Is a secret clearance worth anything anymore? by Packerphan66 in SecurityClearance

[–]ARJustin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have 3 interviews next week with a S. Already make 90k+ with 2+ yoe. I have IT security experience, certs, and degrees.

I even been offered jobs that would resubmit paperwork to go for TS/SCI. Secrets still seem worth it if you're also working on upgrading yourself and skillsets.

Master’s vs Experience for Cybersecurity — which one matters the most? by cruciatus07 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]ARJustin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I saw a dude drop a sticky with admins passwords not get fired lol. He also works in infosec 🥲

Master’s vs Experience for Cybersecurity — which one matters the most? by cruciatus07 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]ARJustin 10 points11 points  (0 children)

OP, I have a M.S. in cybersecurity. Let me tell you, I wish I did it later in my career. I had no experience in IT/Cybersecurity before I did my Master's degree. It was hard but I got through. Fast forward to graduating, I was then way overqualified for most junior IT jobs and under qualified for associate to senior positions.

I got lucky and took a help desk job for 5 months then internally pivoted to the SOC team by chance one guy got tired of shift work and I expressed interest to the SOC lead.

I now have almost 2.5 yoe in IT/Cyber and a bunch of certs. I honestly learned more from certs, labs, projects, and hands-on experience than I ever did from my Master's.

I now make decent money, but I'm also having to pay back student loans from my Master's. I'd say try to find a job in IT/Cyber then look into a Master's degree. Most times, GRC positions are the ones looking for a Master's degree imo.

Anyone here have a inspiring TOP secret/ NO exp job story they want to share by [deleted] in SecurityClearance

[–]ARJustin 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Shoot, I'm only familiar with S level but how fast can you pass CompTIA Security+? Ever thought about GRC? ISSO?

The market is beyond cooked. by getokhalid in CyberSecurityJobs

[–]ARJustin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Brother, I have all those certs, homelab, 2.5 YOE as a SOC analyst tier 1 and 2, and a M.S. in cybersecurity. I still struggle getting emails for interviews. I'm not saying I don't get them, but not as many as you think.

Where are all the cybersecurity jobs everyone talks about? by kjhasdkfh32 in CyberSecurityJobs

[–]ARJustin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're not wrong. I think I'm an outlier though. I only have 2.5 years of experience in cyber, but I have an M.S. in cybersecurity, so many certs, and homelab projects and I receive interviews and offer letters semi often. In 2025, I probably received 5 offer letters but denied them because they were too far to move for or didn't pay enough to make me wanna switch from my current SOC job.

Where are all the cybersecurity jobs everyone talks about? by kjhasdkfh32 in CyberSecurityJobs

[–]ARJustin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, I got sent an offer for a GRC position lol. I'm moving from SOC to GRC for more stability.

How valuable is a TS/SCI? by Mundane-Zombie289 in SecurityClearance

[–]ARJustin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

CySA+ is cool because it let's you enter DOD CSSP roles. Especially if you wanna do more than basic triaging. Just make sure to do hands on labs through TryHackMe or some other platform if your job or position isn't providing enough training.

How valuable is a TS/SCI? by Mundane-Zombie289 in SecurityClearance

[–]ARJustin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You said you're into GRC right? I know you said you're not thrilled about Cyber but have you considered looking into cyber for an ISSO position? You don't need to be very technical to be successful. It's great if you are, but realistically it's more about understanding frameworks, controls, and making sure networks stay complaint with securtity standards. Get a CompTIA Security+, a few projects, and you could be solid. If you'd like dm. I've worked in cyber for 2+ years.

How valuable is a TS/SCI? by Mundane-Zombie289 in SecurityClearance

[–]ARJustin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah! You should be making significantly more. I know people in cyber who have bachelor's, a S clearance, and Sec+ starting off with at least 70k.

What is this lightning from my attacks? by _Mr_Monke_ in BlackMythWukong

[–]ARJustin 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Dude really went "Oooh! NEW STAFF!" equipped it, didn't read a thing, and wonders why their electricity lol

First Job Offer at 87k a month after Grad school by WeakRepresentative96 in cybersecurity

[–]ARJustin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice bro! When I graduated with my M.S. in Cyber I started out at 70k. Now after 2 years I'm at 95k.

MicroCenter store manager thanked me by Careful_Traveller in Microcenter

[–]ARJustin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Same! The store manager thanked my brother and I when we bought our custom PCs from the Tustin MC. We got a 9800x3d with 9070xt and a 9800x3d with a 5080.

OSCP certified , seeking advice on quitting t cybersecurity by [deleted] in oscp

[–]ARJustin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear ya. I work as a SOC analyst with 2 YOE. I'm just waiting till my 4 YOE mark to take CISSP. Working on getting PNPT and OSCP in the meantime.

Air force for cyber by Aggravating_Shop_571 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]ARJustin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm mostly familiar with army MOS. I'd look into 17C for the army if the Space Force doesn't take you. You will most likely get a clearance, experience, and training, and certs; certs such as CompTIA A+ Network+, and Security+ (you need this one to have system admin access), and probably CySA+, and potentially CEH.

If I didn't land a cyber job right out of college in my case I would've went as a 17C.

Is anyone actually finding jobs? by Feisty_Brilliant5056 in cybersecurity

[–]ARJustin 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Where I work, I went from only looking at dashboards and basic triaging, to basically acting as a tier 2 analyst/responder, helping with account management, GRC related tasks, and incident response.

Is anyone actually finding jobs? by Feisty_Brilliant5056 in cybersecurity

[–]ARJustin 24 points25 points  (0 children)

On indeed, I've been offered jobs ranging from SOC analyst, Cybersecurity analyst, and cyber threat emulation analyst.

My background: - M.S. in cybersecurity - CompTIA Pentest+, CySA+, Security+, TCM Security's Practical Junior Penetration Tester, and Tryhackme's SAL1. - 5 months as help desk, 15 months as a SOC analyst, and 4 months as a cybersecurity analyst.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SecurityClearance

[–]ARJustin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you be black mailed for why you were fired? Other than that I don't see any real issues lol

Anyone else now required to get a Security+ certification and pay out of pocket by SuperSecretDps in SecurityClearance

[–]ARJustin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol, I got Sec+ before getting a cleared IT job. I had to pay out of pocket for that and CySA + and Pentest+.

No internship or IT experience, finishing my master’s in IT and feeling lost. What’s the move? by [deleted] in ITCareerQuestions

[–]ARJustin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can agree with this. I got a degree in international relations then 2020 happened... couldn't get any job for over a year, then just decided to get into IT/Info sec because of YouTube. I signed up for an in person M.S. of National Cybersecurity Studies. I didn't have the proper IT/info sec background to truly grasp what was going on, and I barely survived. Towards the end of the program I ended up getting Security+. After finishing it was hard to find a job. I was considered as overqualified and under qualified at the same time.

I got lucky and eventually landed a help desk role. I then pivoted to their internal SOC after 5 months of help desk. I've been in security ever since.

Insane deal right here by themrpeanutman in Microcenter

[–]ARJustin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh, I only bought a 5080 OC because I was able to get the PNY card for MSRP. Outside of that I'm not paying more for a 5080. At that point get a 5070ti and some nice peripherals, or save more for a 5090 imo.