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Zak Butler '05 Talks Computer Science

Zak Butler '05 Talks Computer Science

Zak Butler ’05 spoke to the computer science II class via Teams about cybersecurity and life at Google. 

As a threat analyst for Google, he said his favorite aspect of his job is to “stop harm and prevent disinformation campaigns.”

“I deal with disinformation every day. It’s frustrating but it is a great motivator to analyze why and how the disinformation campaign is working and what we can do better to avoid something like it in the future. I have spent a lot of time trying to detect disinformation because I believe everyone is entailed to knowing what is really going on in the world.”  

In addition to providing insight into his job, he also shared accessible resources and advice about the field of computer science.

“In more technical jobs, the more computer science you know the better. But I believe that computer science is helpful in any job because it teaches you how to solve complex problems. Computer science is all about breaking a problem up into small steps that are easily consumable and can be easily communicated to others.”

Butler also encouraged the students to pursue their own life paths.

“I would recommend that you look beyond the big tech companies and take into consideration other aspects of life, like what you want to do and where you want to live. Whether you’re working at Google or a 15-person start-up, your job shouldn’t be your life. Your happiness is the most important thing. Find what makes you happy.”