As a security analyst with a few years of experience, this was a great video but I disagree with the idea that you should only work in cyber security if you are a nerd/geek. I do not live and breathe cyber security. I have a family, and I have hobbies. I do not live to work, I work to live. Cyber security at the end of the day is just a job. We are not all hackers, and we are not all chasing APTs for fun when we get off. What I love about security is the melting pot of personalities and people.
It is technically just a job but the amount of work it takes to be successful at it is not for your average person that just wants a regular well paying job and thinks they can kick their feet up after they land the cyber role. That’s what he means by being a geek, you want to keep learning and getting better at your specialization because it intrigues you and with how dynamic the tech industry is, it’s kind of a requirement if not your just going to get fed up and leave. It’s great you were able to balance it with the rest of your life but when people ask if you like your job and your answer leans more positive that means there most likely is a little bit of a nerd in you
I'm a geek/nerd and I agree with "I do not live to work, I work to live" I like what I do, but its not the most important thing to me. I got into it for the money and because I'm good at it. if I could make more money cooking or playing guitar I do would that tbh, but I'm more than happy to work in cyber sec. you're purpose doesn't need to be your job; companies just want to feel like they're exploiting... I mean, "have" the best of the best on their cyber sec teams.
@@Aboguaboga My comment had nothing to do with my liking or hating my job. It had to do with the fact that you do not need to live and breathe cyber security. Of course I keep up to date and continue to study etc, but it does not consume my life. The secret to success in security is imposter syndrome. I question people who think they know everything already. Some of the smartest people I know in this field always talk about how they still feel like they dont know shit lol
It’s all good to say any experience is experience, but if you can’t even get to an interview because the hr hiring people don’t recognize your personal experience it seems pretty moot
Yeah HR is one of those annoying and I reckon it to be one of the most useless departments… anyways, I’ve seen software dev jobs posted and with qualifications and everything posted by HR, obviously, and it is hilarious, not specifying what tech they use or even languages combo that seemed worse combo than soup and fries combo… HR and tech jobs doesn’t go along too well, although I stopped going for software dev jobs. I still program from time to time but cybersec is my main focus, mainly soc analyst.
Interviews can be intimidating. Just recently had an interview where I was super nervous and my mind went blank. Totally bombed the interview but also a great learning experience for my next interview
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I just want to say thank you for everything you do dude. I'm just an average Joe 26, trying to get out of blue collar work, never had the means until now. These videos give me hope 💪🏼
Great series, I’d love to see one on entry level jobs and why they require years of experience and how to get around that. I’ve joined recruiting groups on LinkedIn, veteran recruiting group, gained two certifications, a degree, and none of this for the past year has been enough to land a job. The most common response (if they even give me one) is that I lack experience. I mention how I have a home lab, how I love tech and helping people and the 2-3 interview I’ve had over 8 months of looking have done good but yielded no results. I’m at a loss for words at this point, it seriously looks like it’s either about who you know or that the market is so saturated companies have now increased their requirements…
Check out Josh Madoker's course. He is on RU-vid. He specifically made it to get over this problem. He will let you use him as a reference and say that you worked for him on your resume as a cybersecurity engineer.
This relates to anything in technology and/or software Granted, I’m glad I started learning full stack to start but picking a single area or domain is more ideal Focus in on something and overtime you’ll start learning more and widen your knowledge/scope
It all depends on your end goal and where you start out at.. if you start at a small org you need to be a jack of all trades likely.. where if you start at a bigger company your more siloed off.
Hey bud, thank you for your videos! I'm currently switching careers at 37 and it is rough out there! I'm starting a Cyber Security Analytics 1 year program this month. Hopefully I can get a part time help desk job or something similar to get some hands on experience while I attend college. Great great vids! Have a good one! :)
Bro said being a generalist/broad worked for him, and then said to focus on being specialised. Which one is it? Focus or have a broad set of knowledge.
Use your common sense. You be a generalist to build a foundation, then moving forward you can find something you would like to be focus on. For example, you go to school and study multiple subjects, or play multiple instruments or get into a multitude of types of sports. Do you like Maths? Do you like the guitar? Do you like Soccer? Figure it out yourself because its a subjective matter. You then focus yourself those areas and specialise in it because where you thrive is where you're going to flourish. Its not hard to understand
@@Kiduk90 relax buddy, “It’s not hard to understand “ instead of being condescending, use your common sense too, why else there’s various topics and discussions on it on it ? Even a few people agreed with my comment so it’s understood by everyone. You even used examples of general spaces (math, soccer, guitar) but the only specialization you specified out of those three examples is guitar which is a specialist in music. But you generalized math and soccer. What “role” / specialization in math or soccer to get the best results? To figure it out, that means people should try different things and areas. So your answer and panel guest action / career history could be summed up to just be general. More on his experience, he was specialized first and then broaden out as he developed. The issue in the video I was bringing up was the guest specially mentions his knowledge is “wide and not very deep.” So if someone is looking at his action and career path history, may get confused. Word and action aren’t matching.
paint a wide brush stroke to begin. learn all the basic fundamentals. then with that new-found basic understanding, you will have a more intuitive idea towards what direction to go in order to specialize into one thing.
Just wanted to drop a quick comment to say a massive thank you for this wonderful video. Your insights were absolutely on point and seriously motivating.As someone who's recently shifted to Canada as a student, and in the field of software testing, your advice hit home for me. Your emphasis on steering clear of common pitfalls and focusing on building a personal brand really struck a chord. I'm all in on implementing your tips into my journey forward. I'm now committed to following your guidance closely. Your expertise has sparked a whole new level of determination in me, and I'm excited to see where this path leads. Thanks again for being such a powerhouse of knowledge in the cybersecurity community. Your generosity in sharing your wisdom is truly appreciated. Thank you
Personal branding can be good, but it can also be detrimental. The higher the profile, the bigger the target. I can comfortably say it’s a double edge sword.
Hey just want to say thank you for the information. I’ve been thinking about a career change and your videos have been the most helpful. Keep up the great work.
Been semi retired for a minute.. but networking and learning is a must (AKA TW) 30 years getting paid doing infosec, various stuff. SOC, TEAMS, Malware, forensics.. VAPT.. ect. all fun
This is very helpful. Excellent podcast! I'm making a pivot into the field from being a business analyst. I have attained a security+ to go with my IS degree for some resume propping. I would like to get into cloud security/engineering as an end goal, but I'm looking to just get my foot in the door for now. I have plenty to take away from this session. Thank you!
I'm somewhat let down by something that was said. I just graduated with a degree at WGU in Cybersecurity and during that process I got several certifications. So I'm the "alphabet soup" you are talking about with no experience. Now you are saying that hiring managers don't like people like me. I might be green but I believe I have a solid foundation of knowledge to be trained with and grow.
WGU doesn’t train their students to be critical thinkers or creative thinkers. It’s a cheap way to get a check mark for employment purposes. Chasing all the certifications shows lack of trajectory.
Mate, that's a damn good start. Just know that you might not get your dream job straight out the gate. You might have to take on some entry-level positions which feel beneath your knowledge set, to gain some hands-on experience and prove your ability to turn up to a job and work hard.
@made432 seems snobbish to say something like this. One way you could see it is a solid foundation of knowledge to grow with. Ultimately it's the person that determines what they do with the knowledge.
@@1Audioworks I am far from a snob. Just expressing my opinion on my experience there. But, going to FIU online has done more for my personal and professional development growth than going to WGU. WGU is fast education like Fast Food. For me, it’s more than a box to check for employment purposes. I have had 3 internships, 2 certs and I am looking into being a research assistant in one of their cyber labs. The classes I take for my cyber defense concentration are sponsored and developed by the DoD. Thus, we are trained by the best to be excellent cyber professionals. If you want to go to WGU, good for you. But, don’t knock someone who didn’t enjoy the experience.
I think the best education iv had was litteraly building my secured home network. FIRST: the book I got had an issue with the ssh connection to my vm. To elaborate the book showed me terminal commands and it did work... but only using Linux, for windows I had to try everything I could think of, and find. I used chat gpt to ask questions to kinda give me an idea of where I should look. In the end it was putty, putty-gen, firewall configs, and port 22 configs (some vm configs because the book wanted me to use VMware but I didn't want to pay.. I used vmbox). In the end the headach taught me so much more than hand holding. LAST: I had to find my solution, learned alot thanks to people I talked with (Q&A sessions provided by my bootcamp u graduated from like a year ago "still helped me") and research to trouble shoot the problems I had.
Working on my A+ and applying for helpdesk positions! Quick question, Any advice on fitting IT work I"ve done at my current job into a resume/linkedin? I have been with my company 7 years, and while I don't personally work in IT, I solve all of our issues that don't require admin permissions, since we don't have an on-site IT team.
Try to bullet point those in other duties and make sure the first couple words are catching the eye. Certainly, an issue with having a job and doing "other" tasks as your job title does not convey that type of work. Just remember that if a human is scanning a resume, it is the first few words on each line on the left side that they are truly going to see.
Congratulations on pursuing your A+ certification and exploring help desk positions! Highlighting your IT experience on your resume and LinkedIn profile is a great idea. Here are some tips to help you showcase your skills: Resume: Create a separate section: Add a section like "IT Skills" or "Technical Experience" to highlight your IT-related work. Use keywords: Incorporate relevant IT keywords like "troubleshooting," "networking," "hardware," "software," and "technical support." Quantify your experience: Mention the number of years you've been handling IT issues (7 years, in your case). Specific accomplishments: Describe specific situations where you've successfully resolved IT issues, such as "Resolved 90% of technical issues without requiring external support." LinkedIn: Summary section: Write a brief summary highlighting your IT experience and skills. Skills section: Add relevant IT skills and endorse yourself for them. Experience section: Create a separate entry for your current company, focusing on your IT work. Recommendations: Ask colleagues or supervisors to recommend you for your IT skills. Example: Resume: IT Skills * 7 years of experience troubleshooting and resolving technical issues without requiring admin permissions * Proficient in hardware and software support, including [list specific technologies] * Successfully resolved 90% of technical issues without external support
College is NOT required for this field. I never graduated high school and I have a felony on my record and I got into security as an Independent Security Researcher. I started out as a hacker in 1996 and got ask to be a malware attribution consultant for a DoD contractor in 2011 and be working for a couple DoD first in various roles. But I got good enough and knowledgable enough about malware reverse engineering "specialized in attribution" and built my knowledge from their. BUT I was talking to some industry people and their biggest issue is that "there's not enough qualified people to do the job and a lot of these people do have certs which is fu*king crazy!" I started looking around at courses, youtube security channels, Twitch, courses on Udemy, SkillShare, etc and it fucking sucks. A lot of miss information on the web given to absolute new beginners who don't know how to tell what's accurate or not or just BS. I won't give my opinion on this video but I was asked to view this video for my opinion. Figured I'd make this comment because not sure if the one who asked in chat is a follower or yours or not. So I'll give my opinion to him.
@@jreamscape I agree and I did mention i retired but that just from taken on clients. I have an been an "Independent Security Researcher" my whole career basically. Because even if you are doing illegel activity you're still doing the same thing ethical people are. Or they should be at least. When you love doing what you do, and have been doing it for 28 years it is hard to just walk away.
I am very interested in red teaming but this includes so many topics, that I don’t know what to specialize to get a job? Pentesting? Reverse Engineering? Vuln Research? I am a little bit confused xD. Any suggestions?
Wow that's amazing content. You are like a Networkchuck or David Bombal you have my sub. I am also planning to start making some inspiring videos about cybersecurity so this is amazing
i am 55 years old - I was in IT from 2000 - 2008 and left due to family issues - (worked for the Government and consulted for major companies in Northeast Ohio) I am now looking to get back into it and finding it hard to even get a desktop support position - anyone have any advice? (currently live in Texas)
Question for anyone who can answer it correctly is it possible to start your own Cyber Security business and work up under the umbrella of your business versus working up under your Social Security number?
Is being shy/reserved something personality wise that will hold me back if I make the jump? Right now I am a machinist/CNC Technician I've climbed through my company fast for it but I either burnt out from optional 50 hour weeks or just in general can't see myself doing this for the rest of my life. I love technology, I originally got into machining for the programming side of it.
Im sorry but I think people who got into the industry 10 - 20 years ago are out of touch with the struggles of getting into the industry currently. Building a cisco homelab and playing with Kali will not impress any real employer but it may keep them listening to see what else you bring to the table. Also, looking at a packet capture and telling them whats happening will not get you a job like it would 20 years ago. With these skills you would need to grind all day everyday to land a job on the helpdesk resetting passwords.
spoken as someone that sounds out of touch.. Im a hiring manager in my current roll and still look for these skills.. it all depends on what type of position you are going for.
I want to enter the IT field and major on cybersecurity. I would love your help on this path seeing that you are a self established technician and I am also going the same way...
Could you explain blue team and red team a little more? I have zero experience with this stuff and have been kicking around the idea of jumping in for a few months now.
Blue team is more of a defensive take, like implementing security measures to mitigate vulnerabilities and risk. Red team is more of the offensive take, the ones who look for vulnerabilities and exploits in apps, like an attacker would, but for the better good instead. This goes into what the guest was talking about, with going different routes within the CyberSecurity field.
It had a very good time following your podcast. I wanted to ask what are the topics I could communicate on or post on my twitter and LinkedIn profile for example to improve my branding and show up with my skills to be able to get more opportunities ?
What do i do if there are no helpdesk availability in my area, all the jobs in my area are either advanced or require a security or top secret clearance as im near military bases
I'm trying to break into cybersecurity, I just graduated with my degree in cyber and am the alphabet soup they were talking about 😂. Want to connect so I can gain some insight from you?
I like what I am hearing in the beginning but from my exp, and maybe its just being in Kentucky in non-remote positions, but employers are demanding people to know it all. I saw a job in Lexmark no too long ago asking for a pen tester, analyst, and an IR and programmer for, I think, 70-85K. I WISH all I had to do was being a analyst or a pen tester or a IR team member.
Great informative video! I’m looking to pivot from truck driving into cybersecurity specifically in the GRC/Auditing space. I want to start studying for the security+ but i want to know what i should do beforehand to prepare me especially before Comptia stops allowing the 601+ to be taken. Should i start with isc2 CC, Google Cyber cert,Or just go through cybersecurity and network essential training that Cisco offers? Thanks in advance
I’m doing the Google Cybersecurity Cert. Loving it. Plus there is overlap for the Security plus.. and if you complete the G CS cert, you get a discount for the Security plus exam!
@@ozziep123 thanks man that’s good to know. I’ve started it I’m still in the foundations of cybersecurity section but i want to finish this entire course by the end of May because i want to start studying Security+.
I’m a truck driver as well, looking to get back into tech after being out for about 15 years. Just recently started on the google cyber security course on Coursera to start, then going to work on getting Security+ cert and go from there. Good luck!
At this point, Im not certain exactly what I want to do, although I'm somewhat interested in pentesting. Would it hurt me to get the PNPT (very hands-on cert), and if I later learn I don't want to do pentesting, would the skills gained from the PNPT still be valuable in other areas of cybersecurity?
Some soc analyst/blue teamers play red teamers, and company don’t have to deal with external contractors. So it’s good to have purple team. The ctf games/challenges I’ve done I always try to see it from both perspectives, defensive and offensive course offensive.
Do you have an OT Cyber team within your company? They love an internal hire. Learn some IT cyber and you'll be golden. Your OT experience puts you miles head of others applying for those jobs who'll talk about patching PLCs. I moved internally within my company from working on our Telemetry system to OT Cyber. Their view was it would be easier to train me in Cyber than our businesses OT estate
I disagree with the "if its for the money then its for the wrong reason." I know plenty of people that work in different trades and they're content with their job due to the money they make. At the end of the day cyber is a skill like any other. If that skill allows you to fund the things you do enjoy then why not? I've worked in tech for the past 5 years and never really enjoyed it but I'm okay with that because it's a stable income and lets me work remotely. If you enjoy what you do then more power to you.
CTF, how much do you consider that having participated in these competitions is seriously considered as experience if you don't have solid experience in Cybersecurity. Is it worth spending the huge amount of time to improve your skills or is it a better use of your time to build a lab and create a project even if you do it on your own? Note: participation in a CTF competition as a new fish in the tank, I know there are elite who would probably be hired quickly cause they know they're elite. Anyway, thoughts?
Participating in CTF competitions can definitely be a valuable learning experience, even without solid cybersecurity background. It allows you to practice problem-solving skills, learn new techniques, and network with other enthusiasts in the field.
Whether you want to run your own business or work for someone, you need to make sacrifices and deal with a bunch of conditions you can't control. I'd rather run my own show.
I get my Associate fever in Cybersecurity any day now and I’m doing my bachelors degree now. If I knew then what I know now, I would have never wasted my time and money doing cybersecurity. This is the ONLY field where h spend thousands on a degree only to be told it’s useless without a certificate (which is lower). It’s the ONLY field where mid level jobs are called “entry level.” I would not even recommend this field to my enemy. I regret it everyday.
Like Kimwilson said, Security+ may be a good route to go, because security can be used for networks and developing. Otherwise, I would probably make a decision on if I wanted to specialize in networking or Python.
@@tjstraw1 wouldn’t you need python for either concentration? Networking or security for automation/ scripting? Learning python myself, so curious on your thoughts.
@@TheBeardedITDad I am just scared of people 😞it is just awkward and it ruins relationships... I just have to find a different way that works for me. And social network is not my scene but I recognise it's a good tool and will use it in future. Thanks.
It’s too late everyday you continue to ask that question. I’m sure you have some regrets, some things you wished you accomplished years back. Well hindsight is 20/20. Think of what you could accomplish over the next 5 years if you started now. I think the hardest part is getting over the initial hurdle, when everything is intimidating you feel you can’t learn it all. But we can if we just stay consistent and use our time wisely :) I’m 23. Learning CompTIA A+ right now to get my foot in the door at a manage service provider.
Hopeful video, not reflective of the current reality as there are more Companies that don't want to train you, you need to be ready to go and THEN talk about upskilling. Having many certs isn't a red flag at all, it reflects a person's passion and dedication, remember there are easy to advance certs, you even have a video ranking them. Presentable projects are no good unless specific to the job description.
This gives me hope because I just graduated with a degree and am the alphabet soup they mentioned. I'm trying to break into the field and feel like all my certifications should show how committed I am to growing and learning. I was kinda let down by that comment in the video
Can I apply for Remote Job even if I don’t have practical experience or any type of experience, what if I get the job , can I still cope working from home?… please I need your advice advice on how to survive in the job , is it possible to learn all necessary tools … I’m talking about SECURITY ANALYSTS position
Hearing y'all sound stunned at having less than 500 connects: Me, sitting here looking at my 23 connections in my two year old LinkedIn account... lmao
hey everyone! so my background, is i tried this RU-vid thing (music channel) and i FINALLY reached my goal of 100 subs, but then i was like 1000 subs will take forever. So ive basically given up . but i have realized i really like working on my computer. i was going to go into accounting in college, but i dont really have 12k for the tutition. I did find the cert program for cyber security , and i have a background in computer science from hs. So im pretty much 100% going for cyber secuirty now as my profession, because I need an income, and I do think theres jobs out there without the degree ( which I just cant afford or get )
no im not in it for the money.... money would just be nice. it actually seems to suit me more than accounting the more I look into it, plus I understand it better!
How is the world getting many certifications hurt you??? this is totally not true!!!. Its the only way to prove that you have knowledge and experience that you have the technical skill!!! But certifications like Sec+ is completely useless that part i agree
