When you’re sports, the ultimate goal is always to reach the highest level. For me, that dream was Major League Baseball. I came close — but the journey taught me lessons that ended up shaping one of the biggest decisions of my life: making a career change to cybersecurity.

By my mid-thirties, I was considered a “veteran” in baseball. That’s when the reality started to set in: What comes after this? What would life look like after pro sports?

That reflection sparked a passion I’d always carried in the background: technology. Despite earning a degree from the University of Southern California (USC), it didn’t reflect my true interests. I’d always been into computers since I was a kid (aside from sports, that is) and that curiosity never faded. Eventually, given the opportunity in the final years of my baseball career, I decided to pursue it. I enrolled in a second Bachelor’s degree, this time in Information Technology.

It wasn’t easy. Balancing school with the demands of pro baseball brought its share of doubts, challenges, and exhaustion. But I reminded myself, You’ve done this before. The same discipline that helped me thrive as a student-athlete carried me through—and still does today.

This article isn’t just about my journey. It’s about what’s possible. If you’re undecided, or wondering if it’s too late to make a career change to cybersecurity, I’ve got good news: it’s never too late—you’re starting your next chapter and bringing wisdom, values, perspective, and everything else you’ve learned with you.

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Life on the Field: Lessons from 13 Years in Pro Baseball

My baseball journey didn’t start the way most do. I was around 10 when I first picked up a glove—a little late compared to others who got their start in Little League. Growing up in Mexico, I had already dabbled in everything from soccer to tennis, swimming to basketball. When I finally landed on baseball, I wasn’t exactly a natural. But being athletic gave me an edge, and I picked it up fast. Four years later, I found myself playing for Rancho Bernardo High School, and by 2008, I was a 25th round draft pick by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim out of USC.

Pro baseball, especially in the minors, isn’t as glamorous as it might look from the outside. The pay is low, the travel is constant, and you’re always one injury or one hotshot rookie away from losing your spot. But it’s in those gritty years that you really find out who you are. The support from family, the hours on the road, the grind—it all shapes you.

Discipline. Motivation. Determination. Those weren’t just words we threw around. They were survival skills. I saw so many incredibly talented players fall short, not because they weren’t good enough, but because they didn’t put in the work. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t the fastest, strongest, or most powerful player—but I was relentless. I came from systems, both in high school and college, that instilled hard work and consistency. And those values still fuel everything I do today.

When I decided to retire, it wasn’t an easy call. I was still training like usual in the off-season: wake up early, hit the weights, eat, drill, repeat. That routine was my life for over 13 years. But I wasn’t sad or filled with regret. Honestly, I felt ready.

Life in baseball is tough and you have to be mentally tough for every challenge. You’re away from your family for most of the year, living out of a suitcase, chasing the next game. So towards the end of my baseball career, was ready to stop missing the little things—dinner with my wife, holidays with family, weekends with friends.

The Turning Point: Finding Passion in Tech

Back when I was a student-athlete at USC, I had my sights set on engineering—specifically computer engineering. I’ve always been drawn to technology and how things work under the hood. But when I spoke with the engineering department, I was hit with a harsh reality: “At some point, you’ll have to choose between baseball and engineering.” Engineering was a demanding path, no doubt, and balancing that with Division I athletics? They made it sound impossible.

I’ll admit, I backed off. Honestly, it’s one of the few regrets I carry. I didn’t trust myself to juggle both. I settled for a different major—a safer one. But that itch for tech never really left.

Later in my professional baseball career, when presented with the opportunity, I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. I did some digging and found a university that offered a fully online IT program.

The IT world was massive. I was learning a little bit of everything: core IT principles, basic programming in Java, MySQL, and Python, some light web development, network administration, systems security, and even how to think like a hacker.

I soaked it all up. But the deeper I got into it, the more I felt pulled toward cybersecurity. Something about protecting systems, understanding attack vectors, and thinking like the adversary really resonated with me.

The journey wasn’t all smooth, though. I didn’t have a built-in network of tech professionals to lean on. Most of my friends were in business, real estate, or sales—not exactly people who could help me troubleshoot firewall configs or understand Python scripts. Still, I made the most of what I had. Through my online courses, I connected with classmates who were in the field, used LinkedIn, and started to network to help fill in that gap.

After finishing my degree, I officially retired from baseball and dove headfirst into job hunting. That transition was… intimidating. I was staring down job descriptions asking for 2–3 years of experience for even the most basic entry level roles. I had the degree. I had the soft skills—discipline, communication, resilience. But no hands-on industry experience.

So, I focused on one goal: getting my foot in the door. I spent hours crafting and tweaking my resume, reading up on how to speak the language of tech hiring managers. I knew that if I could just land that first opportunity, my work ethic and hunger to learn would take care of the rest.

Starting From Scratch (Again): What It’s Like to Begin a New Career

One of the toughest parts of switching careers, especially into tech, is that classic catch-22: you need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience. Sound familiar? It was intimidating but definitely not impossible. I knew overcoming this hurdle would require consistency, persistence, and a willingness to go beyond my comfort zone.

For a while, job hunting became my full time job. I spent hours tailoring resumes, analyzing job descriptions, and filling out applications. But I started noticing something about the job posts the more I applied; I didn’t have direct experience. I knew that if I wanted to make a career change to cybersecurity, I needed to start building hands-on skills to truly stand out. So, instead of just waiting and hoping, I started learning those skills proactively.

At first, it was overwhelming. There’s so much to learn in tech that it’s easy to wonder, “How am I ever going to learn all this?” The thing is, there’s not one person that knows everything. My advice: you don’t need to know everything to start, you just need to start. Pick a single skill, work on it, and build from there. Stack those small wins. Before long, you’ll start to notice your own growth and confidence rise.

“You don’t need to know everything to start, you just need to start.”

Eventually, the hard work of networking and proactive skill-building paid off. I landed my first role in IT as a Technician, which became my entry point into the field. It wasn’t cybersecurity yet, but it was the foot in the door I needed. From there, I kept learning, kept leveling up, and kept pushing forward—knowing that the journey was just getting started.

Landing That First Role: Why Cybersecurity Was the Right Fit

One of the reasons cybersecurity stood out to me was the immediate impact you can have on an organization. Working on the defensive side gives you the satisfaction of knowing you’re actively protecting your organization.

Sure, it can be stressful at times, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. You quickly develop skills that go way beyond just technology—things like managing your time under pressure, effective communication with executives, and leadership within fast-paced situations.

The cybersecurity field is projected to grow 32% by 2032, much faster than the average for all occupations — making it one of the most future-proof careers today.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Like climbing through the ranks in baseball, my tech career followed a natural progression. I started as an IT Technician, where I learned basic hardware and software troubleshooting, customer service, problem-solving skills, and the importance of quick thinking. That role helped me develop a solid foundation, but I knew I wasn’t stopping there.

After earning my CompTIA Network+ and Security+ certifications, I was promoted to Network Administrator. At first, it felt like I was moving away from cybersecurity because I got fascinated with networking—I couldn’t stop learning and exploring how data moved across systems.

It became a passion, which led to earning my Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). To this day, I consider it one of the most valuable and hands-on certifications you can earn. It gave me the confidence and technical knowledge to understand how networks function at their core—critical for anyone pursuing a cybersecurity career.

That baseball mindset—practice makes perfect—helped tremendously as I dove deep into switch configurations, subnetting, and network protocols. I spent hours immersed in labs, configuring networks, and troubleshooting issues, not because I had to, but because I genuinely enjoyed it.

Ironically, diving deep into networking didn’t steer me away from cybersecurity at all. Something crucial you need to understand if you’re considering cybersecurity: knowing networking fundamentals is essential. Understanding how traffic moves across the network, identifying unusual patterns, and spotting vulnerabilities are all key skills you need as a cybersecurity professional.

“By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail”

Benjamin franklin

Eventually, an opportunity presented itself, and because I was prepared, I stepped into my first dedicated cybersecurity role as a Security Administrator. Tasked with analyzing security alerts and investigating potential threats, the networking skills I’d built made a big difference. I was able to sift through logs, detect anomalies, and quickly understand how an attacker might try to breach the network.

In many ways, that first cybersecurity role validated all my efforts and reinforced that cybersecurity was the perfect fit.

Advice to Career Changers: How to Successfully Make the Leap

My journey might seem unique at first glance—after all, switching from a professional sports career into the tech industry isn’t exactly common. But in reality, career changes later in life are more common than people think. If you’re at a crossroads, wondering whether it’s too late to pivot into tech or cybersecurity, let me be clear: it’s never too late when you’re fueled by passion.

One key lesson I took from baseball into my new career is this: Don’t worry about the things you can’t control. Focus instead on what you can control—your mindset, work ethic, discipline, and determination. You can’t control timing or competition, but you can control how you show up and how hard you work. And that mindset is key, whether you’re starting something new or showing up everyday looking for continuous improvement.

Don’t worry about the things you can’t control. Focus instead on what you can control—your mindset, work ethic, discipline, and determination.

If tech or cybersecurity genuinely interests you, you’re entering a space full of opportunity. Whether it’s ethical hacking, SOC analyst work, GRC, or security administration, there’s a path that fits your strengths and interests.

Intimidated by lack of experience? Don’t worry; everyone starts somewhere. There are tons of free and low-cost resources—from labs and tutorials to online certifications like Security+, Network+, or CCNA.

If you’re not sure where to start, check out my guide on Beginner Cybersecurity Certifications to Jumpstart Your Career—I break down which ones are worth it, what they cover, and how they can boost your job search.

And while certifications can get your foot in the door, hands-on experience is what builds real confidence.

Here’s what I recommend:

• Start a home lab and explore how things break (and how to fix them)
• Practice with TryHackMe, HackTheBox, or free CTF challenges like PicoCTF
• Watch YouTube tutorials and build small, practical projects
• Stay curious—and consistent

At the end of the day, the key values to a successful transition are passion, discipline, and a growth mindset. You don’t need to have it all figured out—you just need to start.