In order to ‘secure something’, you first need to understand what that ‘something’ actually is.

I highly recommend anyone new to the field, focus on developing core concepts and understanding, first above all else.

Starting out in helpdesk support is one of the best places IMO. You often get a lot of exposure fast, interact with multiple teams (security), you practice thinking on your feet, responding to technical/helpdesk related ‘incidents/tickets’.

This is where I started, no college degree and no certs. Since then have moved onto sysadmin, I got interested in network, so I went that route. Found a huge interest in security, got caught up in a cloud migration in 2007 that went to shit, stayed on while other contractors left, did the grind - learned a ton, fast. Went onto work at AWS, Microsoft and now Google - jumping into cloud architecture, then cloud security and then kubernetes security route.

When you land your first entry level gig - always think with a security slant, asks to shadow folks, meetup with the security team, meet the CISO. Show your interest, your drive, but also spend the time outside of work to learn.

The other part of this is networking. If you are like me, you aren’t a huge fan of humans and would rather turn your zoom camera off - I get it.

However, practice meeting folks with similar interests. I hate LinkedIn, but use it as a tool to connect with other security folks in the industry - even better if they are local.

DM me, always willing and interested in connecting with people on here.

Good luck