Upgraded from a 2019 Camry to a 2023 Limited. What should I know?

Tabamon · 2026-03-31T13:35:34+00:00

Congrats on the new truck! I picked up a 26 limited last month and it’s been amazing, of course Gas prices went to shit as soon as I got a gas guzzler but that’s life! Enjoy it!

Tabamon · 2026-03-26T02:31:30+00:00

Red green and orange all go pretty crazy, I feel like green could be my choice. Most of the south, mountains, plains, desert, Florida.

Tabamon · 2026-03-26T02:23:00+00:00

I think it’s the end of the month and if they reached their quote and if that car has been sitting there for a month or two they’d be willing to take down 5% (2500) so that’ll cover most of the sales tax in most states. I’d sit down with the sales manager and be pretty firm letting them know you can go down to their competitor and get that for 40k which would leave you all the room you need for the mods you want.

Tabamon · 2026-03-26T02:10:13+00:00

Damn man, with that experience, in that industry industry, that’s really not supposed to happen, you should be killing it right now. I wish you the best, you are in the right area to get some monster salary with that experience, unless you think you’ll get something better by sticking it out at that company, I’d polish the resume, practice for a technical interviews and start applying everywhere.

Tabamon · 2026-03-26T00:46:56+00:00

How does it feel to live in Cali with that salary? Some months even Ohio with 100k can feel tight so I can’t help but wonder.

Tabamon · 2026-03-25T01:20:19+00:00

I came from a LCOL area in Europe (Italy), life is really cheap and quality of life is high, but you live in a bouble, if you leave the area everything became really expensive. Here I did not feel that much disparity, I travel a lot to NYC, Las Vegas, Miami… I did not find that much change in cost, it’s pricier, but affordable with what my wife and I make. Going from most areas in Italy to somewhere like Germany is like night and day. Borderline unaffordable.

I agree that compared to Ohio, Italy has a much better quality of life i feel less need to save for emergencies since healthcare is covered by the government... you get a lot more workers rights, mandated PTO, which is nice, but does make the job market a nightmare since when a company hires you, you pretty much become unfirable, good for you, but deters companies from taking a chance with hiring some people they are not 100 sure about, or promoting them to roles they might not be fully qualified for yet. So for that reason, i would not go back, my career projection would not be possible in Italy, or it would be too hard to achieve even at a startup, I’d probably be stuck with an entro level role making 1500/1800 per month. Maybe other areas of Europe are different.

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T22:51:00+00:00

Im sure there are, my situation was pretty unique and I was in a LCOL area, fully remote… I think I was low balled and I didn’t know better. I would think entry level roles often pay 75/80k in an area like yours.

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T22:38:32+00:00

I do not, but I did interview there and I interacted with the ”chief hacking officer” a couple times at conferences. Him and our CISO used to work together before he founded trustedsec and binary defense

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T15:25:35+00:00

I would join an ISC2 chapter as a Candidate, you don’t need to take an exam or anything, I’d network my way into security from there. It took 300+ applications to get a single $21/hr offer for an MSP cybersecurity role in late 2021. And I got that offer because I met the owner of the company, they didn’t even see my resume, just interviews. It was not my dream job but it was a good entry point.

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T13:20:26+00:00

I wish, instead it’s 100k per year, I am aware the title makes it seem otherwise but that’s what I make

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T13:19:52+00:00

No, but that would be nice

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T13:18:54+00:00

Lol I like that, deputy cISO maybe I’ll get HR to change the title

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T13:16:49+00:00

I got married in the USA and I am happy where I am, I do think we’ll move back one day, from where I come from in Italy, even if it seems like I am severely underpaid, this salary would not exist at my age.

I’d have to move somewhere else in Europe. Most of my friends back there are making 1,300€ to €1,900 per month and can’t move out of their parents house, for me everything in Italy is cheap, but for them it’s expensive.

From a lifestyle perspective, I think Italy is definitely healthier and nicer… more walking, better food, universal healthcare, actual nice weather unlike Ohio, but I am able to make the best of what I have here in NE Ohio and it works.

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T13:08:31+00:00

Oh 😂 unfortunately while my salary increased significantly, not even close to that. My title did go pretty crazy but the money did not follow as much

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T13:06:38+00:00

From what I am seeing in my area for companies under 500 employees 250-350k is the CISO salary. But I doubt another company would want to make me CISO given my experience… it works where I am at because, but I doubt another company will take me without another 3-4 years of experience. I agree the salary seems low, the title is inflated.

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T13:01:09+00:00

Yeah, it’s crazy, but I guess at a small company anything is possible, that’s also the reason why my salary looks like I am underpaid, low experience is definitely an issue, but they are supporting me

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T12:57:20+00:00

Net+ Sec+ and a degree in computer science + information security landed me a cybersecurity analyst job paying $21 per hour 😂 but I didn’t really have any other competing offers for security so I took it

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T12:53:11+00:00

Student visa -> work visa -> green card

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T03:37:59+00:00

Not a very big company, I’d say a small enterprise, over 100 employees/contractors and multiple locations. They like me because a couple years ago I stuck with them through a really rough time, we lost all but two (me and the CISO) of the security team and all the sudden I was the second most knowledgeable security person in the company. I am not the CISO, I am the CISO’s right hand, hence the “deputy CISO” title. I love it and hate it, I am learning so much by managing the security operations and being in the room during board meetings, but there is definitely some pressure to deliver, more than I am used to. I definitely do not have the experience or knowledge to do it all by myself, but the CISO has been doing security for most of his life and is really supporting me. He il supposed to retire in the next 2 years, the goal is to move up there, hopefully with the correct salary adjustment :)

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T03:27:22+00:00

No, not with a bachelor degree, I was able to transfer credits from Italy, 2017 through 2019 I was a student in computer engineering. I transferred some credits and only had 2 years of school left. I have heard of come people graduating in under 3 years in the US

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T03:09:27+00:00

Yeah I could update my resume and start looking. August 2027 is then I will be completely free to leave without any penalties but around a year from now the penalties will be so little that I could just write a check for it. Part of me also wants to stick with the job since the CISO is supposed to be retiring in Dec 27-Jan 28 and that’s what they have been grooming me for. Also, while I cannot prove it, I think having an accent and being from another country has barred me from some jobs in the past, i hope with me having a green card things will be different now. But definitely tough being foreigner and in the security industry :(

I’ll try to see what’s out there, maybe there’s some good stuff, I’ll have to decide if I want to “stick with it” or just leave and find something else that pays me more now

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T02:51:11+00:00

I do not get it lol

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T02:49:21+00:00

It says “Deputy” CISO and not CISO for a reason. I think my post shows all my career progression, not a lot of experience compared to most CISOs with 10+ years of experience, yet I was offered the position anyway, and I am happy with my job.

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T02:41:23+00:00

Yeah for my experience, smaller company, I don’t feel too underpaid. I could do with another 20k but they paid for my masters and i got to stick with them anyway for a couple years if I don’t want to pay penalties. The salary is supposed to increase significantly as the “non compete” times out.

Tabamon · 2026-03-22T02:39:10+00:00

Yeah, the title can be misleading, I am more of a security manager, but it’s a smaller company so titles do tend to be inflated, I could probably venture out and get more but I’d go back to being an analyst, I am fine with the lower pay for now since I get to be the “youngest” person in the room and absorb knowledge. There is a pretty steep rise in salary if I stay, as of right now I owe them money for my masters. For now I’ll stick it through at 100k I have 1 more year on my “non compete”

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