SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The aim of a SWOT analysis is to identify and understand how each of the four points impact me as a person and businesses overall.

Below I will provide information for my own SWOT analysis.

Strengths

Time management - This is a strength of mine as over my academic years, I have had to work to deadlines, managing multiple assignments all at one time therefore I feel I am used to doing this an can handle this aspect particularly well.

Punctuality - In all my years of going to school, college and university, not once have I been late to a single class, lecture or seminar and my attendance has always been very good. I put this down to my motivation, which would also be another strength of mine, as I feel that when you are motivated, you want to learn more and more.

Weaknesses

Public speaking - This has always been a weakness of mine, particularly presenting in front of an audience as I don't know what the audiences reaction will be and that instills fear into my mind. This weakness is certainly something I wish to improve in the future, even by the end of this module.

Critical Thinking - When in lectures, or just in general day to day life, I notice that I will often receive information from, let's say a lecturer, but then never ask them to go into more information, relate it to my course or challenge them with my own ideas. I feel that if I did think more and outside the box, I would actually learn more by doing so. 

Opportunities 

Work experience - One opportunity I have comes through the university and that is because I am provided with access to a range of part time and full time work experience and jobs. This is a huge opportunity for me as they are providing me with the skills and resources to hopefully go ahead and land a successful job and have a good career once I leave the university, an opportunity that most people are not provided with.

My degree - Another opportunity that I have, and probably the main one, is my degree. In three years time, if all goes to plan, I will have a degree in a field that is growing rapidly with all business and governments needing specialists in the area. My degree will allow me to pursue these vital job opportunities and have a great career, suggesting that I must make the most of it and put in all effort that I can.

Threats

Competition - As cyber security is a rapidly growing field, there is going to be lots of completion not only from other students on my course but also millions of people around the world. This may make it harder for me to get a job. To make sure this threat doesn't become a reality, I need to think about what makes me stand out from the rest of the job candidates, think of how I can stand out from them and then go and put that into practice.

Advancement in technology - As technology continues to grow, it also changes dramatically. Maybe a new programming language is become popular with companies etc. These advancements suggest that I must keep up with the growing technologies otherwise I will become second fiddle to other people in the industry who may have more or better knowledge of modern technologies. This suggests that I must constantly be learning, even after my university course has ended.

Learning Line

Learning Line

A learning line is a reflection of a sequence of events that have happened in your life over the years where you have learned new skills. Below is a chronological list of events that have happened in my life where I learnt new skills.

Baby Years

• Learnt to walk, balance myself, eat, sleep, and other general skills you learn as a toddler. 

Nursery

• Nursery was the time where I would have gained skills in interaction. Meeting other children my age, getting on well with them and playing games with them are all skills that developed me as a person as these are key skills, especially when in the workplace that are vital for a successful career.

Primary School/Junior School

• Starting primary school as the age of four, I started learning the basics of education from simple mathematic equations to developing my reading and writing skills even further. I started to play sport, specifically football and developed my technique. My communication skills that I brought with me from nursery were also improving as I met new people and started making friends for life. 
• I then took these skills from primary school into junior school and developed them even further. I started to understand how to solve more complex maths equations, carry out English comprehensions and become even more sociable to the point where simple skills such as just speaking and listening became second nature as I started to ask questions, make people laugh and have the occasional argument. I also took my sporting skills from primary school and used them in the junior school sports teams.

High School

• At secondary school, my love for sports continued as I played for the school football team in multiple competitions. I developed my technique even more so I could be an even better player. This was very beneficial to my enjoyment and my fitness as well as my social skills as I had to work effectively within a team by giving orders to other players and receiving some myself. I also started taking IT classes, which I then did for GCSE, which is where I found an interest in technology. I realised I would like to continue the interest further. 

College

• At college, I carried on improving my communication skills as I had to meet new people in my class, most of whom are still good friends to this day. I see them all very, very regularly which I put down to us all getting along really well. I also carried on my interest in IT as college is where I perused it further as I studied for a level 3 diploma in IT. This gave me great satisfaction as I loved the college, the people, the lecturers, the course and new that this would give me the means to go onto further education in this field at university as I got the top mark.

Learnt to Code

• In college, I also learnt a vital skill that would propel me into my future career. I learnt HTML and CSS. Also they are two fairly basic languages, they gave me a brilliant grounding for new languages that I would be learning in the future.

University

• I have actually been to two different universities. The first one wasn't particularly going well for me, I was getting top grades however I just wasn't enjoying it. Due to this, I left that university and haven't looked back since as I feel it was such a brilliant decision. This taught me what I would call a skill and a life lesson as I found out that if you really aren't enjoying something, and that enjoyment is affecting you mentally, you should remove yourself as quickly as possible from that situation as most likely you will be better off for it, and I certainly was.
• I then joined my current university and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Meeting new people who already knew each other as I was a January starter, pretty much put me into the deep end and forced to me come out of my comfort zone and integrate with my new class. I believe I have done this perfectly as I now get on extremely well with everyone in my class and am thriving at university.