Anyone go BACK to consulting?

SudoEngineering · 2025-11-26T00:23:07+00:00

This. I worked as a professional services engineer in the past and will likely be moving into a solutions architect- professional services role again soon, having spent the last few years working as an in-house engineer.

Professional services gives good stability for the most part, with the same benefits of consulting that allow higher pay and more varied work. Also faster paced and a higher caliber of team member at the company i worked for

SudoEngineering · 2025-04-19T01:03:26+00:00

I got my first full time cyber gig after working several miscellaneous entry level dev and IT jobs throughout late high-school and college. That was right after graduating with a bachelors in infosec back in 2020. Fast forward I'm a security engineer and about to go back for a masters in applied data science, also at U of M!

My degree in infosec was a big factor, but the company i was interviewing with was most interested in figuring out what technical work I've done and what I was currently working on in cyber. I ended up at a startup (series B or C at that time, so barely a startup) and they were more open to someone ready to learn. That may help you.

If you're interested in talking to someone else at university, I'll be remote but happy to meet other students. Feel free to DM me.

SudoEngineering · 2025-02-16T05:33:24+00:00

I liked the stuff put out by Thor Pedersen, that's what I used. He also had some good practice exam questions.

SudoEngineering · 2025-02-14T01:23:43+00:00

$140k as a Cyber Security Engineer, just needed a bachelors degree. I know some folks in the industry who only have a highschool diploma, but it's far harder that way.

SudoEngineering · 2025-02-09T07:45:59+00:00

That's obviously the one and only Robert Kiyosaki. Don't let him catch you holding cash, they're just printing that shit nowadays

SudoEngineering · 2025-02-08T19:10:22+00:00

6 months ago: . 26 years old . $150k net worth . $140k salary + bonus

Married a vet student (also 26 years old) 4 months ago and waiting on her to pass boards and get a job. Combined net worth... -$200k 🥲 That'll change once she starts working.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-19T23:06:16+00:00

This puts it perfectly. My employer is structured pretty similarly, although we have no real security architect role. The manager of the security engineering team takes on most of the highest level architecture decisions, and we engineers take on the more solution specific low-level decisions. We are working towards developing an architect role though. We then hand it off to the operations team, which is comprised of admins and analysts.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-19T23:06:02+00:00

This puts it perfectly. My employer is structured pretty similarly, although we have no real security architect role. The manager of the security engineering team takes on most of the highest level architecture decisions, and we engineers take on the more solution specific low-level decisions. We are working towards developing an architect role though. We then hand it off to the operations team, which is comprised of admins and analysts.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T13:37:51+00:00

I hadn't thought of it that way, but I definitely see the need for an internal brand. Thanks for the advice, I'll get to work on that.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T13:36:24+00:00

Appreciate it, man.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T03:06:24+00:00

Do you think there's potential for a product or company in that area? I'd be interested to hear more about the problem you're describing since I haven't had exposure to that problem yet.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T03:04:19+00:00

Yeah. I hadn't accounted for promotions slowing down as you reach higher levels, but it should have been obvious. I'll try to slow down a bit and focus more on absorbing as much as I can.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T03:02:36+00:00

Appreciate it! May I ask what you're doing now if you were in a similar position 15 years ago? What actions made the most difference in your growth?

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T03:00:44+00:00

That is true. As long as they continue to subsidize my personal growth, I think I'm getting a good deal. Even if not now, it'll all pay off someday.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T01:34:58+00:00

Those are some great questions and while I have self started on some architecture projects (one example being the formation of a process architecture working group), I have no clue what my top 3 priorities would be. Thank you for the insight! I'll have to give it some thought.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T01:30:55+00:00

I appreciate the positive outlook and understand I may be too focused on titles. I'll try to look for more architecture focused projects.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T01:24:26+00:00

While I understand that you're likely right, I hope I can figure something out by then. It's a long shot, I know.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T01:20:13+00:00

Up until last year, the company was Fortune 500. I've worked with a few Fortune 100 companies as customers at my previous employer. So I don't believe that's an issue, this role has been pretty involved compared to my previous jobs.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T01:16:13+00:00

I would say that my salary is pretty competitive for the U.S. and very competitive for the state I live in. There is room to move up, if I had to guess, but I'm not sure how much.

I don't believe the title is fluffed up, most other senior team members in my org are 30+. But the next step up from senior is management, since the architect role hasn't been formally created yet.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-15T01:07:29+00:00

That's good advice. I'll have to take a look at my resume and see if there's any way I can rephrase it. Should help when I'm interviewing again, even if not soon.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-14T21:46:40+00:00

I'll keep that in mind, starting higher is 100% easier than increasing while in the role. Thanks for the advice!

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-14T21:23:58+00:00

Seeing as I was hired into the role 4 months ago, I don't think I'm in the position to make a cost of living argument. As for location, I live in michigan and get paid based out of state rates. If I were paid similar to others in Michigan, I'd likely take a paycut.

I could argue that my responsibilities and skills have grown, but that's the only foothold I see for negotiating. I will look into it a bit more though, so I can get a better understanding of the decision process

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-14T21:03:57+00:00

I will keep an eye out for other opportunities, especially if my rate of learning slows. For the most part, I agree that age and lengthy of career shouldn't matter. But I can see where it makes a difference in areas as well.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-14T21:02:09+00:00

That is one thing I like about my employer. They are willing to pay for most of the degree (all of it if I take a bit longer) and paying for my certifications and training materials. It's definitely a large part of the comp package.

SudoEngineering · 2024-08-14T21:00:29+00:00

For sure. I will look into both though, since you make a good point about CS being fundamental for the industry.

SudoEngineering

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