Angela Lavoie Barkan

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I have worked for the U.S. Department of Defense as an Applied Research Mathematician since June of 2002. I was hired into the Cryptanalysis Development Program. This is a three-year career development program designed to develop entry-level personnel. In this program I was required to take classes at the National Cryptologic School and I did rotational assignments in five different offices throughout the Agency. This gave me the opportunity to try several different types of jobs before deciding on my permanent office.

Since the development program, I have held three different positions. We are encouraged to move around every few years…one of the many aspects of working here that I really like. During my first permanent position after the development program I did a lot of software development, but also started taking on a leadership role on the team. From there, I stepped into a management position – and discovered I have a passion for leadership – setting the vision for an organization, mentoring, forging partnerships, and generally working with people.

A career in cryptanalysis requires a knowledge of Abstract Algebra, Number Theory, Statistics, and the list goes on. But, most importantly, a cryptanalyst needs to be able to think logically, work through difficult problems, and “think outside the box.” These are all skills that I developed while at Saint Michael’s. Saint Michael’s gave me the mathematical background and the chance to think creatively, and that is what has made me successful in this field.

One perk of the job is that they pay for employees to continue their education. In May 2006, I earned my Master’s Degree in Applied and Computational Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University.