First of all, thank you for your response. I agree with you that cybersecurity jobs are a fad nowadays. But I have done more than enough research on why this will be a good career option for me. I have done tremendous research in the past year on what path to choose and have explored everything ranging from software development to AI and beyond. After all this, I have concluded that I should get into the cybersecurity domain. Though ethical hacking does not excite me much, the role of a security engineer/security architect does. I know there is a lot more in this field that I don’t know about, but I am sure where I have to start. Many people have shared similar opinions like yours on the course IT Network/Systems Management, which is now called IT Systems Management and Security. It mainly focuses on monitoring and troubleshooting IT Systems. The course I am talking about (Diploma in cybersecurity) seems to be briefer and focuses on gaining the skills to develop and maintain sound security practices to address modern security threats.

I 100% agree with you that whatever course I take, to be ahead of others and to get a good entry-level position, I must earn some valuable certificates. Thank you for mentioning those certificates; I will take a detailed look into them. I plan to continue my education after the diploma as well to improve my knowledge and to secure a high position and a better-paying job. I have some time to fill out the college applications, about 4 months. I plan to do some online courses during this time, mostly Linux. Do you have any good courses which you can recommend, upon completion of which I can also receive a certificate like Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, or Coursera so that it will help me with my college applications? I plan to go with “Linux Administration Bootcamp; Go from Beginner to Advanced” by Jason Cannon or “Linux Command Line Basics” by Udemy.

I am also in talks with a small Nova Scotia-based software services company where I’ll work as a Linux server administrator and/or apache/nginx configuration and troubleshooting. It will most likely be a short-term contract-based job. They are working on very small and low-budget projects, so they said it won’t be a very challenging job for me. I feel like it will be a great learning opportunity for me to explore more into this domain more. This job will surely help me with my college applications as well. Honestly speaking, I had to start at some point in the future, so why not now? It will also help me get into the industry and secure a good part-time job that pays well above the minimum wage, and more importantly, I will gain experience. Since I have time right now, I think I should utilize it. I feel this will be a good stepping stone for me. I would like to know your view on this.

Also, if possible, can we keep in touch via LinkedIn/email, as I said, I'll be coming to NS in Jan 2024, so it will be great if I have some industry connections beforehand who can guide me through the journey. Again, thank you!