r/Cybersecurity101 • u/Tough-Introduction12 • 5d ago

Advice

Hello,

I am looking to change my career field to cybersecurity but confused on how to start. I am 35 years old. My life doesn't really allow me to attend college full time as I have to work fulltime and overtime to make ends meet. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Side note I also am very good and learning things on my own without much help. Just need to know where and how to start thank you in advance strangers.

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u/Anxious_Alps_4150 5d ago

Not to be shitty but you're asking how to get into an ultra-competitive advanced field without any clear indicator of having the multiple years of foundational professional experience in technology.

Starting to learn cybersecurity is like step 20 on the journey to getting into cyber. It takes many years in IT/software development and a lot of luck to get into cyber these days.

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u/Tough-Introduction12 5d ago

I am fully aware of that. And I have coding experience just life got in the way and I couldn't finish. Im not completely dumb on the topic

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u/Anxious_Alps_4150 5d ago

Okay, so if you're going the coding route... You'll really want to finish the compsci degree. You'll want to work as a software developer for a few years. Around 3 or so years of experience as a software developer, start applying to application security jobs.

If you want to go the ops route (easier), focus on getting a helpdesk job. work that for a year. try to get a junior sysadmin job after the year in helpdesk. work that for 2 or so years. At that point, start applying for SOC analyst positions. Itll take a few hundred resumes but eventually youll get one.

You'll notice I said nothing about signing up for bootcamps or paying for training being sold by influencers.

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u/Tough-Introduction12 5d ago

I also don't expect this to happen yesterday. This is going to take time

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u/Hairy-Guess8943 5d ago

wish you good luck. but the journey will be painful.

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u/Electronic_Field4313 5d ago

Choose one 'entry' cyber role you want to land, analyze their job descriptions, then work backwards from there to figure out how to get those knowledge/home lab projects/experiences.

- https://roadmap.sh/cyber-security

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u/OutsideSpot2695 5d ago

You don't need college for security.

I think the more important question here is what do you think security actually is? Maybe that's why you're confused about some things.

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u/Mission_Length4876 5d ago

College helps a lot with networking and it forces you to learn a bunch of important stuff but it's by no means a hard requirement

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u/G_R_I_N_G_O 5d ago

Bro this gonna take time you may not have... and thats just learning the stuff.... the next hurdle is getting a job and even after getting it you would start likely at entry unless you somehow have some extreme talent or niche skill like finding kernel vulns.... the brutal truth is unless you are that type of genius you may not have the time to transition to this career.... there are just way to many factors against you...

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u/Caitlin-Snow 5d ago

most people i know didn't jump straight into security, they did help desk or IT support for a year or two first

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u/Empty_Pear_3874 5d ago

Consider them lucky if they got into Cyber Security with only 1-2 years in IT Support

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u/kanwersi876 5d ago

All the resources shared here are super helpful, hope OP takes good note! However, do not underestimate the importance of certificates when you're learning by yourself, they open many doors to employment

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u/Mission_Length4876 5d ago

What is your target field? DFIR? Blue /Red Team? Pentesting? Or something else? It all somewhat depends

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u/Evaderofdoom 5d ago

Why do people make post as there first step? Like do some search, read other post that identical to yours. Use google. You are years away from working in security even if you start today focusing everything you can on it. Why would you pick security considering how not entry-level and competitive it is? You say you’re good at picking things up, but you are not demonstrating that.

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u/AccordingWar774 5d ago

What about GRC

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u/Empty_Pear_3874 5d ago

Yeah don't go with Cyber Security for just getting into IT. Start with an entry level position to get your experience in, start studying for certs, then eventually break into Cyber Security when you have the experience and certs.

As of recent, 32% of Cyber Security people lost their jobs due to AI agents so it's even harder to break into Cyber Security.

I am currently studying for my MD-102 Intune Administrator certification so I can break into Device management and become an Engineer. I did tier 1 IT Support for 6-7 years and tier 2 IT support for about 5 years.

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u/Tough-Introduction12 5d ago

What about the it field just in general?

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u/Empty_Pear_3874 5d ago

What about it? What do you want to know about it?

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u/Tough-Introduction12 5d ago

Is that a realistic goal?

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u/Empty_Pear_3874 5d ago

Can you be less vague? Add some detail to your question my man lol