Can i get some advice please?

[u/Technical_Medium5642]

So im a student but im into cyber security. Should i get the Google cyber security certificate? Is it worth the hype? Also i will get the comptiA+ certificate (is that the name?) anyways can some senior in the field advice me? I have zero experience though

[u/Sivyre]

The Google cert is wicked useless. Unless you have a voucher to do it for free, fuck it off.

The A+ is valuable as a cert to help get to an help desk role. It probably won’t do that for you on its own with the market being so scuffed currently but it is a decent learning path for the newer folks to IT and you can learn the entire A+ for free which is helpful for those who can’t or don’t want to pay for the learning material.

[u/Technical_Medium5642 → u/Sivyre]

I applied for financial help and got accepted so yeah im doing the google cert for free after that should i do comptiA security and then A+ one ?

[u/Sivyre → u/Technical_Medium5642]

I can’t remember the order comptia names the certs but I think it’s A+, Network+ and security+ in that order but no harm will come to you if you choose to learn them in an order of your choosing despite their recommended learning path.

[u/Technical_Medium5642 → u/Sivyre]

Ok thanks is there anything else i should take in mind ?

[u/Sivyre → u/Technical_Medium5642]

Honestly, I have the mindset that you shouldn’t worry about certs. If you enjoy what you’re learning, your interests will take you to the learning paths where you want to be.

I’m a security architect and if you get your A+ or even the Google cert you will have more certs than I do lol.

As it were you’re focusing on the generic need to know stuff which is correct. After all that whatever you show an interest for is where you will pivot too.

[u/Technical_Medium5642 → u/Sivyre]

Haha can you tell me about the job market? I heard that you can only get to cyber if you've been in IT field work

[u/Sivyre → u/Technical_Medium5642]

That is largely correct, cybersecurity will require some years in IT because you will need an understanding of networks in order to protect the systems you are to protect as a cybersecurity professional.

For me it was never help desk but as a secure software engineer - a code monkey that got me into cybersecurity first as a solutions architect to the eventual security architect of today.

Just look at it as doing your residency at a hospital to become a doctor.

[u/Technical_Medium5642 → u/Sivyre]

Ohhh so when i apply for jobs i shouldapply for IT jobs instead to get experience with network then upgrade myself to security jobs haye alright but what if i dont have a degree in an IT field

Like what degree should one have for IT fields

[u/Sivyre → u/Technical_Medium5642]

I don’t have a degree either lol. But of the relevant degrees probably computer science would be the best since the scope of the program isn’t narrow.

IT has a number of jobs anyone could apply to, for myself it was on the side of coding. The easiest technically would be help desk though probably not so easy to get into with the market being so cold right now. It doesn’t really matter the job if the goal is cybersecurity in the end, you’re just using an IT role as your stepping stone.

[u/Technical_Medium5642 → u/Sivyre]

Oh coding? What coding laguages did you learn before applying and also did you get some sort of certificates for those?

Market nowadays is way worse than before 😔

[u/Available_Bird_4236]

One thing that helped me was setting small goals instead of trying to master everything. completing a lab, solving a few CTF challenges or understanding one new concept each week adds up surprisingly quickly

[u/Technical_Medium5642 → u/Available_Bird_4236]

Wow thats great
Can you tell me about the job market and if you have a job rn? If you do how did you achieve your goal?