Ecology, Climate Change, and Cyber Security | Deborah Petterson

(Deputy Director, National Cyber Security Centre || London UK)

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“I work for the UK government’s National Cyber Security Centre. Our objective is to make the UK the safest place to live and work online. My personal role is to support the companies that operate the most critical infrastructure in the UK. That might be energy that powers your homes, ATM machines, water, transport, nuclear and all the other infrastructure that enables our day-to-day lives. I really like how it combines science with real world impact.

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My undergraduate degree was in Biology. I followed it up with a Masters in Environmental Management and then a PhD in Applied Ecology split between England and Spain. Throwing in a language on top of a science PhD was a little bit too stretching. I was offered a job as an environmental impact assessment consultant — we were literally chasing bats, badgers, and water-voles! We also did evaluation work for the government where I gave advice and guidance that was implemented nationally — I thought that was really cool. This led me to jump ship and start working for the government, quickly becoming the Private Secretary to Cabinet Minister, Margaret Beckett. I was one of those people behind the minister carrying the bags, checking the briefings, and travelling around the world with them. It was amazing — you get to see history being made in front of you and be in the same room as all the people on the news.

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After that, I went to India to be the Climate Change and Energy Attaché for the Foreign Office, and then transferred to working on the Middle East. I got married around that time and wanted to start a family. This made strapping on body armour and heading off to Iraq seem like a less good thing. So I took a calmer job, still with the civil service, that led me to where I am now.

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Some people think that if you didn’t study a subject in your degree then you can’t be credible in that field, but that is nonsense. It’s not very often that I use what I learned about the morphology of jellyfish in my job now! You just have to be brave and curious and you’ll get wherever you want to go.”