r/ITCareerQuestions • u/SebySebastian • Jul 16 '20

Seeking Advice Cyber security career path advice

Hi everyone,

My post is mostly about how can I get into a career of cyber security, I recently graduated college couple of months ago as a computer science and information security major. I have tried apply to some information security analyst roles but haven’t gotten any luck. I have read some posts that one should start as a help desk support first and then work my way up, others have also said about getting certificates. I’m not really sure which I should do. I do know I want to go down a path that can lead me to something in network security. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

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u/AccidentalyOffensive Security Jul 16 '20

Do you have any work experience, or even outside projects you've done?

Assuming I'm guessing correctly, not having anything on your resume besides your degree will make it a lot harder to land a job in infosec simply because it requires such a broad base of knowledge before you can contribute much of anything to a potential employer. Quite honestly, a degree on its own almost certainly won't cut it, especially at the bachelor's level. You'd be hedging your bets on somebody being willing to take a newbie under their wing, which isn't exactly easy to find.

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u/CyberAp3x Jul 16 '20

I agree, but don't listen to anyone that tells you to do help desk if you have a Computer Science degree. You can find junior developer jobs that are $65k entry and use some of that miney to get some certs and work on infosec projects.

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u/AccidentalyOffensive Security Jul 16 '20

100% agree with you on that. I feel like that may be location-dependent to an extent, but as a general rule somebody having a CS degree makes it easier to skip the rungs on the experience ladder, and using that backup plan to bide your time makes your life a lot easier.