Seeking entry level advice - no degree BUT super high achiever

Mentoring
#1

I was advised to come here from a Cybersecurity forum on Reddit. I am interested in entering cybersecurity (or a role leading into cybersecurity), but I do not know the path to take.

First of all, I am 55 year old, living in a non English speaking European country. I live in France. I am turning my attention to try to find a remote IT/cybersecurity job. I do not have experience, nor a degree. But I do have customer service experience and project admin experience, from my years working in this role in Australia. I have great reading, writing and researching skills, in general. (and other degrees - accounting, marketing, psychology and import/export management). Plus I learnt french.

What fields can I get into, that would allow me to work remote, leading to something in Cybersecurity. I was thinking Vulnerability Management. I am a super high achiever (can you tell) and learn well if I get the right materials and with a structured course/approach.

I can easily waste alot of time in the wrong areas. Should I even bother? There are many negatives going for me.

I had a look at the Simply Cyber yt channel, however I found the types of information he discussed was targeted mostly to people already in IT roles, who wished to move into cybersecurity.

Should I do the Google IT certificate and would this be somewhat sufficient to get an entry level job?

Another yt channel suggested I learn the Qualys Vulnerability Management software. I probably could do this, but should I bother, is there any chance? I have never worked in cybersecurity, let alone IT.

So I am really asking for any and all information that this community can provide - direction, job search places for genuine remote jobs, but most especially, type/s of training that I can undertake to secure an entry level type of role, preferably related to cybersecurity (but not essential).

Open to all feedback…and please don’t sugar coat it. Here is my LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-f-2a300b135/

1 Like
#2

First decide on an area you think you will like.

Google the following terms and read up on them and make a choice:
GRC
Penetration Tester
Security Analyst
Threat Analyst

These are good points to start at, after that head over to https://app.cybermentordojo.com and pick and appropriate mentor (I suggest applying to 3 because people become busy).

Dont concentrate on the software concentrate on the methodologies around the concepts when you have decided upon a path.

#3

Vulnerability management would fall under a subset of Penetration Testing IMO - its a good place to aim for but it does require knowledge of the types of issues and vulnerabilities you are triaging.

To get this knowledge some basic penetration testing skills would be advised. Most pentesting is done using Linux (Windows can be used but most of the good resources out there for beginners is Linux focused) using a distribution called Kali.

If you are starting from scratch, i’d recommend having a look at some of the following resources:

If you come across any other resources and want to know if they are worth going in to feel free to post them here

#4

Done! Thanks very much. I am interested in GRC…and applied to a few mentors.

#5

Thanks for your response. And thank you for keeping it simple.

#6

What is the name of the Reddit community that directed you to this website?
Thanks