Jack: Cybersecurity Consultant Leading with Azerbaijani & Spanish

Meet Jack—a Critical Language Scholarship alumnus now consulting for Palo Alto Networks.

If you have the opportunity to study a language by living abroad among native speakers of the language, go for it.

Languages: Spanish, Azerbaijani, and English

Grew Up In: New York

College & Degrees Held: Washington and Lee University: Bachelor's degree in Geopolitics of Central Asia; Georgia Institute of Technology: Master of Science in Cybersecurity

Study Abroad: Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Belize

How have your language and cultural skills supported and/or enhanced your professional opportunities?

I primarily studied Spanish in middle and high school, then changed languages during university thanks to a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) from the U.S. Department of State to study abroad in their Azerbaijani language program. The CLS program sent me to Baku, Azerbaijan, for two summers of intensive language learning and exposure to a very different society than the one I had grown up in. Studying a language in a different country opened up the entire region to me, and I was able to leverage my understanding of the Caucasus region in my first career path after finishing my undergraduate years.

Azerbaijan's economy is primarily supported by oil and gas exports to Turkey and Europe, so I was able to learn more extensively about the energy industry (both in classes and informally from local friends who worked in the sector) than I would have if I'd never studied abroad or learned the language.

This experience was a huge advantage in my first job working on the energy sector team at a litigation and crisis management consulting firm and bolstered the initial years of my career tremendously.

I later changed careers, focusing on cybersecurity. And while attaining a graduate degree in cybersecurity (having not previously studied computer science) was difficult, it was never as challenging as being linguistically lost in Baku during the early days of my Azerbaijani learning journey.

The same learning techniques I'd developed as a language student came in handy!

I've had amazing opportunities to work on some of the most interesting cybersecurity investigations of the past few years, including foreign espionage cases and ransomware attacks (such as the one that affected the Colonial Pipeline and cut off gasoline supplies to most of the U.S. East Coast; my two careers really collided for that one!).

What advice would you share with current language learners or those considering studying a language?

It's been said before, but there really is no substitute for immersion. Living in a society where you are constantly surrounded by the target language—and being diligent about not reverting to English in your spare time—will help saturate your brain in a way that no amount of classroom experiences can replicate.

I spent eight years of my primary and high school education studying Spanish (and a semester as an undergrad) and became proficient; I became as good or better at Azerbaijani after just six months of immersion and classroom study in Baku. If you have the opportunity to study a language by living abroad among native speakers, go for it.

It’s often said that English is the language of global business, and because of that, language skills aren’t necessary to succeed. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

In terms of career success, native English speakers are fortunate: English is necessary for many careers. So, I do agree that someone can be successful in almost any field with only English. However, adding a language will inevitably open additional career opportunities in nearly any profession. Every language you speak adds millions of people in the world who might be future business partners, investors, customers, or colleagues.

Your definition of "success" may extend well beyond your career accomplishments or professional titles' being able to speak additional languages opens so many doors for travel, relationships, and friendships to grow throughout your life. Sometimes those intangible things end up being more important in the long run.

Do you have an interesting, moving, or humorous anecdote featuring your language skills to share?

Azerbaijani is linguistically very similar to Turkish, so on my way to Kyrgyzstan for a research project, I planned a one-day layover in Istanbul, Turkey. I expected the similarities to work like Spanish and Italian; instead, it was more like Azerbaijani was "old fashioned" Turkish.

Everyone I spoke to in Turkey kept giving me funny looks and giggling at how formal I sounded. If I complimented a waiter on the food at a restaurant, it sounded like I was saying "Thine kebabs art scrumptious" instead of "Your kebabs are delicious." So, I felt like an old-fashioned Ottoman for my day touring the City on Seven Hills.

Check out our Connect with Languages pages for information about university programs, scholarship opportunities, testimonials, and more!

Then tell us how you put your language skills to work @LangConnectsFdn on social media.

Know a multilingual professional who's using language skills in their work or career? Refer them to us for consideration in an upcoming Professional Profile.