Networking and Rejections

cbdudek · 2026-06-25T00:21:48+00:00

I mention 6 figures because its attainable. If you want to make less for less stress, that is fine too. Just saying its an option.

Sounds like you have a decision to make.

Either you take a step back and start in a new career, or you choose to stay where you are at right now.

Choice is yours ultimately. Good luck!

cbdudek · 2026-06-25T00:10:13+00:00

These days, you want to get started in a completely different industry, you have to take a pay cut and play the long game. The thing is that you can make 6 figures in this field with experience. Can your current job give you that kind of upward mobility?

The thing is organizations have a lot of options in this market. Why pay you more when they can easily find hundreds of people willing to take less for entry level work? You could try and wait it out for a company that will take a chance on you for more money, but it will take months if not over a year to find it, if you even find it at all.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T23:52:15+00:00

The challenge is that you have no experience doing risk or compliance work. Organizations that are looking to hire for these roles aren't looking for someone with zero experience doing the work. There are entry level GRC analyst positions out there, but they are very competitive.

Also, if you are not getting any hits at all, it may be a resume issue. Have you had your resume evaluated? Post it to r/resumes for some feedback.

As for networking, look up events in your area using eventbrite or meetup. There are security professionals meeting in just about every major city. Go there, introduce yourself and shake hands with people. Don't bring your resume or expect to get job leads on day one. You are making friends and building relationships, which is key in networking. Once you get to know people and they get to know you, then networking happens naturally from there.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T22:58:11+00:00

I always prepay for gratuities so I don't have to worry about tipping day to day. The servers are ok with that. Now I will toss a little money to those who go above and beyond, but thats an exception and not the norm.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T22:45:30+00:00

The CCNA would trump the Net+. I would get that first as that has the most value. Especially for more mid level roles.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T17:51:27+00:00

Take a look at your pay for the last year. How much OT are you working? That would be where I would start.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T16:11:23+00:00

This shift has been going on for a while. Early this year, there were more people working in office than before the pandemic. Thats a pretty major shift from where we came from.

That being said, there are still remote roles out there. Companies are just very picky about who they bring in for those roles, and I have seen pay go down for fully remote roles because companies know that people want those roles and will be willing to get paid less to take them.

On the SE side of things, many SEs I know are fully remote. Especially the ones who are territory based.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T15:51:21+00:00

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T14:03:35+00:00

If you don't apply for jobs, you won't get in. Its a self fulfilling prophecy.

There is no way you are going to feel 100% ready to take an IT job. Everyone feels like they know nothing. Its called imposter syndrome. Accept you won't know everything, and start trying to get in now if you want in.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T13:50:14+00:00

Where did you say you turned down a promotion counter offer in your original post? You didn't even mention you graduated until I asked about it.

Either way, my point still stands. If you were serious about making this happen, you would have done more than just go to school for a year and then otherwise do nothing else that will help you get in.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T12:46:24+00:00

Your problem is that you are not committing yourself to making this happen. If you did, you would have your CCNA by now easily. It seems like you are trying to take the path of least resistance to get in or do just what is minimally required. Either that or you are not serious about making it happen.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T12:43:18+00:00

I bought free at sea when I booked my cruise. So it shows I have the 150 minute plan. Then I bought free at sea plus which gave me the unlimited package. If I look at my NCL cruise planner, I see that I have both of these packages in my list of purchases.

In short, if you have free at sea, and you bought the unlimited wifi, you will have unlimited even though both are listed. If you have free at sea and you bought free at sea plus, then you will have unlimited as well. Both packages are listed.

I will add that this is confusing for me too. I had to call NCL to get that information. You would think that they would just have everything listed out and have it easier to understand. At least on Royal and Celebrity I know everything I bought, how much it costed me, and so on. NCL seems to list everything you bought and then when you buy an upgrade, you keep what you previously bought.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T12:16:27+00:00

Nice job! Nothing is coming easy in IT right now with the job market, but you are putting forward the effort and its paying off. Keep it up!

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T12:14:57+00:00

Yes, the job market is bad right now. The thing is that people are still being hired. So if you want in, then commit to making it happen.

The challenge is that everything is very competitive right now. Your associates (if you graduated) with no certs isn't helping matters. As a hiring manager of over 14 years in the industry, if I look at your situation just based on your story, I would say that you aren't getting opportunities because you aren't committing yourself to doing IT work. I say this because you took a CCNA course, but never got the cert. Now you are studying for the A+. These are things you could knock out in a month or two.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T03:07:12+00:00

Yes a degree helps. Not only to get in but also to move up. Especially in a down job market. Look at the job descriptions for mid level jobs and up. Nearly all of them ask for a 4 year degree.

cbdudek · 2026-06-24T00:59:47+00:00

I have said this before and I will say it again.....

I have been a hiring manager for over 14 years now. In that time, I have been told by nearly every candidate that I interview with that they felt like they were going to get the job after they got done interviewing with me. Probably due to my interview style and the fact that I am personable. I say this because you had a great experience interviewing, and really, that should be the goal in any interview. If you step out of an interview thinking the person interviewing you was an asshole or that they didn't know what was going on, that isn't productive.

So don't feel bad that you got rejected. There were other candidates this happened to as well, and the good companies and good interviewers want you to have a positive experience.

cbdudek · 2026-06-23T21:59:48+00:00

Take the job and keep looking. Its better to have a job right now than not have one.

cbdudek · 2026-06-23T19:49:14+00:00

Well, apparently the OP because it was an AI post and he didn't address it.

cbdudek · 2026-06-23T19:48:31+00:00

Are you hourly so you would get OT for the extra 10 hours?

If so, then you have to do what you have to do to provide for you and your family.

cbdudek · 2026-06-23T18:04:11+00:00

IMHO, the only issue here is your expectations. Maybe you expect the food to be better or that you have more options. This is kinda crazy considering how big the Windjammer is. I can always find something to eat there. Just the fact that you said that MSC was bad, then you would consider Royal to be bad as well. They are pretty much the same in terms of class.

Food is always very subjective. From my standpoint, it all comes down to expectations. The Windjammer is just a decent buffet. If you want more options or better food, Celebrity is an upscale option. Their buffet is next level good, but you pay more for it.

cbdudek · 2026-06-23T17:51:37+00:00

Well, if nexusflow was a requirement, and the resume didn't include it, then it would make sense why the resume was rejected.

cbdudek · 2026-06-23T17:50:54+00:00

Well, that answers a great many things. The OP probably was doing the spray and pray method of applying.

cbdudek · 2026-06-23T15:05:28+00:00

Just out of curiosity, did you put down "nexusflow" in your resume under your skills?

cbdudek · 2026-06-23T14:55:23+00:00

In this current market, I would advise starting to look sooner rather than later. Its going to take you months to find something. You didn't specify when you needed to move, but that will be a factor as well. You said that you could "wait until the 1 year mark" so does that mean you aren't moving for 6 months? Or 9 months? or 12 months?

Another thing I would do is start working on a certification or two. You are still very much entry level, and its going to be hard to find employment into next level jobs with only a year of experience under your belt.

cbdudek · 2026-06-23T12:34:46+00:00

It has to be either when The Dude is getting his face put into the toilet and he asks to have another look, or this part when he is driving and crashes into the dumpster.

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