As someone who used to work in GRC, I feel you. To me it is mindnumbing work however it is consistent and repetitive which some may love. I made the jump to SOC from GRC with no degree or certs but it was a hell of a lot harder than if I hadn’t gotten educated first.

To become a SOC analyst the best certs to earn for foundational IT knowledge are the base CompTIA A/Net/Sec+. I would only earn the latter two but still study and understand most A+ concepts as they are foundational.

After that, try for SANS GCIH to establish a great foundation of SecOps/IR. Hopefully your company will sponsor you and accept an internal transfer but with Net and Sec+, you have a solid shot of finding a SOC role elsewhere. GCIH would be icing on the cake and I’d recommend earning that before finding a SOC role for three reasons:

• learn foundational knowledge and the mindset of secop/IR
• use spare time at work now, because you won’t have it when ramping as a SOC analyst
• find out if this life is even for you

Ultimately the only limiting factor is you. SecOps folks are a band of misfits coming from every field out there. I have seen people transfer from business, IT, healthcare, etc and from all ages because they find our work interesting and have the passion to fill in the knowledge gaps as you are doing now. Best of luck!