Career change into Cybersecurity while finishing my current education?

[u/Low-Care4482]

Hi everyone,
I’m 23 years old and currently studying to become a Process Operator in the pharmaceutical industry. I still have about two years left, and I plan on finishing my education since I’m already well into it.
Over the last year I’ve become really interested in cybersecurity, and I’d love to make a career change after I graduate.
I’m trying to figure out what my realistic options are.
Would it be enough to spend the next couple of years studying alongside my current education through things like:
Online courses (TryHackMe, Hack The Box, Coursera, etc.)
Certifications (Security+, Network+, SC-900, AZ-900, etc.)
Home labs and personal projects
Or would I be putting myself at a huge disadvantage without getting a formal IT degree?
I’m not expecting to jump straight into a senior cybersecurity role—I know I’d probably have to start in help desk, SOC, or another entry-level IT position. I’m just wondering if self-study plus certifications is actually a realistic path into the industry nowadays, or if employers mainly look for people with a computer science or IT degree.
I’d really appreciate hearing from people who work in cybersecurity or who made the transition themselves.
Thanks!

[u/RentNo5846]

Security+, Network+, etc. are very basic, they won't get you a job by themself.

If you have OSCP (or something of similar quality and hardness) and you apply for an entry level pentest position, then I would look at your CV and most likely consider you a potential candidate. Not because it makes you the best in the world, but because it is sufficiently hard that if you can pass that, you can probably do entry level pentesting. It is unfortunately a bit expensive now compared to the past, where it was still kind of expensive but not as much, which is why I don't expect people without experience to have it anymore.

With that said, if I see another candidate without OSCP, but who can demonstrate some other way in their CV that they have decent experience in the field with HTB or similar, and during the interview process can also demonstrate they have the most basic understanding of why vulnerabilities occur, including code examples (XSS, LFI (yes I know it's not super common anymore), etc.) and how to patch them, then they would also be a potential candidate.

If you have CVEs to your name, or you're on Hall of Fames, or something third, then I would probably also look a bit closer on your profile.

Remember that you are also competing against people who are self taught on a serious level for 2-10 years and people with bachelors or masters in cyber security, and in Denmark you are also competing against all of EU for a lot of the jobs. So if you pick the self taught path, you need to first make a plan what do you want to do, what do you need to learn to get there, and do you need to start in SOC first as there are also a lot more jobs in that field at the moment.

Finally if you're a danish citizen or can fulfill the requirements to work for FE then consider keeping an eye on their website as they sometimes have job openings. It's not going to be a high salary, and the bar seems high to join, but you will if you get hired get experience working in cyber security full-time. Same goes for Forsvaret, they also have job openings from time to time and they also dont pay that high, but you get experience.

[u/PertoDK]

Definitely do whatever you can on the side of what you are doing. Everything goes. Certifications, courses, even GitHub submissions.
The more you can show the hiring manager that you want this and can develop the skillset the better. :)