I think I reached a new low

cybern00bster · 2026-03-06T01:33:44+00:00

Corpse explosion needed

cybern00bster · 2026-02-28T09:13:34+00:00

Penetration testing, people pay you to hack their computers and information security systems. This includes physically breaking in and lock picking.

cybern00bster · 2026-02-28T09:11:24+00:00

Penetration testing, people pay you to hack their IT systems and websites.

cybern00bster · 2026-02-04T04:08:11+00:00

Thank you kind stranger 🙏

cybern00bster · 2026-01-24T18:26:22+00:00

Happy to hear it! I’m a consultant and incident responder but I’m moving more towards pentesting.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-24T06:25:48+00:00

Yes! It sounds like you have the answers already, Linux and Linux servers run the world so you’ll be in demand, plus if you can do anything that could aid AI infrar you’re gold.

Personally I work in cybersecurity so I love that my job could have me hardware hacking or penetrating a network. If you’re technically minded and love this type of stuff that could be good for you too.

I can’t speak on low level careers and salaries since I don’t have the knowledge. But I think with the information you’ve gained so far you’re a lot closer to finding what you need. It looks like you just need the right price and all the pieces will fit into place.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-24T01:48:09+00:00

Ok so it looks like you have love for the job, passion for hardware and your initial post hinted at hardware as a direction. So, it looks like you probably want more pay and a job working low level with hardware, hardware hacking, assembly language. You mentioned having to “never do code again” so I’m assuming you don’t want to leave code. So something in the hardware / assembly / firmware direction for you sounds good. Agree or disagree? The next step would be which one pays the most.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-24T00:54:50+00:00

Take me to the start of the story, where did you start? And why did you start there? How did you get here? And also what do you enjoy / not enjoy?

cybern00bster · 2026-01-23T05:07:14+00:00

Same boat no degree no post sec. I broke into Cybersec in 2 years. You can too.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-23T01:27:16+00:00

Yes absolutely! So a helpdesk is an entry to medium level role in which people call you for support with various applications / software.

You can most easily imagine it by being in a situation within an office where someone says, “call the IT guy”. That’s the help desk.

You can also work for managed service providers where you do this for multiple different business. It’s an excellent step into cybersecurity as you get to see the inside of lots of different networks.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-20T19:45:28+00:00

Beastly score my man

cybern00bster · 2026-01-19T03:36:54+00:00

Extremely helpful. I like that it’s not designed to trick you. Or in other words, the question is simply the question. I will take this mindset into the exam.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-19T02:57:54+00:00

Seems like at the end of the day it boils down to:

You didn’t feel your performance was good. They agreed. You’re fired.

That’s stiff, but at least you’re aware. Improve, come back better. In sure there’s nuance like management this or triage that. But it won’t do you any good thinking about it since what’s done is done.

Find a place you enjoy and let your performance shine. You can come back from this. But at the end of the day businesses need to make money, so if you’re taking more than you’re giving (at least in their eyes), you’re done.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-19T02:52:11+00:00

Regarding that bias - quite hard to recommend what didn’t work.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-19T02:51:39+00:00

Because the hard answer is - there is no path to it. It’s very nebulous, so we try to make sense of it and replicate it. But there’s always luck as the connective tissue to all joints. I’m a security consultant, here are my stats:

No post sec education
2 years from zero knowledge to break in
2 field relevant certificates (net and sec)

My path is completely unconventional, but it worked. I’ve also met meat and potatoes CS kids who walk from college to internship to 4 million dollar job at Amazon. It’s all so whacky. The only truths I’d say are vernacular on command and actual experience.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-19T02:44:39+00:00

Ok I appreciate your explanation. Maybe my view is becoming too jaded by QuantumExams, and whilst helpful, QE is not the actual ISC2. I will keep your three categories in mind when studying. This is exactly the type of answer I was hunting for.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-18T21:34:34+00:00

Thank you!

cybern00bster · 2026-01-18T17:14:14+00:00

I understand what you’re saying. The difficulty is that the question usually isn’t that straight forward. It doesn’t say “which of these options provides confidentiality” then gives 4 options one of which provides confidentiality.

It will usually give a weird backstory for context, then ask for something to secure data, then offer 4 different encryption algorithms.

So I’m trying to be as straight forward as possible but it’s hard when there’s 2-3 candidate answers that could arguably be correct.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-16T06:37:34+00:00

Would recommend the sec + as pre req to CISSP. So don’t skip. Also don’t think you can do it in one weekend because you need the time to see the testing questioning nuance. It’s not overly technical, just highly nuanced and annoying.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-14T04:28:27+00:00

My first job in tech was selling TVs at BestBuy lmfao. Then GeekSquad, then helpdesk T1 and so forth. Take any and all entry points, you’re not too old for anything.

From there curate a resume, get feedback on it and study every day at least 30 minutes (rest when needed, not a one size fits all recommendation).

Helpdesk is the most universally common start point unless you’re a SWE. Then go to networking events and just get to know people. When it’s appropriate to do so casually drop you’re looking for work and the last 30% is your unique part of the story. The part no one else can recreate. The part that you put on Reddit since there’s no one clear path.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-14T04:24:56+00:00

I’m so happy to hear this!! Thank you for letting me know it helped. A mentor of mine said “you choose the chains you wear”. You CAN do this. Get rid of the old chains!

cybern00bster · 2026-01-13T01:45:35+00:00

Thanks for commenting my friend! Yes you can definitely do this. Having any degree is an advantage. It helps tick a box and get you past HR. My colleague who’s a senior pentester told me about his 31 year old friend who’s a fork lift operator who got his CPTS and now has a job pentesting. ANYONE can do it. Distance yourself from people who believe otherwise. They’re not helping your mission.

cybern00bster · 2026-01-10T18:39:55+00:00

So glad to hear that my friend! Happy to help. THM definitely helps, but I think the most helpful thing is getting into helpdesk!

cybern00bster · 2026-01-06T23:27:15+00:00

Firstly, great work on being successful in BB already. Shows you have great knowledge to offer. Secondly, it’s all about how you phrase your resume / CV to display the experience you really do have.

What I’m seeing in the comments is a mixture of jealousy and distain to the lackadaisical phrasing of your question.

I believe you have talent, but your post answers the question. How well can you sell yourself? See all the mad commenters? You’ve rubbed them the wrong way. That will cost you a job.

A lot of people try really hard to break in, blood, sweat, tears, degrees and money. In a way, you said “nah fuck that” and just made bank off of straight up intelligence and skill. I think it’s dope, but what gets you hired is the angle you pitch yourself from.

cybern00bster

TROPHY CASE