General Career advice from cyber professionals

Hi all,

Just looking for some general guidance and advice even a few opinions from Cyber professionals already working within the industry.

I have been a Trades person for 20 years, a project manager, ran my own business and have 3 trades - electrical and electronics and building mechanical trade. I have done a bit of programming etc over that time and I am just trying to switch careers into a more cyber sec career.

I have enrolled in a Masters of Cyber security - however i have no under grad, and so far I have completed 2 subjects gaining an average High distinction mark. However the only "Industry certification" I have gained has been off my original self directed learning pathways with free courses on Networking, or the tryhackme learning pathways. As well as some other things like osint etc.

I am wondering if this makes me sound employable to anyone, I'm not looking for a job from you, but I am asking if I handed a resume in would I be looked at as an unfavorable/favorable employee due to the lack of practical skills and experience. The masters in Cyber security masters seems to be currently focusing on the non-technical aspects of Cyber-sec, however its the technical roles that I am much more interested in.

If anyone could offer some guidance in how I build good skills or if you think a masters is even a good move as far as getting into employment in the cyber-sec world is concerned? I am most interested in being educated in what is going to get me skilled and ready for work and am also happy to take on self education as well.

Thanks in advance

Certifications are (and have always been) a normal part of the weeding out process for those seeking employment in areas where volume and scope dictate using certs in the elimination process.  If serious about playing the game of cybersecurity, it's not wise (IMO) to seek to defy the known rules.

Additionally, I always found that interviews with "meat-market" recruiting firms can provide some understanding of the competitive steps that should be accomplished by aspirants.

Louis

And some information below if yu have not seen it.

https://cqureacademy.com/blog/cybersecurity-talk/cybersecurity-career


https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/entry-level-career-advice-aspiring-cybersecurity-professionals

For a job in IT you need three things, a degree, certifications, and experience. While it is possible to get a job without all three, it is more difficult. You may be able to get a contracting job with just certifications. The contract job will get you the experience and eventually you can parlay that into a career.

What you need is to find the right hiring manager who will have the wisdom to acknowledge your previous experience and see how it may help their organization. Networking, the people kind, not computer, would be the best way to do that.

You could also try participating in the forums here, and other similar sites. This may mean lurking until you feel confident enough to start posting. The forums you will give you an idea of the types of issues you'll see and how they are resolved.