Reinvention isn’t a neat pivot. It’s a grind, a choice you make on hard mornings, and a mindset you carry when no one’s clapping. We sit down with Saeger Fischer of Omada Technologies—former educator, mom of three, and 17‑time marathoner—who rebuilt her career in cybersecurity by treating learning like training and partnerships like team sports. Together we trace the real skills that translate from the classroom to the SOC: structure, self‑teaching, differentiated learning, and the patience to process before speaking. If you’ve ever felt behind, this story shows how consistent effort compounds into momentum.

We also zoom out to the big picture leaders are wrestling with. Is the AI bubble nearing a correction as tools overpromise and underdeliver on simple workflows? Where do agentic SOC models fit, and how do we balance machine speed with human judgment? We break down why you can’t buy your way out of risk, how to separate signal from vendor noise, and why relationship‑driven selling outperforms quarter‑end pressure tactics. Then we dig into category shifts reshaping architecture: the rise of enterprise browsers like Island, collapsing brittle stacks, enabling zero trust without heavy VPNs or VDI, and speeding secure onboarding in minutes, not months.

Finally, we confront timelines most teams prefer to defer: post‑quantum cryptography. Ten‑year roadmaps are already stale, and “harvest now, decrypt later” is not a thought experiment. We outline pragmatic steps to inventory crypto dependencies, prioritize migrations, and budget in phases. We also talk about public‑sector headwinds and where practitioners can still find trusted signal—peer communities, credible advisories, and leaders who share what actually works. If you’re eyeing a move into cyber, or you’re in the trenches and need a reset, this conversation blends grit, guidance, and grounded predictions you can act on today.

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