Yet Another Riveting Tail of Tedium Begins.
Kicking off my journey in InfoSec was the same motivator that I would assume most have followed, the need for a real career and not just another job. Everyone I have spoken with has said the same thing, “You’re good at computers so work in tech”. Then when I speak with my tech friends and acquaintances, they all say the same thing, “go into cyber security”. It does appear to be a reasonably lucrative field, and we all hear about the latest leak and the last major attack, so it sounds like there is going to be lots of work moving forward. Job security does appeal to me, having bounced around a few fields through my years. That and the sting of the job market in my college field of study collapsing less than a month before I graduated. That last one still stings to this day, but alas I have decided to take it as reason to look at what careers are likely to be, and not just what is out there today. With that in mind, and a strong desire to move out of the largely dead-end job I am currently in, I made the decision to do self-studies in the field of cyber security in the hopes of improving my life.
I started around march of 2023; I had just lost my position with one security company and had started with another. I saw how much physical security would lead to constant insecurity. There will always be work, the never-ending crime wave we are living in will see to that, but it would mean changing sites and clients constantly. It also means little control of my schedule, and the chaotic hours that come with it. I’m no stranger to long hours, if anything I thrive on them. That said working night one day and day the next only to flip it the next week just is not a good time. However, that is just more motivation to change the direction in which I am heading.
At first, I wasn’t really sure what direction to go in, where to start so to speak. So, I picked up a book on Security+ and got started reading. As I began reading, I began looking into boot camps and study programs. I found one put on by Google through Coursera that looked promising, so I pulled the trigger on it. It took me several months to complete the certificate program and though it did introduce me to a large number of topics and programs that will likely be invaluable to me in the field, I would soon learn just how much I had yet to learn about cybersecurity.
With that certificate in my back pocket, I made the decision to get the Security+ as it seems to be an industry standard minimum for hiring managers. The Google course mentioned that it would prepare me for Sec+ so it seemed like a logical choice to get it. Before taking the test, however, I decided to do some practice tests online. I very quickly realized how little I actually knew. So back to studying, pretty sure this is going to be an ongoing theme in my life. Fortunately for me, I enjoy learning new things. Computer related especially so.
Thus enter the professor. Professor Messer, that is. His video series on YouTube has been mentioned to me by more than one person in the tech industry. So, I downloaded his playlist and began to watch the videos. Not going to lie, not a big fan of learning from videos alone. Lucky for me he sells his course notes and access to discord “lectures/Q&As”.
With that we arrive at the here and now, where I am at in this journey. A successful InfoSec member and YouTuber mentioned that a blog would be a good way to show others who you are and what you are capable of, far more so than a simple resume or cover letter. Thus, this blog, another riveting tail through the tedium of learning skills in the hope of riches and knowledge…or at least a fruitful career. I plan to post future milestones as well as what I am currently up to moving forward.
Bye for now!
