Jordie Kern ⋅ Amherst, MA 7 Eagle Group ⋅ 27 years experience

Let me know if you'd like to join our free career development program for Veterans. We deploy you on squads for contract positions in cyber. More info: www.7eagle.com/career-development

Carlos Carrillo ⋅ Colorado Springs, CO IBM ⋅ 25 years experience

Hi Jamal,

When considering the cybersecurity field keep in mind that there are many specialties within cybersecurity. For example, you can focus on the system administration side working on patch/configuration management to ensure systems/applications are current. Also, you can specialize in managing Security Event and Information Management (SIEM) systems such as QRadar and Splunk to name a few. You may also be interested in the highly specialized fields such as digital forensics, incident response, malware reverse engineering and cyber threat intelligence. The bottom line is you have many options when you choose the cybersecurity career field and I can assure you the work in cybersecurity is never dull. A successful career in cybersecurity doesn't require degrees in computer science or engineering. Success in my experience is based on your desire and commitment to learn the field/specialty. Many of the brightest people I've worked with in my 25+ years in the industry didn't have comp sci or engineering degrees.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Carlos

Deanna Corbett ⋅ Winter Garden, FL VMware ⋅ 21 years experience

Hi Jamal,

There are a number of paths you could pursue ranging from easier to more difficult:

-- Obtain an internship in Security at a tech company [Very entry level but you will obtain real world experience on a narrowly focused area]
-- Get a job on a Customer Service, Customer Support, or Customer Success team [Entry level but you will gain broad knowledge across a wide swath of areas]
-- Look for opportunities to become a Systems Engineer, Product Specialist, or similar type role on a Sales team [You will need to network with people who are Security sellers at a tech company to secure a position like this, but it will be a better paying job with more room for advancement]

Use platforms like LinkedIn to locate people who work at companies that you want to learn about - that you would consider working at - and ask to set up informational interviews to learn about the company, the types of opportunities they offer, the necessary skills, qualifications, or certifications to land an internship or a job. Ask advice on good ways to network inside of their industry, such as professional associations that might have local chapters you could become part of.

Always search for the Veterans Hiring Programs offered by many large companies as a way to potentially get additional training that may help you get hired.

Let me know if this prompts other questions for you.

Jamal Lewis ⋅ Mc Ewen, TN U.S. Army National Guard, Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Thank you both for the resources! I'll look into both of these links!