Is is easy to get in without a degree? Met a few guys that say it requires a few comptia+ certificates and the salary is 6 figures.
Yes, you can make six figures. You will not get six figures with a few Comptia certs, though. One of the harder fields to get into. Happy to talk about it though if you like. Here, DM, LinkedIn.
Reminds me of the dotcom era when certs could land you good paying jobs. Only to see many of those jobs go obsolete through many of the SaaS services.
I’ve been in IT for 40 years working in Fortune 500 companies. My son works in Cybersecurity also for Fortune 500 companies - currently for CrowdStrike. Currently he makes more money than I do. It took me 40 years to get this pay and he blew right past me at 29. It’s a great career for pay and security. All that said, it’s not an area of the company they aren’t going to train just anyone as the risks are obvious. I don’t want to discourage you but I also don’t want you wasting money on useless certifications. The certifications that mean something are expensive and hard to pass. Companies are going to want some with a degree, experience and certifications. If you get a degree that will most likely lead to experience. Which then leads to places of employment that will pay for the certifications if it will help you with your job - and you pass. But again according to my son, the easy ones don’t mean anything. The good ones are “challenging”. The last one was 6k and that was in 2018. One more thing, they do rather strict background checks. More than just your credit checks. So you need to be clean - not spotless - but clean. It’s a good path to take. I’m just not sure there are shortcuts. Though if you know someone and they know you can do the work you could get lucky.
Anyway, Cybersecurity is a challenging field to get into and you are better off getting into IT first then cybersecurity. A few certs ain't gonna cut it. And good luck getting six figures off the bat. No way.
I agree with this. I did it the IT support way, then switched into cybersecurity. I stayed in IT a bit too long, but such is life sometimes. I'm at CyberArk now. Very stable company, lucrative salary, but it didn't happen with a few Comptia certs or overnight.
Sorry I am a bit passionate about IT and can yammer on. The cliff notes are: It's a great field to get into for job security and pay. Though as others pointed out you won't make bank right away but if you push yourself you will. A good cert is expensive and not a breeze to pass. I've never heard of anyone getting a security job without a degree. A company can't afford the risk of a n00b especially in that field. Get a degree, get a job and let them pay for certs. Move around from big company to big company until you're happy and paid. I just didn't want to be discouraging.
Nice. I do their EPM implementation for our clients. It's like a sister product to their PAM / Password rotation product and such. It's a bit of a niche market product as opposed to their mainsteam PAM / P-Cloud stuff. Super stable company too. I just don't like doing it LOL. I think I'm going to try to get to the PAM side of the house @ CyberArk and see. More money in that, more mainstream support, and seems like a pretty cool product.
Experience is king in IT, and clearance is very important in cybersecurity. You're going to inevitably cross paths with some government agency. In fact, if you are vetted at the federal level (it's called 'suitability'), it's a massive bonus in your favor even for a lower-level cybersecurity job. I've seen plenty of veterans get cybersecurity jobs when they leave the military. They don't have a degree, just real experience with military level security systems, and of course, some higher secret level security clearance. They can slide right in to positions with no or very little background fuss, and chances are their new company or government position is filled with the same type of vets. So yes, you can get a job in this field without a degree, it just takes the right career path and experience. Either way there's no quick path, so be ready to put the years in. Good certs are icing on the cake for an experienced cybersecurity expert but as was mentioned before, they're pricey and you usually need to know your **** to pass.
Look into hacker stuff to see if you have interest in it. Going to a conference like Defcon would also help see if you belong or want to. Most corporate jobs don't go that far and usually hire people who know enough to know who to hire or outsource security needs while also having the communication skills to outline goals to the org. But if you're into math and puzzles, it's usually a gateway to bootstrapping that kind of career.
Certs can help set your Floor. It can get you in the industry but you will have to work your way up I would encourage anyone to get a cert. It says. . . HE CAN BE TAUGHT! Which puts you ahead of alot of folx Better than NOT having one Rocket River
Both my little brothers in cybersecurity..can confirm they make 6 figures and bonuses that makes me question my choices of field.
I started my tech career in IT. I made the switch to tech in 2017 and then worked at IBM for 5 years in IT. I then made the switch over to OT Cyber Security which put me well into a 6 figure income. I recommend starting in an IT position if you don't have the background already. I have a BBA degree (not related to my career), and my co worker has his HS diploma, but he's been working in IT for ~15 years, his previous position was an CS analyst position at Crowdstrike.
Every single post in this thread that mentions starting in IT, then going to cybersecurity, has my upvote/like no matter what. Because it really is one of the best options. Sure, you have to put in a few years or so (maybe 3-5, sometimes less) in IT, but you get a better foot in the cybersecurity door that way. No matter how many cybersecurity certs you have racked up , if you don't have any IT experience, you ain't getting into cybersecurity as your first job off a career change or anything like that. IT can be a great foundational point to gain some underlying security skills as well. A lot of what goes into an IT job, you can relate to a security skill. Maybe not a lot actually, but there are plenty of security elements in IT jobs as well. And make sure if you get an IT Support job, you ask for as much security-related **** as you can possible take on at X , Y , Z company.
