My experience with the Udemy-like online short course on Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Penetration Testing has been equally a challenging and rewarding experience. One of the most significant hurdles I faced was overcoming my struggle to speak seamlessly during recording sessions. Even with meticulously prepared notes, I often stumbled over my words and lacked the fluidity I had originally envisioned for my course. I could spend hours studying a topic, but as soon as I began recording, my mind would go blank. This is something I have struggled with during interviews in the past, but to experience it when alone was one of the most internally frustrating situations I have dealt with.
In an attempt to overcome this challenge, I decided to adopt a scripted approach. However, this brought forth its own set of challenges, as reading made my voice dull and not engaging. Despite numerous re-recordings, I acknowledge there’s still room for improvement, but I have started to find a better balance between being engaging and informative. This process pushed me mentally and emotionally, and I believe my communication and research skills have significantly improved over this semester.
Although counterintuitive, I do hope for future opportunities to reattempt the creation of a short course. If I could do it over again, I would focus my research on quality over quantity, prioritize time management, and embrace imperfections on audio. Despite the challenges, I am grateful for this experience as I believe this semester has contributed significantly to my overall learning and personal development.
