for the DTA intranet, investigating incidents, performing security assessments of software, deploying and testing new security software, and responding to cyber security questions and concerns from DTA staff.

What was most rewarding about your role in the DTA Graduate Program

The most rewarding parts of the DTA graduate program have been getting to contribute to the cyber security of the agency and developing my knowledge and skills. I have learned so much this year, and it has been incredibly rewarding.

Why would you recommend the DTA Graduate Program

I would highly recommend the DTA graduate program for several reasons:

The culture is great. The DTA is a really pleasant place to work, full of people who are friendly, passionate about their work, and supportive. I have never lacked for encouragement or guidance in my graduate year, and I have always felt able to approach anyone with questions.

Being a small agency, it’s easy to get to know a lot of people in many different business areas, which is a valuable opportunity to learn more about parts of the agency I otherwise would have only surface level knowledge of.

Graduates get to do real work from the beginning. From my first week, I was working on tasks which I could see were beneficial to the agency.

I cannot imagine a better place to start my career in the APS.