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Hey everyone, a few months ago I posted here asking what you would do if you had a limited window of time to completely change your career and build a future in IT/cybersecurity.

Quick update: I kept going.

Since then I’ve earned CompTIA A+, Network+ and Security+, built a small homelab with Windows Server/Active Directory/Linux, continued studying Computer Science, and I’m now about to start my first real IT job as an IT technician in healthcare.

So I’ve finally broken into IT.

My original reason for choosing this field was always cybersecurity, especially Red Team/offensive security. But the more I studied the market, the more I realized that trying to jump directly into pentesting with a couple of certifications and no real IT experience probably wasn’t the smartest path.

Now I’m trying to decide what to build toward over the next few years.

One roadmap I’m considering is roughly:

IT Support → Cloud Engineer → automation/AI → Cloud/Identity Security → eventually Offensive Security / Red Team

The idea is to first build a strong, marketable and financially stable technical career, while continuing to develop security skills until I’m experienced enough to seriously pursue offensive roles.

Cloud interests me because it would force me to develop skills in infrastructure, networking, Linux, identity, Python/PowerShell, Terraform, containers and automation — all things that should also transfer well into security.

At the same time, AI is changing the industry quickly, so I don’t want to spend the next 3–5 years following a path that is already becoming obsolete.

So my question now is different from my original post:

If you were in my position today, having just entered IT, what would you build toward next?

Would you go Cloud/DevOps first and security later? Would you go directly toward security? Are there emerging areas involving cloud, AI and cybersecurity that you think will become particularly valuable?

My priorities are basically:

long-term demand + financial stability + strong technical skills + eventually getting as close as possible to Red Team/offensive security.

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who already work in Cloud, DevOps, Security Engineering, Pentesting or Red Team.

The first step was getting into IT. Now I want to make sure I choose the right direction for the next one.

Need advice: Should I switch from Service Desk L2 to Cybersecurity or DevOps at 38?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently working as a Service Desk Level 2 Engineer, supporting one of the FAANG companies, and have around 6 years of experience in my current organization. Before that, I worked in technical support at Dell for 5 years and HP/Wipro for 2 years.

My current CTC is approximately ₹14–16 LPA. I’m 38 years old, and my family has recently expanded, so I’m looking for better career growth, higher earning potential, and ideally, remote work opportunities. I’m also planning to relocate to Kolkata.

I’m considering transitioning into either Cybersecurity or DevOps. I’m willing to dedicate up to one year to structured learning and preparation before making the switch.

However, I’m unsure which path would be more suitable given my background. While I have solid IT support experience, I’m a beginner when it comes to dedicated cybersecurity and DevOps roles.

I’d appreciate advice from people who have made a similar transition or are working in these fields.

1. Based on my experience in IT support and Service Desk L2, which path would be a more practical choice: Cybersecurity or DevOps?

2. Which field offers better long-term career growth, salary potential, and remote job opportunities?

3. Is it realistic to make this transition within a year while targeting roles that pay at least as much as my current CTC?

4. Which institutes, platforms, or training programs offer a structured learning path, hands-on projects, and genuine job placement or interview assistance?

5. Would it be better to build on my existing IT support experience and move into a related role first, rather than starting from scratch?

I’m looking for practical, honest advice based on real-world experience, particularly from people who have switched careers in their late 30s.

Thanks in advance for your guidance!

Need advice: Should I switch from Service Desk L2 to Cybersecurity or DevOps at 38?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently working as a Service Desk Level 2 Engineer, supporting one of the FAANG companies, and have around 6 years of experience in my current organization. Before that, I worked in technical support at Dell for 5 years and HP/Wipro for 2 years.

My current CTC is approximately ₹14–16 LPA. I’m 38 years old, and my family has recently expanded, so I’m looking for better career growth, higher earning potential, and ideally, remote work opportunities. I’m also planning to relocate to Kolkata.

I’m considering transitioning into either Cybersecurity or DevOps. I’m willing to dedicate up to one year to structured learning and preparation before making the switch.

However, I’m unsure which path would be more suitable given my background. While I have solid IT support experience, I’m a beginner when it comes to dedicated cybersecurity and DevOps roles.

I’d appreciate advice from people who have made a similar transition or are working in these fields.

1. Based on my experience in IT support and Service Desk L2, which path would be a more practical choice: Cybersecurity or DevOps?

2. Which field offers better long-term career growth, salary potential, and remote job opportunities?

3. Is it realistic to make this transition within a year while targeting roles that pay at least as much as my current CTC?

4. Which institutes, platforms, or training programs offer a structured learning path, hands-on projects, and genuine job placement or interview assistance?

5. Would it be better to build on my existing IT support experience and move into a related role first, rather than starting from scratch?

I’m looking for practical, honest advice based on real-world experience, particularly from people who have switched careers in their late 30s.

Thanks in advance for your guidance!

Right now I am a stats undergrad from du and i just had an option in mind to make a career switch to cryptography

Currently I was pursuing mstat followed by quant roles

Pros of quant is that it's more relevant to what I've studied so far and I've did some work for it

Cons of quant is that near impossible to land a job, lacks job security.

Your advice would be of help guys

Hey guys,

I graduate soon and I am hoping to work in cloud engineering and or cloud security roles in the future. I know that is unrealistic out of school, I am hoping to work in a security role or even IAM role if possible. What would be the best path to go down to land a role that gets me closer to cloud sec? Certs? Projects?

Any advice is appreciated.

Resume: [

NAME REDACTED]

[Location Redacted] | [Email Redacted] | [Phone Redacted] | [LinkedIn] | [GitHub]

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

International Law Firm
Network Operations / Security Operations Intern
June 2026 – Present

• Monitored and investigated security alerts in IBM QRadar and CrowdStrike Falcon Next-Gen SIEM, using OTX/X-Force threat intelligence, OSINT, and log analysis to investigate large outbound transfers, malicious IPs, and impossible-travel events.
• Analyzed Duo MFA authentication logs to triage identity-related security alerts and investigate suspicious authentication activity.
• Investigated phishing and email threats using Proofpoint, Abnormal AI, and Proofpoint Threat Response; analyzed email headers, decoded suspicious URLs, evaluated links using OSINT, and blocked malicious senders.
• Provisioned Windows servers across four global sites and administered Active Directory, including OU placement, least-privilege security groups, and PowerShell-based user lifecycle management.
• Managed hybrid Exchange and Microsoft 365 mailbox access, remediated vulnerabilities identified through Qualys, and supported a VMware-to-Hyper-V migration.

Government Agency
Help Desk Technician Intern
September 2025 – June 2026

• Resolved 50+ weekly ServiceNow tickets supporting 250 users across Windows endpoints, operating systems, VPN connectivity, and network access; documented troubleshooting and remediation.
• Supported user onboarding and offboarding through Active Directory provisioning, MFA enrollment, access reviews, and standardized asset tracking.

Healthcare Organization
IT Security Intern
February 2025 – August 2025

• Triaged phishing incidents using Mimecast, investigated high-risk accounts using CrowdStrike Falcon and Zscaler, and documented indicators of compromise (IOCs) and incident findings incorporated into team playbooks.

PROJECTS

Hybrid Identity & Security Homelab
Proxmox, Microsoft Entra ID, Wazuh | 2026

• Built a private Proxmox homelab and separate Azure workload; automated Active Directory user management and AGDLP-secured SMB shares using PowerShell and provisioned infrastructure with Terraform.
• Scoped Entra Connect synchronization to lab identities and published an internal Nginx application through Microsoft Entra Application Proxy using group assignments, Conditional Access, and MFA without exposing inbound ports.
• Centralized security telemetry from five Windows and Linux agents in Wazuh; tested custom detections for Active Directory changes, ADSync service interruptions, repeated SMB authentication failures, and sudo activity. Isolated Kali testing on a no-route network bridge.

Infrastructure CI/CD Pipeline
Terraform, GitHub Actions, Azure | 2026

• Built GitHub Actions CI workflows for Azure and Proxmox Terraform configurations, automatically running formatting, backend-free initialization, and validation checks on pull requests and main-branch changes.
• Provisioned Azure infrastructure using Terraform, including a virtual network, network security group, public IP, Linux virtual machine, Key Vault, and Storage Account; configured managed identity and least-privilege Key Vault RBAC.

CERTIFICATIONS

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
• Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
• CompTIA Security+
• CompTIA Network+

EDUCATION

[College Name Redacted]
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
Expected Graduation: May 2027
GPA: 3.97 | Dean's List: 2024–2026

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Infrastructure & Automation: Terraform, Bicep, GitHub Actions, PowerShell, Bash, Python, Proxmox, VMware, Hyper-V

Identity & Cloud: Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, Entra Connect, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Azure RBAC, Azure Policy, Key Vault

Security & Operations: IBM QRadar, CrowdStrike Falcon Next-Gen SIEM, CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Sentinel, Wazuh, Proofpoint, Proofpoint Threat Response, Abnormal AI, Mimecast, Qualys, Zscaler, Duo MFA, KQL, ServiceNow

Networking: DNS, DHCP, VPN, Azure VNets, VNet Peering, NSGs, UDRs, Network Virtual Appliances, Wireshark, Samba

I’ve been selected to move forward in the hiring process for lyric’s information security/ cybersecurity engineer intern. I was wondering if anybody has done a technical with them before, and I would greatly appreciate any advice.

It’s a 60 minute interview with an engineer on the team, and I’m familiar with a lot of the basics, like NIST, CIA, basic security concepts like least privilege, etc.

I've done some thinking, and I've figured out how I want my career to proceed. I am currently unemployed.

First, I've spent 8 years in infrastructure and cyber security total. Most of my career was infrastructure related, with bits of security spread around. When I get a new job, I'm aiming for security, but I think overall I'm aiming for something to do with Blue team, information forensics and something to with OSINT. I'd really like to join NSA, or INTERPOL.

Any advice?

I’m a recent grad working full-time in a Service Desk Support role earning $45k a year. Wanted to come on here and seek guidance and a realistic timeline on how long it’ll take me to break out of Helpdesk and start earning $75k - $95k in cyber. I started working helpdesk August so 2 months now going onto 3. I graduated May 2026, have a professional internship under my belt alongside an additional part-time job with CodePath as a TechFellow. I also just got my security+ last month. I had a recruiter reach out to me 2 weeks ago about a Security Operations Engineer role and had an interview last week with the companies Senior Director of Cybersecurity it was extremely advanced/far from entry-level for me. It was scenario based and there were multiple answers but unfortunately I didn’t get the role. Needless to say, my experience is helping me land a small amount of interviews, but I’m struggling to get past the interviews. I also just applied and got rejected from the WiCyS Security Training scholarship program because I am “too experienced” in cybersecurity but am clearly entry level as I don’t even have up to 2 years of professional experience in the IT/Cyber Industry.

Anyone know what I should be doing right now? I want to become a SOC Analyst and work for the federal government ideally. I don’t think I like the uncertainty and lack of stability that comes with Corporate. I know this industry is an industry that requires patience and time when it comes to salary progression. I just want tips from experienced professionals and guidance because right now I feel lost. I don’t want to just gain another certification, I want to gain better experience.

For someone with a 4.0 GPA in Networking and security from the Open university in the UK, Security +, CCNA, CDSA from HTB and 1 year experience in Sales in a US Based company (ik irrelevant)

What are my chances to find an entry level job in europe to try and build a career there? i am originally from jordan

I do have a BS degree in cybersecurity years back and just will admit I got lazy and would like more training and a rebrush on everything but I know a degree helps with the HR filter but I want to be considered enough for a manager.

I don't have experience nor the certs.

I would like to pursue GRC

I was always told start at help desk.

Hello Community!

I’ve been in IT/InfoSec for quite some time, spending the last 8+ years leading teams and building out departments, primarily in startups and SMBs.

I’m at a point in my career where I’d like to move into more senior leadership roles (VP, Head of IT/Security, CISO, etc.), ideally with larger teams and multiple layers of management reporting into me.

One piece of feedback I’ve received from both a recruiter and a CISO is that while my experience is solid, I lack experience managing other managers. It’s a bit of a catch-22: I need that experience to land these roles, but it’s difficult to gain it without already being in one.

I’ve also found it challenging to break into larger organizations. Much of my experience involves building and scaling functions from the ground up, but that doesn’t always seem to translate into what larger companies are looking for. I’m also hesitant to take a significant pay cut just to get my foot in the door.

For those who’ve made the jump from SMB/startup leadership into senior roles at larger enterprises, how did you navigate it?

Did you take a step back in title or compensation, target mid-sized organizations first, or find another way to bridge that experience gap?

I’ve recently been hired as a SOC analyst and am particularly interested in penetration (hehe) testing. I come from a financial/risk analyst background with big emphasis on agentic flows/anomaly detection and want to get the necessary skills under my belt asap.

While we’re here what would be considered the highest growth domains within cyber? What’s considered more future proof? Big reason I’m jumping from finance is wanting a more transferable skillset i.e. I’m not stuck in finance.

Cheers.

Looking for better opportunity (IAM)

Hello folks,

I'm looking for better opportunities in Identity related roles and cyber security.

I have 1.3 YOE in Identity and security at a service based company. Working primarily on entra id

Certifications I hold - SC 300 , SC 500 and CCAR-F

I need a better opportunity to learn and grow.

Tbh I feel underpaid for the work I do.

Any advice, suggestions or your precious comments are valuable.

Thanks.

I am looking to transition into Cloud security as the title suggests, not sure what the best path to get there is.

Currently an ISSO for about 10 months, before that was cybersecurity engineer for little over a year, before that 8 month cloud security internship. I have my bachelors and Masters in cybersecurity from WGU, certs Net+,Sec+,CYSA+,Pentest+,AWS CCP. Have TS as well. My last job was also tied to RMF but supported Cloud environments vs now is all on premise and I am looking to get back into more technical and cloud side.

Any Advice tips or roles for me?

Hi everyone,

I’m a final-year Btech student currently looking for full-time or internship opportunities in:

• Network Engineer / Network Support
• NOC / Network Operations
• Network Security
• Wireless Networking
• Cloud Networking / Network Automation
• Cybersecurity

Skills: CCNA-level networking, routing & switching, VLANs, TCP/IP, Wireshark, Linux, Python, SQL, Git, Zabbix/network monitoring, and basic network security.

I’m looking for entry-level opportunities and am open to learning the technologies required for the role.

If anyone knows of relevant openings, please comment or DM me. I can share my resume privately.

Thank you! 🙏

Thinking of pivoting into cyber from software engineering. Wondering if getting a masters in cybersecurity with 3 years of software engineering experience would be valuable enough to not have to start from 0. I really want to get into government work as well and it seems like I already need a clearance as a software engineer to get in. Still doing my research, just wondering

My B.tech in CSE in India was done in 2024, I couldn't get hired in campus placements back then because I wasn't capable enough. I started doing TryHackMe paths for red teaming and pentesting and portswigger web security academy labs. Since my B.Tech has been done I worked as a free security intern at a company for 6 months from December 2025 to June 2026, I've pentested their products with the assistance of claude, one product was based on python django framework and other one was low-code no-code website built with php. I left it in june 2026 because the environment wasn't nice and the people who were working in the IT team of that company started to leave one by one. Since June 2026, I've been applying for jobs online, but I was only able to get a few phone calls and only 1 interview that too in a walk in drive. I was able to answer the questions related to basics theoretically like how its in the labs but I wasn't able to answer some scenario based question with confidence, i think i need some practice interviewing. So my main gripe now is, the year is about to end and that might translate into almost 3 years of gap after my College. I am thinking about preparing for SOC roles too via letsDefend and apply for SOC level L1 roles cause I've observed that they are available more than red teaming/pentesting jobs. So looking at how things are going for me, will I be able to get into IT/Cybersecurity by then?

Hey everyone!

I’m currently working as a SOC Analyst, gaining hands-on experience in security monitoring, SIEM, log analysis, alert investigation, and incident response.

Outside my regular work, I’m interested in exploring practical cybersecurity projects, particularly in areas such as:

• Blue teaming and detection engineering
• SIEM use cases and detection rules
• Threat hunting and incident investigation
• SOC automation using Python
• AWS/Azure security and IAM

I’d like to apply my existing knowledge to real-world security challenges and contribute to projects where I can improve my technical skills while building something useful for the cybersecurity community.

I’m particularly interested in open-source security tools, detection rule development, and improving security monitoring workflows.

For those working in these areas, what open-source cybersecurity projects or technical challenges would you recommend exploring to gain practical experience beyond day-to-day SOC operations?

I’d appreciate any technical recommendations or insights from the community.

My sweet sweet loving husband is very qualified.
Lots of certs
Masters / BA in cyber
Military experience With leadership

Very competent

However…he is just so shy. He has always been this way . As teens he never had much to say and would stumble and ramble his way through sentences.

He has been working on his public speaking but he has a really bad nervous tick and rambles .

I love him to death but I definitely am the one to argue he didn’t want cheese on his burger.

I’m scared that this will hurt his job hunt. He is starting his applications / job hunt in November and I just worry about him.

From your experience is it always you boyishly handsome and charming people that are making it in this field or will they see his work ethic and capability as something to put faith in.

He never had to interview for a real job. He worked at Walgreens and then joined the military.

Looking for anyone in the hedge fund space to speak with on experience.. feel free to DM or comment here. Looking for people with actual experience, current or former.

I have two years experience in Help Desk/Systems Administration/Vulnerability Scanning. Prior to this I worked in IT Audit, Information Assurance, and IT Compliance for 14 years.

I've always enjoyed writing about technology tools and explaining/demonstrating how they work. I would love to get into a position where I provide instruction/guidance on how to use such products. I have no restrictions on travel.

Would anyone know how I could increase my chances of getting this type of work and how one would go about getting such a position?

So after I already believed that I would never get a job in this field, at least in this market situation, I got an email from a company I applied to through the “Easy Apply” feature that I even forgot I applied for.

And then they started saying that they saw my resume and thought I was a good fit and stuff.

Then they asked me to solve a technical challenge, and I delivered it way before the deadline.

Then they said sorry, they needed me to solve an additional challenge.

And it was so much harder, and it took a lot of time from me, but I still delivered it way before the deadline.

And then they were happy and gave me good feedback that I was able to solve these hard technical challenges. They told me all the files were correct and everything was good, but they just needed a write-up explaining the steps I took to solve it!

And I did the write-up, and everything was explained, and I told them if they needed me to clarify any step, I was happy and ready to clarify it!

Then they came back to me after a couple of days and basically just said sorry, they don’t think I’m a good fit, without even giving any feedback!!

And I was likeee in my mind, what?? Really?? Are you serious???
After I spent days solving your hard technical challenges, and you confirmed that everything was good, and you gave me good feedback, and you haven’t even done any interview with me, and now you just send me a message saying I’m not a good fit without even giving any specific feedback??

I really feel we should get paid for the time we spend on technical challenges and interviews because it takes days from our time and life, so employers can take us more seriously rather than just playing with our feelings and hope!

When someone meets me and knows that I have done a degree in cybersecurity and tells me, “OMG, I want to get into the field,” at this point I don’t know what to tell them because if I say it’s hard and getting a job is so hard, they will think I’m a gatekeeper, but it’s just sad how it is now!

So now, honestly, I feel with this joke of a market and crazy employers, I would like to say to anyone who is looking for a job that we are really cooked…

Rather than chasing and trying to find just a job and letting employers move us like chess pieces, we should try to consider another field that could possibly be much better, or we open our own businesses!

I also would like to thank my family for supporting me in this journey. Otherwise, I would probably be working at a fast-food place for minimum wage right now!

I don’t know what I will do next in my life, but I really got enough from this field, and I don’t want to lower myself anymore or feel like I’m begging just to get a job.

This life is unfair, and thank you!
or feel like I’m begging just to get a job.

This life is unfair, and thank you!

Hey guys,

Recently I applied for an IT infrastructure intern role at a startup cum MNC and gave the OA for it. Mostly it was personality-based and less tech-based, which was quite easy. Now today I got another assessment link for a product support intern from the same org. Are they considering me for another role as per my skills?

And if yes, what to prepare for this kind of role is related to product testing or something?