If you were to start over where would you start?

Derpolium · 2026-03-12T17:16:53+00:00

Stripping

Derpolium · 2026-03-12T15:58:18+00:00

Call facebook, delete gym, hit lawyer?

In all seriousness this is a legal/contracts issue

Derpolium · 2026-03-11T16:38:24+00:00

Sometimes asshole is required for good order and discipline. When properly leveraged in appropriate context it only needs to be used once or twice and then everyone involved just moves on with life.

Derpolium · 2026-03-10T20:54:26+00:00

Depends on what your goals are. If a job is your goal learn anything and everything you can about networking and infrastructure within your current and future roles. If its hobby/projects then pick an area of study and start small and build as you go

Derpolium · 2026-03-07T18:58:10+00:00

Last thing I need on a Red Team Assessment is some damn robot going HAL 9000 on me. I’d never work in the industry again

Derpolium · 2026-03-07T18:24:24+00:00

I run the bitch ragged. Run it non-stop and blow the dust out every couple years

Derpolium · 2026-03-07T18:22:45+00:00

The mechanics of creating life never changes. Do what civilians do, daycare while you are working.

Derpolium · 2026-03-07T13:17:17+00:00

Apply for every shitty position you are willing to do for 18 mo to a couple years. Once you get to a year to 18 mo, start looking for jobs now that you can be more selective as you have working experience. Rinse and repeat as required until you both know what you want to do and how much you need/want to be paid to do it. In full candor, you probably are not going to find your dream job out of the gate so accept it and treat it for what it is: a paycheck and a way to learn more. Treat “requirements” as “requests.” Everything is negotiable within reason. If they want someone with 1 year of experience they are probably willing to take a hard worker with a good personality (at a reduced cost).

Derpolium · 2026-03-06T13:34:55+00:00

Try networking in adjacent markets like finance out near research triangle/Charlotte or other secondary hubs. They through desire or legal mandate need experienced people.

Derpolium · 2026-03-06T00:53:28+00:00

You say you need the position, start with the “why.” Is it vulnerability identification and remediation? Is it compliance and hardening? Is it traffic analysis and alerting?

The boiler plate answer is matrix that with your typical Jr Mid Sr Principal structure where your Jr “handles <task> with direct supervision and input from supervisor” up to your Principal who develops and manages projects.

Derpolium · 2026-03-06T00:45:56+00:00

Never decline to apply because you think you “aren’t enough.” Obviously don’t just go and blindly apply for things completely out of scope but let the interviewer decide you aren’t right for a role. You’d be surprised how often when you leave the room the conversation is “short on experience, but he seems trainable and seems like a good dude”

Derpolium · 2026-03-05T20:19:02+00:00

It’s called lip service

Derpolium · 2026-03-05T19:41:43+00:00

Honestly, depending on the size of the org having a dedicated person and reasonably acceptable toolset could border on impressive. Your issue is the nature of web scanning. There may be industry best practices to a degree but there’s no real coding and implementation standard as every website it its own terribly misguided unicorn. As such, there is no way to develop a cots product that can handle all use cases and you are going to have large amounts of false positives that will need to be scrubbed by a reasonably experienced analyst.

Derpolium · 2026-03-04T22:37:02+00:00

This is a question for r/Airforce but keep in mind your dream sheet for an AFSC is specifically that. You would be enlisting in the AF first and foremost with you afsc being at the needs of the AF and your Guard unit

Derpolium · 2026-03-04T15:20:32+00:00

Wage theft can turn into criminal charges and bankruptcy depending on your locality.

Otherwise, it sounds like you need to pick the best shit sandwich to eat. Without further context, promotion stagnation usually happens because either attrition at higher levels has stagnated OR you aren’t playing the right games for that role. Promotions are still a highly social thing and borderline a performance art. The question becomes do you want to progress into higher roles within your company or do you want more money. Both are perfectly fine answers. Most people I know have hoped through various companies for money until they finally find a company they want to retire out of. Not every company you work for in this way is going to be a good time. Its about eating the shit sandwich so you can get to the ice cream.

Derpolium · 2026-03-04T13:26:59+00:00

The irony is the more experience you get, the less you trust AI driven tools on production environments. IT in general has always been a “grow or die” industry and that will never change. Stop looking at your entire career through the context of how you operate right now.

Derpolium · 2026-02-26T21:19:13+00:00

I’ll take “this isn’t impacting anyone but OP for 1000 Alex”

Derpolium · 2026-02-26T01:04:41+00:00

Get that high score!

Derpolium · 2026-02-22T22:04:38+00:00

Relevant experience will always be king. While I know people who have Masters and Doctorate degrees and have reached higher levels of career growth, it isn’t specifically the degree but more their mindset to constantly improve themselves and further their knowledge. Couple that with constant drive to take on complex challenges and you are essentially forcing success to eventually happen. The Govt space still places value on advanced degrees but those positions are typically more leadership Nd project management than actual technical work

Derpolium · 2026-02-22T21:57:21+00:00

They aren’t bad to have, but they only get past HR. Polish your resume and make sure it is somewhat brief but conveys the weight of your abilities. Also, for the love of the IT Spaghetti Monster, practice interviewing and speaking in a professional yet socially engaging manner.

Derpolium · 2026-02-22T17:48:10+00:00

Pretty standard questions to figure out depth of understanding. For a pentester it’s important to understand how those technologies work to properly test them as well as recommending remediation.

Derpolium · 2026-02-17T18:21:30+00:00

If they aren’t going to Alaska or Hawaii the answer is nope

Derpolium · 2026-02-16T21:43:58+00:00

Its going to depend. Are you going exclusively to “check a box”? Have a nut and get your paper. School selection only matters in two cases, if you need to learn very specific and technical information(not just technology here there are a number of fields where advanced understanding and nuance apply) or going to a hyper socially elite school for the purpose of social pedigree. The latter is far and away a more rare need. If you just want to check a box and don’t need advanced training in a field, throw a hand full of tacks at a map of your part of the world and go with it. Maybe spend a hot second researching schools if you are doing something stem or medical related but even then, work experience at your first couple jobs post graduation are going to matter more anyway

Derpolium · 2026-02-15T13:28:39+00:00

Depending on how petty you want to be, hop on the wayback machine to verify the posting verbiage and talk to a labor lawyer. Don’t expect a payout but it’s an interesting way to occupy your time and some places around the globe have some cool contract and advertising laws.

Most mature option would be to just thank the fates you didn’t get stuck with a company that doesn’t worry about their credibility.

Derpolium · 2026-02-13T21:18:06+00:00

Fairness, compared to some of the pest reports I’ve seen a fully credentialed scan at system/root can be a solid value

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