Career Advice from Cybersecurity Industry Veterans

How to Stand Out in Cybersecurity Without Stacking Certs Skills >> Certs My advice for standing out 1 - Master Hands-On Skills - Employers look for real-world experience, not just theoretical knowledge. - Set up a home lab, explore platforms like TryHackMe and Hack The Box, and work on practical security challenges. - Hands-on experience with SIEMs, EDRs, and cloud security tools will set you apart. 2 - Build Thought Leadership - Sharing knowledge is just as important as gaining it. Write blog posts on security topics, break down complex concepts on LinkedIn, or contribute to open-source security projects. 3 - Create a Cybersecurity Portfolio on GitHub - A strong portfolio speaks louder than a certification. Document your security projects, scripts, and research in a GitHub repository. - Whether it's writing detection rules, automating security tasks, or demonstrating exploit research, showcasing real work helps you stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. 4 - Create a Course or Tutorial - Teaching is one of the best ways to establish credibility in cybersecurity. Create a short course, video tutorial, or step-by-step guide on a cybersecurity concept you’ve mastered. - Platforms like YouTube, Udemy, or a personal blog are great places to start. Helping others learn positions you as an expert and opens doors to new opportunities. A strong cybersecurity career is built on hands-on skills, a solid portfolio, and the ability to share knowledge effectively. If you focus on these areas, you can succeed in cybersecurity—CISSP or not.

If I could restart my cybersecurity career, here's what I'd do differently: I spent my first 2 years trying to learn everything about security. Firewalls, pentesting, malware analysis, cloud, GRC, incident response—all of it. Result? I was mediocre at everything and great at nothing. What actually worked: Pick a lane and go deep first. I chose cloud security and IAM. Spent a year becoming the "Azure security guy" on my team. Learned Sentinel inside and out. Mastered Entra ID and Conditional Access. Got really good at one thing. Then the other skills came easier because I had context. Stop chasing every certification. Early on I thought certs = career progress. They help, but they're not enough. Security+, AZ-500, and working toward CISSP? Great. That's a solid foundation. But the hiring manager cares more about: "Have you actually built a SIEM from scratch? Can you architect Zero Trust? Have you led an incident response?" Experience > certifications. Every time. Get comfortable with "I don't know... yet." Security is too broad for anyone to know everything. The people who succeed aren't the ones who pretend to have all the answers. They're the ones who know how to figure it out fast. Build in public (even a little). I wish I'd started sharing what I was learning earlier. Write a blog post about implementing Conditional Access. Post a KQL query that solved a problem. Share lessons from an IR. It builds your reputation and helps others. Win-win. Bottom line: Specialize first, generalize later. Get hands-on experience however you can. Stay curious. And don't compare your chapter 1 to someone else's chapter 10. What's one thing you wish you'd known earlier in your security career? #Cybersecurity #CareerAdvice #InfoSec #CloudSecurity #CyberSecurityCareers #ITSecurity

I am in security engineering at Google with over a decade in cybersecurity. If I could sit down with any experienced security professional feeling stuck or burned out right now, here's what I'd tell them: [1] Your technical depth is valuable, but influence is what scales impact. Learn to translate risk into business language. Executives don't care about CVE scores, they care about customer trust and revenue impact. [2] Stop being the team that always says "no." Build security guardrails that let developers ship fast and safely. The best security engineers I know are enablers, not blockers. [3] Automate yourself out of repetitive work. If you're manually reviewing the same types of configs or running the same scans every sprint, you're wasting your expertise. Build tooling, then move upstream. [4] Mentor someone junior. Teaching forces you to articulate what you actually know versus what you think you know. Plus, they'll ask questions that challenge assumptions you've held for years. [5] Your war stories matter. That incident you handled at 2am, the zero-day you mitigated, the architecture you hardened, document them. They're proof of judgment under pressure, not just technical skill. [6] Burnout is real in security. The threats never stop, the alerts never end, and someone will always question why you didn't prevent something. Set boundaries. You can't protect systems if you're running on empty. [7] Invest in relationships across teams. Security doesn't succeed in isolation. The best outcomes happen when you've built trust with engineering, product, and leadership long before a crisis hits. [8] Keep learning, but be selective. You don't need every certification or to master every framework. Go deep on what matters to your organization's actual risk profile. [9] Your career isn't linear. Lateral moves, team changes, even stepping back to go forward, they all count. Growth isn't always upward. You've earned your expertise through real battles. Don't let imposter syndrome or exhaustion make you forget that. Your experience is exactly what the industry needs right now.

If I could go back and talk to my younger self when I first started in cybersecurity… I’d tell him a few things that would’ve changed the entire game. Now that I’ve been in the RMF and cybersecurity space for 5 years, I look back and realize there are lessons I wish I’d learned sooner lessons that could’ve helped me navigate this field faster and smarter. 1. You can’t do it alone. When I started, I thought if I just worked hard enough, I could figure it all out get the job, build the resume, and break into the right rooms. But everything I’ve accomplished came through community people who shared opportunities, reviewed my resume, or taught me what to look for. The truth is: collaboration gets you further than isolation ever will. 2. Network early and often. In college, I wish I’d gone to more cybersecurity events, joined more orgs, and interned more. Networking isn’t optional it’s the fuel that moves your career forward. Most of your biggest breaks will come from people, not job boards. 3. Build your personal brand. Your brand is your reputation in digital form. I wish I started earlier on LinkedIn sharing my projects, documenting my journey, and connecting with professionals in my space. That changed everything for me later on. 4. Stay ahead of the trends. I once wrote a paper on Bitcoin before it blew up… and didn’t invest. Lesson learned. The same applies in cybersecurity if people are talking about AI, Cloud, GRC Engineering, or Quantum Security, learn them now. Be early. Expertise in emerging areas will keep you employed forever. These are things I wish I knew when I started. If you’re trying to break into cybersecurity or move up in RMF learn from my mistakes, apply these lessons, and move with intention. You’ll thank yourself later. #CyberSecurity #RMF #CareerGrowth

Nobody told me that cybersecurity isn't where you START. It's where you ARRIVE. Six months ago, I thought I'd jump straight from zero to SOC analyst. Reality check: I'm still in IT support, and honestly? I'm grateful. Here's what I wish someone had told me earlier: 🏀 You don't become LeBron without learning to dribble first ⚽ Messi mastered ball control before scoring goals 🏈 Tom Brady threw countless practice passes before winning Super Bowls Cybersecurity is the same. That help desk role teaching you how networks actually work? That's your dribbling practice. That IT support position where you're troubleshooting user issues? You're learning how humans interact with technology (spoiler: this is HUGE in security). That desktop support job fixing computers? You're understanding systems from the ground up. I used to feel embarrassed telling people I'm "just" in IT support while studying for security certs. Now I realize I'm building something most people skip: a foundation that won't crack under pressure. Every ticket I resolve teaches me something new. Every frustrated user shows me a potential security weakness. Every system I fix adds another brick to my cybersecurity foundation. I'm not in a SOC yet. I might not be for another year. But when I get there, I won't just know the theory – I'll understand how everything connects. To my fellow cybersecurity hopefuls still "grinding in the trenches": Your current role isn't a detour. It's preparation. What's one thing your current IT role has taught you that you think will help in cybersecurity? Let's learn from each other's journeys. 👇 #CyberSecurity #ITSupport #CareerChange #InfoSec #CyberSecurityJobs #TechCareers #SOCAnalyst #SecurityPlus #CompTIA #NetworkSecurity #CyberSecurityTraining #ITJobs #TechSkills #CareerDevelopment #CyberSecurityCommunity #InformationSecurity #TechLearning #CyberSecurityPath #SecurityAwareness #ITCareer

Cybersecurity Career Tips #1 If you want to enter the cybersecurity field, it’s not enough to just pick a list of courses, complete them, generate certificates, and think the job will come naturally. And it’s definitely not just about adding certifications to your resume that’s only one step in the process. It’s essential to learn what is applied in real work contexts. You don’t need to study C if you’ll never use it in your daily tasks. Your studies should be aligned with your actual needs. My first recommendation if you want to become a cybersecurity professional is to understand what the market is looking for. Analyze open positions in your region or remote roles, define the requirements for each position, and identify the practical skills you need. Platforms such as HackTheBox, TryHackMe, PortSwigger Academy, PentesterLab, and Root-Me are excellent for hands-on learning. I strongly recommend investing your time in acquiring real-world skills. Write write-ups, share your journey here on LinkedIn or other networks, build personal projects and publish them on GitHub, connect with other professionals, and expand your network both online and at industry events. Also, develop your soft skills. Communication is critical, even in a job interview. Being able to translate technical issues into business impact is just as important as technical knowledge. A common way to start a career is by working in consulting firms. There are many opportunities at different seniority levels. It may not be your dream job, but it opens doors. Prepare your resume for the positions you aim for and highlight the key points that match the role especially if specific knowledge is required. A resume will only be considered if it demonstrates the right skills, relevant training or certifications (to validate your expertise), and professional autonomy. And don’t limit your job search to LinkedIn. It’s great for networking, but when it comes to landing jobs, explore alternatives. Target companies that interest you and check their career pages many positions are never posted on LinkedIn. Above all, stay focused. Don’t try to learn everything at once. Concentrate on what will land you your first job, and then expand your knowledge base to increase your seniority or pivot to other areas. But the real secret lies in how you communicate and sell your work your knowledge, your problem-solving mindset, and your ability to handle situations consistently. #CyberSecurity #InfoSec #CareerAdvice #Hacking #TechJobs #SoftSkills

Why Some Experienced Cybersecurity Professionals Don't Experience Growth You would think that once someone has spent a few years in cybersecurity, career growth should naturally follow. But that’s not always the case. I’ve met professionals who have been in the industry for 4, 5, 7, even more, yet they feel like their careers haven’t really moved forward. Some people with just a few years of experience progress quickly. Others can spend many years in the industry but still feel like their careers isn't progressing. And most of the time, it’s not because they lack technical ability. It’s rarely because they’re not capable. More often, it comes down to a few common patterns. 1️⃣ One is becoming very comfortable with the current role. But stop expanding beyond it. You know the tools. You know the process. You know exactly what to do every day. Comfort can quietly turn into stagnation. But growth usually requires learning adjacent areas, understanding new technologies, or taking on unfamiliar responsibilities. 2️⃣ Another pattern is focusing only on tasks instead of impact. Investigating alerts. Running scans. Writing reports. All important work. But the people who grow tend to think about what those activities mean for the organisation’s risk, operations, and decision making. They connect the technical work to risk, operations, and business decisions. 3️⃣ Visibility is another factor. Cybersecurity work often happens behind the scenes. But if no one outside your immediate team or stakeholders and leadership don’t see or understand the value of that work, it becomes harder for opportunities to open up. 4️⃣ Then there’s direction. Some professionals keep learning, but without a clear path. A certification here. A course there. A tool here. Another tool there. Activity doesn’t always translate into progress. 5️⃣ Another pattern I’ve noticed is staying too long in one role without growth. The work becomes familiar. The challenges reduce. Learning slows down. There’s nothing wrong with stability and staying in a role. But if your responsibilities are not expanding, your skills are not stretching, and your visibility is not improving, then growth is likely slowing too. 5️⃣ And finally, avoiding discomfort. Growth often requires doing things that feel uncomfortable. Leading a project. Presenting findings to leadership. Taking ownership of a problem that doesn’t have a clear solution. Those moments are not always easy. But they are often where careers move forward. Experience alone doesn’t guarantee growth. Sometimes the difference between staying stuck and moving forward is simply the willingness to step beyond what’s familiar. Follow Jonathan Ayodele for more Cybersecurity career insights. #CybersecurityCareerGrowth

A friend of mine recently transitioned into cybersecurity, and only a few months in, she's already feeling the frustration that comes with navigating what seems like an oversaturated field—especially for those just starting out. It's easy to feel disheartened when it looks like there's a sea of talent all competing for the same roles. But here's the truth: while cybersecurity is growing rapidly, with more professionals entering the field, there are still countless opportunities for those who know how to stand out. If you're starting out like my friend, these tips can help you rise above the noise. 1. Don't Be a Generalist: Cybersecurity is incredibly broad, with many specialized areas. The earlier you identify your niche, the better. Avoid the temptation to learn everything all at once. Instead, focus on discovering your areas of interest and strength. 2. Share as You Learn: Many people fall into the trap of thinking they need to be experts before they can share knowledge. This is imposter syndrome at its finest! You don't have to wait until you're a seasoned pro to share what you know. By sharing your journey and the things you're learning, you not only solidify your own knowledge but also build credibility within the community.   3. Be Authentic: Don't see your lack of a technical background as a disadvantage. Instead, use your previous experiences to your advantage—they can be your competitive edge. For example, a colleague transitioned from Mass Communication to VAPT. She was able to leverage her communication skills as an asset in her cybersecurity career. 4. Have a Visibility Strategy: Visibility matters no matter how good you are. Especially for introverts, the idea of visibility can seem daunting, but it's crucial. Create a strategy to showcase your work and your progress. This could be through networking, attending industry events, contributing to forums, or being active on professional platforms like LinkedIn. The goal is to ensure that people in your network and beyond are aware of your skills. 5. Be Persistent: The journey isn't always easy, and facing rejection or feeling like progress is slow is common. But persistence is key. Keep applying, keep learning, and keep expanding your network. Every rejection brings you closer to the right opportunity. 6. Stay Current with Industry Trends: Cybersecurity constantly evolves, with new threats, technologies, and strategies continually emerging. My strategy for this is to subscribe to industry newsletters, participate in webinars, and follow thought leaders to remain informed and keep my skills relevant. 7. Ask for Help: Cybersecurity is a community, and you're not alone in your journey. Reach out to others for advice, guidance, or mentorship. Don't be shy—building connections with others is essential to growing in the industry.

There's a major disconnect in cybersecurity... Between those who are seeking to get their foot in the door and those who have 10+ years in the industry. What is it? New paths vs. Traditional Paths. My stance? The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Vets: "You need to work in Helpdesk, Sysadmin, Networking, then Cybersecurity." Yes, you have to understand various domains when working in cybersecurity, from networking to configuration, and even the business aspect of this industry when protecting a company's assets. However... This knowledge doesn't require multiple years of experience to work in a SOC Analyst role, a position I deem as entry-level "friendly" within our field. What took vets 3-5 years to learn 20+ years ago could be learned in a shorter time due to the amount of information and trainings that are so prevalent today in comparison to years past. Plus, you don't have to work in every domain or position to work in security. A linebacker in football doesn't have to be a quarterback first in order to understand what an offense wants to do. The team functions when the players know their roles and work together to achieve the win. Newbies: "Why won't they just give me a chance?" I empathize with this take. However, a mistake in security from a newcomer could lead to data breaches and cost the company millions of dollars. Taking a chance on a newbie without experience is a risky endeavor. While mistakes in any industry at any skill level will be made, there's thousands of other applicants that are seeking that chance as well. Vets: "Certs aren't enough to get you hired." True. The CompTIA triad certainly won't have you job ready. However, hands-on certs such as the BTL1 & 2, CCD, and PSAA (TCM Academy) will possess a newcomer with the skills needed to take on a SOC Analyst I role. If I were in HR and noticed that an applicant had all three of these certs, they're getting a phone call. If you're a vet, it's important to stay up-to-date on the cybersecurity training climate & offerings. Not only because it would help newcomers, but it would also shift HR's perceptions on what certs should be valued (CISSP for an Analyst role isn't one of them). That way, they're not stuck on studying just theory. I feel as though many vets aren't privy to this. The disconnect between cybersecurity vets and newcomers trying to get in, stems from differing perspectives shaped by experience and rapid industry changes. Vets rightly emphasize foundational knowledge, as mistakes in security can be costly. However, newcomers are correct that modern resources enable faster skill acquisition, and roles like SOC Analyst are realistic entry points. Bridging this gap requires mutual understanding. Vets should recognize the evolving training landscape and advocate for newcomers with practical skills, while newcomers must respect the depth of experience vets bring. Together, fostering dialogue and collaboration can strengthen the cybersecurity community.

Tips I give my students as they graduate and start looking for their first cybersecurity role: 1. Turn your school projects into a living portfolio. Spin up a GitHub page or personal site where you walk through 2-3 of your strongest class labs or projects. Explain the task, the tools you used, how you solved the problem, and what you would do differently now that you know more.   2. Build credibility in public spaces. Keep an updated LinkedIn profile. React to posts from people already in roles you want, share short snippets of your experiences, labs, or CTF challenges, and ask thoughtful questions. A dozen genuine interactions a week snowball into relationships, and those relationships often lead straight to interviews that never hit the job boards.   3. Keep your skills sharp. Pick a hands-on platform; TryHackMe, Hack the Box, OverTheWire, Security Blue Team, Immersive Labs, TCM Security, etc -- and commit to an hour a day. Treat it like the gym and be consistent. Then document. Create a blog or write short posts on LinkedIn. The goal is to keep learning and share what you're learning.   4. Nurture soft skills. Cybersecurity is a team sport. Practice explaining vulnerabilities to non-technical friends in plain language and learn to write concise and detailed write-ups. Always question and seek clarification. You'll never regret working on your writing and speaking skills, no matter where your career might take you. What did I miss? Have some good advice for a new college graduate ready to find their next role? #CyberSecurity #Graduation #GetHired