Getting into cybersecurity?

[PercyD]

Here in Michigan it's all about those manufacturing jobs, they'll bend over backwards to train you for them. If I could afford to move somewhere with more opportunities I'd love to, but I'd need a guaranteed good paying job there first. =/

Lemme tell you, I had literally live on food stamps and couch surf for awhile to make it in NYC. Even my enginnering degree didnt mean anything to people. It wasn't very plesant. Im still just renting a room right now.

Sometimes you just have to take a risk. Its a personal choice. I feel like my risk paid off. It will get better, but you have to lay some skin in the game.

 

[naeon]

I didn't see anyone say it (forgive my blindness if someone did), but check out Cybrary! They have a lot of free content that's pretty decent. I've used quite a few training platforms over the last six years and I would rate them in the top 5 that I've used.

I have a dozen or so certs and I can say that I didn't pass them all on the first try. I also have test anxiety and get nauseously anxious every single time I take one. Recently went through two interviews for a popular online retailer and it was nerve-racking. Though after the first interview I did feel a lot more confident. Practice can help with feeling more comfortable in interviews. For them there was actually a shared whiteboard that I had to type out code in... My brain did not appreciate.

I currently work in the field, so will answer questions that I can if you have any. I can also provide recommendations on getting hands-on experience in a homelab depending on what you're trying to learn.

 

[Kinare]

I currently work in the field, so will answer questions that I can if you have any. I can also provide recommendations on getting hands-on experience in a homelab depending on what you're trying to learn.

I'm pretty sure I can only really go for an analyst role. Pentesting requires knowing how to code to defeat the things you're trying to penetrate, so that's out because I hate coding. My brain gets the angeries and then just shuts off if I try to mess with code too long, having to do it for 8-10 hours a day 5 days a week would be like a light form of torture. I really like digital forensics, but from what I've researched you basically have to get a master's degree so that's out, lul. That leaves analyst.

Regardless, self defeat tells me I'm too dumb, so now I have to waste time I don't have trying to convince myself I can learn anything and that it's even worth trying despite my limitations.

 

[naeon]

I'm pretty sure I can only really go for an analyst role. Pentesting requires knowing how to code to defeat the things you're trying to penetrate, so that's out because I hate coding. My brain gets the angeries and then just shuts off if I try to mess with code too long, having to do it for 8-10 hours a day 5 days a week would be like a light form of torture. I really like digital forensics, but from what I've researched you basically have to get a master's degree so that's out, lul. That leaves analyst.

Regardless, self defeat tells me I'm too dumb, so now I have to waste time I don't have trying to convince myself I can learn anything and that it's even worth trying despite my limitations.

Not all pentesting is coding! Remembering switches for nmap is handy, but I've met pentest folk that don't code. You could always look at physical pentesting too.

Forensics sounds cool, but there's a lot of political stuff involved. At least in my experience.

One question that I have for you (and it's slightly off topic for this thread), would be what is it that you want to do as a career? Forcing yourself to learn is never fun and not being engaged makes knowledge retention pretty close to impossible.

 

[Kinare]

One question that I have for you (and it's slightly off topic for this thread), would be what is it that you want to do as a career? Forcing yourself to learn is never fun and not being engaged makes knowledge retention pretty close to impossible.

I don't have a particular aim for a career, but when I first made this thread I would have told you my goal was cybersecurity. Anything I do for a career has to be interesting to me and also keep my brain working, so something problem solving in an area that I'm naturally decent at. I know I could do cybersecurity if I could just get into the field, but being forced to learn terminology without putting those terms to work is just making me feel dumb. =/ What's worse, the stupid exam just for the baseline cert (Sec+) is designed to be failed, probably so they can suck more money out of people... Capitalism ftw.

It's also interesting to me that despite being supposedly a high demand field it's pretty difficult to find entry level positions. The job I applied for was the one and only paid internship I found in the country, and there aren't that many internships open to people who aren't actively in school. Self-teaching isn't an option for them. Now, when declined they did say I could apply again when I had more knowledge, but it's still daunting to have put in as much work as I did, failed the exam because it's ridiculous, then have the pressure of needing a better career yesterday creeping up on me.

 

[naeon]

The Security+ covers a lot, but I don't think that it's designed to be failed. If it is, they failed when I passed on the first try

It can definitely be hard to get into. A lot of companies have ran into employees getting poached once their staff is trained so quite a few tend not to want to hire outside for tier-1.

 

[Artifex670]

I did my CompTia Security+, followed by my OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Proffessional) and got a job as a Penetration Tester (Ethical Hacker) for a Mobile network. Before that I was an Air Force Engineer.

First off, Cyber Security is a HARD career choice. So don't beat yourself up if you fail any exams the first time around. Especially if you're starting from scratch. But the reason it's in high demand for people and pays well is because of that difficulty. So embrace the challenge

If you want to get into Cyber Security then saying you don't want to do any coding/programming is like tying your hands behind your back. Go into it with an Open mind, learning to program can be a liberating experience, depending on what language you learn first. I think of it like learning the Arcane Arts of Magic in a Fantasy story, so I'm like a Wizard XD

Ethical Hacking doesn't require you to code entire hacks from scratch, most of it is simply modifying a couple of lines of existing code to adjust it for the target. Eg:

target = 10.1.1.2

becomes...

target = 10.1.1.3

Don't get me wrong if you can code entire hacks/exploits that will REALLY impress people but you don't have to be an expert in programming. A working knowledge will do.

Sorry this post is becoming too long and I can keep going for a while

TLDR: Embrace the challenge, don't be afraid to fail, learn to Program in Python, Books are your friends, Hackers are Wizards XD

Dm me if you have any questions.