My Journey

2008 - Family Responsibility

My father passed away in 2008 while I was still a student in Pakistan. At an early age, I became aware of the responsibilities facing my family. Like many families, we faced emotional and financial challenges, and I understood that supporting my family would eventually become one of my priorities.

Although I was still studying, this experience taught me discipline, patience, resilience, and the importance of long-term responsibility-qualities that continue to influence my professional life today.

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2012 - Moving to the United Arab Emirates

After completing my Higher Secondary School education (HSSC), I moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, seeking employment opportunities and financial stability for my family.

Like many expatriates beginning their careers abroad, I accepted various entry-level jobs and focused on earning an income while supporting my younger siblings and helping my family back home.

During this period, I also worked toward obtaining a UAE light vehicle driving license. Acquiring the license required significant effort, time, and financial investment, but it eventually opened better employment opportunities.

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2013-2015 - Driving Profession and Educational Challenges

After obtaining my driving license, I worked in transportation-related positions including school transportation and personal driving assignments.

One of my regular assignments involved transporting a business executive daily across different Emirates. These roles helped me support my family financially, but I always knew I wanted to build a long-term career in technology.

At the same time, I attempted to complete a traditional bachelor's degree in Pakistan through private study. Because I was balancing full-time work abroad with academic preparation, I struggled to dedicate enough time to structured study and repeatedly faced difficulties with English language examinations.

Those setbacks were disappointing, but they never removed my desire to continue learning and eventually complete higher education.

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2015 - The Opportunity That Changed My Career

In 2015, I joined Core Information Technology in Dubai. Initially, I was hired as a driver responsible for transporting engineers and delivering IT equipment such as computers, printers, and networking devices to customer locations.

One day, while accompanying an engineer to a customer site, I observed him troubleshooting an email-related issue. At the same time, another user required a Windows operating system reinstallation.

Having spent years working with computers as a hobby in Pakistan-installing operating systems, troubleshooting issues, and helping friends with their computers-I volunteered to assist.

I successfully reinstalled Windows, configured the laptop, installed required applications, and prepared the machine for the user. The engineer was surprised to discover that I already possessed practical technical skills.

When we returned to the office, he informed management about my abilities. That moment became the turning point that changed my career direction from transportation into information technology.

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2015-2016 - Entering Networking and Infrastructure

Following management's decision, I was transferred from driving duties into the technical team.

The company supported my enrollment in a six-month instructor-led Cisco networking program in Dubai, allowing me to learn networking fundamentals while continuing practical work.

During this period, I participated in real-world projects involving:

• Structured cabling systems
• Patch panels and network outlets
• Switch deployment and testing
• Wireless access point installations
• CCTV and surveillance systems
• Server installations
• User support and troubleshooting
• Annual maintenance contract (AMC) support

These projects gave me my first exposure to enterprise infrastructure environments and laid the foundation for my future career in IT operations.

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2016 - Discovering a New Academic Path

While visiting Pakistan, I discussed my educational challenges and career aspirations with a relative. I explained my desire to pursue higher education in a field related to technology and computing.

Shortly afterward, I received admission to the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program at Virtual University of Pakistan.

For the first time, I had a practical and realistic opportunity to complete a degree while continuing full-time employment in the UAE.

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2017-2019 - BS Computer Science While Working Full-Time

In 2017, I officially started my BS Computer Science journey.

My daily routine involved balancing:

• Full-time employment
• Family responsibilities
• University lectures
• Assignments and quizzes
• Group discussions and projects
• Midterm and final examinations
• Independent technical learning

Most study sessions took place during evenings, weekends, and early mornings before work. Progress was often slow, but consistency became more important than speed.

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2018-2019 - Financial Uncertainty and Difficult Decisions

During this period, company restructuring and project losses created uncertainty regarding employment stability.

Like many expatriate workers, I had to make practical decisions regarding career stability, family support, and educational goals.

After completing the initial academic milestone, I temporarily paused the four-year degree program due to financial concerns and the need to prioritize stable employment opportunities.

Although the pause was difficult, I never intended to abandon education permanently.

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2019-Present - Data Center and NOC Operations

A significant opportunity arrived when I joined infrastructure support operations associated with healthcare environments, including work related to Zayed Military Hospital.

My responsibilities expanded into:

• NOC and Data Center monitoring
• Infrastructure incident analysis
• Access switch support
• Connectivity troubleshooting
• User support and escalation coordination
• Operational infrastructure support

This experience strengthened my understanding of enterprise operations, service continuity, infrastructure monitoring, and structured troubleshooting methodologies.

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2021-2023 - Completing BS Computer Science

With a more stable professional environment and better work-life balance, I resumed my BS Computer Science studies.

Balancing work, education, and family responsibilities remained challenging, but years of persistence eventually paid off.

In 2023, I successfully completed my Bachelor of Science in Computer Science while continuing full-time professional responsibilities.

For me, the degree represented much more than an academic qualification-it represented years of commitment, discipline, and belief in long-term goals.

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2023-Present - Cybersecurity, Software Development, and AI

After completing my degree, I expanded my focus beyond infrastructure operations into cybersecurity, software development, automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

I began building practical projects that connected academic knowledge with real-world infrastructure experience, including:

• ML-Based Cyber Attack Detection
• IDMUI - OpenStack Identity Management Interface
• WCAMAN - Digital Certificate Management Platform
• Text-Based Emotion Recognition using NLP

Alongside project development, I continued professional learning through certifications and specialized training in cybersecurity, cloud fundamentals, Python development, security architecture, networking technologies, and identity management.

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Looking Ahead

My journey began with family responsibility and basic employment opportunities. It evolved through networking, infrastructure operations, academic persistence, and continuous learning.

Today, I continue to build expertise in cybersecurity, cloud identity, security architecture, network security, and applied AI while preparing for advanced studies and international opportunities.

The journey continues, driven by curiosity, resilience, practical implementation, and the belief that consistent effort over time creates meaningful progress.