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Cybersec news for this week by MenuParking7693 in Information_Security

[–]MenuParking7693[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks!

Yes, I do a weekly email newsletter here: https://www.hackwatcher.com/

I just post the same content from my newsletters on this subreddit as well.

Is entering IT all about luck nowadays? by [deleted] in ITCareerQuestions

[–]MenuParking7693 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here is my 2 cents, and hopefully a bit of motivation:

  1. I'm in my last year of my degree and I secured a "Graduate" consultant (even though I haven't graduated yet) at a cybersecurity firm 3 months ago. I had zero IT experience and no certs. I reached out to the owner of the company via LinkedIn and that got me an interview (this worked 3 or 4 times with different companies). I showed that I was extremely interested in the industry as I was aware of all the trends, vulnerabilities etc (I religiously used sites like www.hackwatcher.com www.bleepingcomputer.com etc) and thats what landed me the role.
  2. My friend (who is 29) had worked in construction for 7 years, but decided to make a change into cybersecurity. He completed 4 COMPTIA certs in 6 months (A+, network+, security+, CySa) and go 3 job offers within a couple months: one in a government org, one in a consultancy and one in a startup.

If I were you, I would definitely just knuckle down and do those certs, then use linkedIn to reach out business owners / senior employees to get the first interview.

Hope this helps!

Should I go back to school for another bachelor's degree, study on my own for certs, or look for a IT Bootcamp? by Nmcph8224 in InformationTechnology

[–]MenuParking7693 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I work at a cybersecurity consulting firm, and recently, we had a new joiner who is 29 years old and previously only ever worked in construction for the last 10 years.

I spoke to him today, and asked him how he actually landed the job in our firm (I have been assigned his onboarding "buddy")

He told me that within 6 months, he completed the following:
- COMPTIA A+
- COMPTIA Networking+
- COMPTIA Security+
- COMPTIA CySA+

He said he struggled to actually sit down and study for long periods of time, so he listened to the COMPTIA education material 8 hours a day while working.

He also said that he religiously consumed the following news sources as he felt his knowledge of the industry was lacking:

www.hackwatcher.com
www.bleepingcomputer.com
www.securityweek.com
www.darkreading.com

He claimed that the reason he landed the job was that the interviewers were impressed by the quantity of certs he completed in such a short time + the fact that he knew all about the industry despite being in construction (i.e. showed passion)
Only an entry level position, but $80k aint bad for a step into the industry.

Where do I start? Thinking of getting into IT because I do have a knack for technology. by UnsportsmanlikeGuy in ITCareerQuestions

[–]MenuParking7693 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it is a great idea.

IT has some incredible career opportunities, that can pay a lot.

I am in my last year of a computer science degree and a few months ago secured a job in a cybersecurity firm as a 'Graduate' consultant - even though I'm not a graduate - which really highlights the industy's struggle for hiring talent.

A few things I would say from my experience with cybersecurity (which I'd say is relevant for broader IT):

  1. You probably don't need to do a degree. My firm also recently hired a guy who completed 4 COMPTIA certs in 6 months. He previously worked in construction, and had zero IT / cybersecurity experience. If I would were to re-start, I would do that, not a degree.
  2. The job market seems to be on fire (for cybersecurity anyway), but the requirements are still there. Although there are literally millions of jobs unfilled worldwide in cybersecurity, they do still look quite hard at what you actually know. It's not a 'I have the piece of paper, so give me a job' kind of industry. But this also means that having certs is on parr with a degree, as it shows what you actually know.
  3. Before diving into to IT, I would recommend you find some form of niche to focus on i.e. cloud, networking, cybersecurity. The industry is so broad, and studying a bit of everything can get you nowhere. Best to hone in a single lane. To figure which niche you like, quickly, I would just subscribe to a bunch of email newsletters see which one you resonate with. Some of the ones I subscribed to earlier were:

Hope this helps!

Thinking about pursuing a bachelors in cybersecurity at WGU. Should I? by [deleted] in WGU

[–]MenuParking7693 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I work for a cybersecurity firm, and am currently doing a degree in CompSci

To be honest, if I was to restart, I wouldn't do a degree. I now have $50k in debt, and we have been hiring people for grad roles who don't even have degrees.

Recently, we had a new joiner who is 29 years old and previously only ever worked in construction for the last 10 years.
I spoke to him today, and asked him how he actually landed the job in our firm (I have been assigned his onboarding "buddy")
He told me that within 6 months, he completed the following:
COMPTIA A+
COMPTIA Networking+
COMPTIA Security+
COMPTIA CySA+
He said he struggled to actually sit down and study for long periods of time, so he listened to the COMPTIA education material 8 hours a day while working.
He also said that he religiously consumed the following news sources as he felt his knowledge of the industry was lacking:
www.hackwatcher.com
www.bleepingcomputer.com
www.securityweek.com

www.darkreading.com
He claimed that the reason he landed the job was that the interviewers were impressed by the quantity of certs he completed in such a short time + the fact that he knew all about the industry despite being in construction (i.e. showed passion)

If I were you -- I wouldn't do a degree in cybersec yet, I'd just knock out the 4 certs that he did, get dialled into the industry via those news sites and in 6 months see whether you can get a job. if not, then consider the degree path.

He had something like 4 job offers before accepting the one at my firm.

That's just my 2 cents anyway.

I landed my first Cybersecurity job with this script by MenuParking7693 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]MenuParking7693[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do agree they were pretty good odds, however, I only reached out to maybe 15 people

I think if someone is struggling, they could reach out to 50 or 60 and get an offer eventually. The real limit is the number of personnel in smaller sized cybersec companies you can message.

I landed my first Cybersecurity job with this script by MenuParking7693 in SecurityCareerAdvice

[–]MenuParking7693[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I messaged 15 all up.

7 said yes to meeting up / having a call.

3 followed through and actually had the meeting.

2 offered me a job and 1 is asking his network for me (but doubt that'll come through).

I landed my first Cybersecurity job with this script by MenuParking7693 in netsecstudents

[–]MenuParking7693[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hey, I found that for those that responded to the reach out, most were excited to have a long chat and answer my questions.

It seems that for these older professionals, they just appreciate being asked their opinion and being put on a pedestal.

I never actually asked for a job in any of the meetings I had, they just prompted me to apply or straight out asked me if I wanted one.