MARNIX VAN ‘T HOFF AS AVIATION SECURITY CONSULTANT @ DYAMI B.V.

If this isn’t your first job since graduating: what were your other jobs and at which companies?

My current occupation at Dyami is my first job since graduating.

How did you end up at your current job?

During my internship at Dyami, I had the opportunity to learn a lot on the different subjects. Towards the end of my internship period, I proved that I would be a good asset to the company’s requirements. This resulted in me being able to start working at Dyami immediately after my internship. This came partly due to me getting an opportunity to along with writing my thesis, aid their company’s crisis team set up to inform anyone with a stake in aviation surrounding the Ukraine-Russia war through SitReps. This meant a lot of 9-9 workdays, but in the end it was worth it. Both because I now work at the company, but also the people we helped with this team, and now continue to help with this job.

What are your daily operations?

Describing my daily operations is a bit difficult, as almost every week I am doing different tasks. However, one of the recurring tasks I have is to produce flight and area risk assessments, together with the analyst team, for several of Dyami’s clients.

Besides this, one of my continuing responsibilities is to bridge the gap between my colleagues who come from mostly Geopolitical sciences and/or security studies, and the Aviation industry (which as we all know is the best industry).

What do you like most at your job?

What I like most at my job is the multitude of interesting people I meet, talk to and work with in this job. This too because working in the security world means working alongside the Intelligence world, which is filled with interesting people, their lessons and stories.

Another thing I like most is that, due to Dyami still being a relatively small company, I immediately got a lot of responsibilities, and direct contact with Dyami’s clients and partner companies. This is an opportunity I feel most people do not get right out of school.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Being that I just started actually working out of school, I do not have a clear target set yet. But, I hope I can either stay with Dyami and help it grow, and by that giving myself the opportunity to grow along with it. If this is not the case, I would like to work for an airline or airport as a Security Manager.

What do you like most from your education that helps you out currently in your work?

Being that I now work in the AvSec industry, a specialization the Aviation course stopped offering in my specialization year, it is mostly the general aviation knowledge and mindset the course taught me. All the actual AvSec knowledge, I learned during my internship.

So, if you as a reader too want to work in the AvSec industry, do not feel discouraged by the school not offering the specialization anymore, it is still a possibility.

Are you still connected to the Aviation Academy?

I am currently not actively connected to the Aviation Academy.

Have you been a member of the SVAAA?

I have, even though I was not the most active member, I do think being a member does offer you some interesting events, and of course the borrels.

With my internship, I learned the importance of networking. The SVAAA offered me the opportunity to start developing my networking skills while in school. I used to be a member. However, I was not the most active. Even then I do think that being a member of such an association offers new possibilities and interesting events, and of course the borrels.