Career/job advice and observations

wrfortiscue

This is wonderful

E Double U

Great post!

dlvega0030

thanks for such a complete guide for anyone looking to stay valid in the IT job world.

colstar

nice reading for beginners. Everything is to the point and really worth checking out before starting a career.

modogg89

Very well written.. Thankyou for taking the time to share your experiences.

shimasensei

This is good life advice, thank you.

ItsmHarun

Really Nice! thanks for sharing this information.:)

Softhrip

such a great post thanks to share information

Softhrip

i loved it

Panther

OP, this is a great read! Thank you.

skyberx

Nice article

gjammer1

As a recruiter who works on a ton of .NET Developer, Embedded and other programming positions, the bottom line is, be ready to test. At the end of the day, a good resume may get you in the door, but many employers have you perform an assessment during the interview process. Nail that, and have a good personality, and you WILL get an offer.

Adam2323

Great post. Thank you!

NiTech-5

Confirming the US deep south crap. And, it's like that for so many fields. Ugh.

General IT? You might get by. Cybersecurity or any form of IT security? Haven't seen much within the Deep South. I lived in Deep south for many years and got my Bachelors over there. Neither my past university nor the top state university offered anything relating to IT security/defense. And, they still don't. My Bachelors is non-IT/non-STEM. Then I went elsewhere to get an MA that offered a specialization in Cybersecurity Governance/Cyber Policy. I'm fortunate my program offered such a thing, I guess. It took me moving to the East Coast to become more exposed to the disciplines of IT security/cybersecurity. Lots of opportunities as well.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I'm just aiming to get something in Information Assurance at the moment...then I'll use certifications to obtain 'pure technical' credentials in this next year or two. I'll see where things go from there.

Kevokatsu

I would like and say thank you for this information. It help me a lot to get my first job in telecommunication. Thanks!!!:D

pHumphrey

Kevokatsu said:

I would like and say thank you for this information. It help me a lot to get my first job in telecommunication. Thanks!!!:D

Wow, that's inspiring!!

That Random Guy

I studied Cybersecurity in university—which I just graduated from—and during my time there, I was given the impression that I would find entry level Cybersecurity roles after graduation, which I would qualify for with minimal experience as much as the next thing. I am now finding that aside from Cybersecurity internships, which are rare in my area, there isn't such a thing and I'm expected to have experience beforehand.

Of course, before coming to this conclusion, I made the error of thinking I could get a super expensive certification to "differentiate" myself from my peers (what with my severely lacking experience in the workforce). So, I went and got myself the Associate of ISC^2 "status" by provisionally passing the CISSP. It took me two months to study and prep for the exam and I was so sure that by doing so, I would later come to find a real good security-focused role around my area.

The jobs I had checked beforehand were mainly to be Jr-Sr roles which should have thrown something to me, but I had simply assumed this to be a coincidence. I thought I would eventually find a legitimate cybersecurity entry level role at some point after based on what I had seen from that point. What I realized only after the fact is that it's almost as if the majority of the sec-related roles are targeted at those with prior experience and those who've dealt with particular applications, platforms, and clearances. The mind boggles as to how or why this is the case and I struggled to figure out why these roles seemed to unrealistic for being Associate and some "entry"—and then it hit me—these jobs were never intended for those straight out of university.

So, now, after wasting nearly 3 months and $800 on an exam that I just might get my credit removed for, I come to find that the job I SHOULD have been looking for was HELPDESK. I always had it in the back of my mind that I would have to do that kind of job as a back up, but my mind was glued to finding something in security. I've wasted so much time and effort to get something seemingly simple and now I have to fix that by doing something I don't want to do.

Is what I've said in this post making any sense to anyone? For reference, I'm in the Northern Virginia (NOVA) area in the states. Is there really no true beginner cybersecurity entry level role or internship that doesn't require some weird amount of experience with something super specific?

pj-itpro

Great article for someone who is looking to grow in their career and passionate about technology. Also inspiring to overcome the obstacles in the way which is inevitable, thank you for taking the time to write this awesome tips which I'm sure will result beneficial for many people on this community.

Domm362

This is an amazing source of information for those that are looking to grow in the field or even those (like myself) that are just starting out in IT. Definitely something I will be referring to in the future when I look to move up. Thank you so much!

TechGromit

 

 I always had it in the back of my mind that I would have to do that kind of job as a back up, but my mind was glued to finding something in security. I've wasted so much time and effort to get something seemingly simple and now I have to fix that by doing something I don't want to do.

Is there really no true beginner cybersecurity entry level role or internship that doesn't require some weird amount of experience with something super specific?

Were I work, we had a guy right out of college (he took Cyber Security as a Major) helping support our cyber security program as a contractor. He did the job for about a year, when a full time position opened up in Cyber Security, he thought he was a shoe in. Ultimately the job went to someone else, he had no knowledge or experience in Networking,  Our cyber security positions require us to support the site network as well.  So don't get too focused on just cyber security aspect of the job, many jobs may require you to wear more than one hat. A cyber Security degree isn't a complete waste, your certainly going to get that job in security faster than someone without one, but you may have to take a detour to get some other experience under your belt.  

bigdogz

@Iristheangel
It is so true about learning and certifications. My goal is to get at least one certification a year. I do not do it for the paper, I do it to make more ammunition and pure learning. I have a friend who gave up and got burned out because he did not shift with the trends.

Also:
You may want to note that when you apply for jobs you have to do some research on recruiters, their organization, and where they come up on the short list of preferred vendors in different organizations.
In recruiting, it is who you know that can open that door for opportunities. Some companies will prefer a vendor over a candidate.

In addition, you may have missed that when looking for a job, do not get frustrated easily. You are an adult and trying to find a job in an extremely competitive market will naturally make you extremely competitive if you choose. You can either give up, sit on the couch, scratch yourself, and grow eyes or make something happen. You have to grind even after it hurts, this way you will know you are alive. Maybe you have to start your own LLC to get some experience and work to come your way. Maybe you have to move or take up a different domain in IT / InfoSec. The choice is yours,  

Rare Bad experience:
I had a bad experience with a phone interview where i was getting grilled and I was told I was wrong (very loudly). I stated my sources for the answer and the guy answered 'I HAVE WORKED AT IBM FOR 7 ******* YEARS!' (Enter eye rolling here)
He still did not answer my question and I gave up on the only interview because this guy had an ego. I sent resources on my answers and thanked them for the opportunity. After the interview and the guy lost his job because he snowed his boss and was horrible about it. She offered me his job but I politely declined. I think I am better off to this day. 

Regards!

TechGromit

bigdogz said:

After the interview and the guy lost his job because he snowed his boss and was horrible about it. 

Regards!

I don't get the reference, there's a book called "Snowed in with the Boss", appears to be some kind of 50 shades of grey material, not sure if that's what the reference is.

roninkai

Great writeup and advice. Like you, I get asked all the time for career advice. Many want to get into cyber security, but most arent willing to put in the work it takes to rise up in the field. It's a challenging field. People need to know what they are getting into before the sign up for that MS degree. That's just the beginning...

Kevokatsu

Want to give a big thanks to Iris for this post, It helped me a lot a couple of years ago making a career change into IT, best thing ever happened to me.