UTC BAS-IT CyS student Paul Allen, left, and Tucker Green, an information security manager at EPB and Allen’s internship supervisor. Photo by Angela Foster.
Paul Allen spent more than two decades working for a local transportation and logistics company in Chattanooga.
He’d built experience, developed a specialized skill set and then hit a ceiling. That’s when he decided to start over.
“At some point, I realized I was training other people to be my boss,” said Allen, 51. “I had a very particular set of skills that just didn’t translate well to other industries.”
Walking away from stability wasn’t easy but staying stuck wasn’t an option, said the Chattanooga resident and father of two.
He took a cue from his wife and decided to go back to school at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
He’d been doing “IT-adjacent” work for years and chose UTC’s accelerated Bachelor of Applied Science in Information Technology in Cybersecurity program to continue on that path.
“I thought I understood networking until I took the first class,” he said with a chuckle. “Then I realized how much I didn’t know.”
The one-year, three-semester program is designed for working adults who want to fast-track their path into high-demand fields in IT and cybersecurity. It not only allows students like Allen to earn their degree quickly but also includes a built-in, paid internship at a local company, agency or nonprofit.
Allen was placed on the cybersecurity team at Chattanooga-based EPB, known for operating the most advanced energy grid and the world’s fastest community-wide internet. Of the opportunities available, Allen said he couldn’t have landed a better internship. His last day there will coincide with his graduation in August.
Since joining EPB, he has worked on real projects, from analyzing phishing alerts and exploring vulnerability management tools to contributing to weekly reports for senior leadership. He has also gained insight into how teams manage threat detection, coordinate incident response and communicate risk across departments.
“With EPB, it’s been about learning, not constant production,” Allen said. “They’ve let me explore the areas I’m curious about and connected me with experts across the organization. It’s a hands-on, real-world experience that’s hard to find.”
Tucker Green, an information security manager at EPB and Allen’s internship supervisor, said Allen’s initiative, curiosity and communication skills stood out immediately.
“We’ve had interns before, but Paul came in with a different kind of perspective,” Green said. “He’s curious, reliable and willing to figure things out. If he had interviewed for one of our analyst roles last year, I would have hired him.”
Green said Allen’s experience at EPB has included exposure to real security alerts, internal collaboration with engineers and even a late-night threat scenario that gave him a close-up view of how professionals handle real-time risk.
“In (coding and IT) bootcamps, you learn best practices. But here, Paul saw a full incident lifecycle, from detection to executive response,” Green said. “Interns aren’t just doing grunt work. They contribute.”
Exposure and experience in the industry have shown Allen how day-to-day cybersecurity operations work and the depth of skill it really demands.
“This degree opens more doors than just cybersecurity,” he said. “But it also gives you a strong foundation in it. I thought I understood networking until I took the first class. Then I realized how much I truly didn’t know. That was true for a lot of the technical areas. There’s so much behind the curtain.”
Allen said the soft skills he brought from his previous career turned out to be just as important as the technical ones, particularly in cybersecurity roles where collaboration and communication are key. With years of leadership experience, he knew how to manage relationships, navigate conflict and communicate across teams, which gave him an edge in both the classroom and on the job with EPB.
“I’m not afraid of public speaking. But that’s only because I had to do it to pay the rent. That kind of confidence only comes from experience,” he said.
His decision to return to school was partly inspired by his wife, Virginia, who earned a mechanical engineering degree from UTC several years ago. Her study habits helped him stay on track.
“I learned more from her about how to be a student than I ever did the first time around,” Allen said. “When I was 18, I didn’t take college seriously. Now I do.”
UTC’s BAS-IT Cybersecurity program is a 12-month, accelerated bachelor’s degree designed for transfer and nontraditional students ready to break into high-demand tech fields. With fewer general education requirements and a built-in paid internship, the program combines classroom learning and real-world experience to meet the growing need for skilled IT professionals.
Students progress through the program as a cohort, gaining both technical and teamwork skills in preparing them for careers in Chattanooga or anywhere remote work can take them.
With a career’s worth of perspective, Allen said he has kept his goals simple: stay relevant, stay challenged and keep moving forward. He said it’s more about pursuing a second act versus chasing a dream job.
“I just want to stay employable for the next 15 to 20 years in a field that’s growing,” he said, “and I think I’ve set myself up for that.”
His advice for others considering a mid-career shift?
Don’t wait.
Don’t talk yourself out of learning something new.
And don’t be afraid to start small.
“Even if I wound up back in the same field, I’d be better for having done this,” Allen said. “But now I’ve got options and that’s everything.”
Learn more
College of Engineering and Computer Science
Bachelor of Applied Science: Information Technology in Cybersecurity
Tucker Green said Paul Allen’s experiences at EPB have included exposure to real security alerts, internal collaboration with engineers and even a late-night threat scenario that gave him a close-up view of how professionals handle real-time risk.
