Breaking Into Cybersecurity: A Roadmap for Students
Cybersecurity is not truly entry-level without serious effort outside the classroom. Here is a nine-step roadmap I wish someone had handed me.
Cybersecurity is one of the most talked-about career paths in tech right now, but it is not the easy on-ramp people sometimes make it out to be. You cannot protect what you do not understand. That means before you specialize in security, you need to understand what you are protecting: networks, systems, business operations, and the people using all of it.
I spent a decade in this field, starting on the helpdesk and working my way up through network administration and systems work before landing full-time in security. I also served as President of Nova Southeastern University's ethical hacking club, where I watched a lot of students try to shortcut their way into security roles without that foundation. Some made it. Most did not.
This is the roadmap I give when students ask me how to break in.
Step 1: Prioritize Practical Skills Over Certifications
Before you spend money on a certification, spend time on a platform. TryHackMe and Hack The Box are free or low-cost, structured, and hands-on. You will learn more in a month of consistent lab work than you will from a study guide alone.
Certifications matter, but they are a signal of knowledge, not a replacement for it. Build the knowledge first.
Step 2: Join or Start a Campus Cybersecurity Club
If your school has one, join it. If it does not, start one. The community is where most of the real learning happens. You will find people to compete with, study with, and eventually refer each other for jobs.
Compete in Capture the Flag events. NCL Cyberskyline and NCAE CyberGames are good starting points and have structured student divisions. CTF experience on a resume is a legitimate differentiator at the entry level.
Step 3: Engage With Professional Organizations
ISC2, ISSA, ISACA, and B-Sides events are open to students and often free or very low cost to attend. Search Meetup and Eventbrite for local chapter events. Show up, introduce yourself, and stay curious.
The security community is smaller than it looks from the outside. People remember students who make an effort to be present.
Step 4: Consume Industry Media Regularly
You do not need to read everything, but you need to read something consistently. A few places to start:
Podcasts: Security Now, Risky Business, Darknet Diaries
YouTube: NetworkChuck, David Bombal
News: Set up a Feedly or similar aggregator with a few reliable security news sources and check it a few times a week.
The goal is pattern recognition over time, not memorizing headlines.
Step 5: Build a Home Lab
You do not need expensive hardware. Free Azure credits, a Kali Linux VM, or a basic SIEM setup on an old machine are all enough to start. The point is to get comfortable breaking and fixing things in a controlled environment.
If you have never spun up a virtual machine, start there. That single skill will serve you in almost every security role you will ever have.
Step 6: Pursue Certifications After Building a Foundation
Once you have some hands-on experience, certifications start to make sense. CompTIA Security+ is the most widely recognized entry-level cert. TCM Security's certifications are newer but respected in the practitioner community and much more practical than most.
Do not lead with certifications. Follow with them.
Step 7: Narrow Your Focus
Security is broad. Spend the first year exploring: try some AppSec, some network security, some GRC, some cloud. Then narrow down based on what actually interests you.
The people who build strong careers do not chase whatever pays the most. They chase what keeps them engaged, and that shows in their work.
Step 8: Secure Entry-Level Positions
Helpdesk roles, IT support, internships, and volunteering opportunities are all valid starting points. Do not wait for a perfect entry. Get in the door somewhere, learn the environment, and keep building.
When you interview, lead with what you have built and what you have learned, not just what you are studying. Genuine curiosity and the ability to demonstrate hands-on work will take you further than credentials alone.
Step 9: Keep Learning and Stay Connected
This field moves fast. The people who do well long-term are the ones who never fully stop being students. Keep building, keep competing, keep showing up to community events.
When you land your first security role, come back to this list and help someone else get there.
These steps are not strictly linear. Most of them happen in parallel. The students I have seen break in fastest are the ones who treat their education as a floor, not a ceiling, and build everything else on top of it.
If you are working through this and want to talk through your specific situation, feel free to reach out. I mentor early-career folks and career changers navigating this exact path.
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