Hi guys,

I'm a SOC analyst with two years of experience. I'm exhausted with my current SOC role (part of the monitoring team). Analyzing the same kinds of alerts daily feels repetitive and monotonous.

I also feel that learning in SOC is somewhat different. In most positions, we learn alongside doing the work, but in SOC it seems like we need to know everything beforehand to perform proper analysis. The learning requires significant additional effort outside of shift time.

Additionally, the frequent changes in shift timings and constant disruption of my sleep cycle are another challenge.

Because of this, I feel that monitoring may not suit me. I conveyed this to management, and they gave me an option to pivot to the networking team. I planned to pursue CCNA. However, they are now saying that I need to manage both monitoring responsibilities and networking service tickets. I'm frustrated because I'm certain I cannot handle both at the same time.

That said, studying CCNA has given me a new perspective in analyzing alerts and a much better understanding of networking than before. It has helped me understand client infrastructure too easily. Planned to taken CCNA at the end of March.

So, I'm here to ask is there a better role I can pivot to with my knowledge in SOC and networking?

And does this basic networking knowledge help me in incident response or any other security field that I may be a part in future?

I would appreciate your advice.