180 degrees is quite severe… you weren’t working for a ransom ware outfit before this were you..? 😛 I think the first thing to do is ask yourself some questions.
What did you do before?
Have you worked in IT roles before?
What cyber security roles interest you?
What experience do you have that you think is applicable?
When you look at adverts for jobs that interest you way qualifications, skills and certifications do they ask for?
What are your reasons for the change?
I think your best option is to find entry level IT jobs in companies that offer training and progression. You’re more likely to be accepted.
You could try to land a role straight out the hat, and you don’t get know if you don’t try, but I’d advise strongly that this should be additional to trying for adjacent roles.
Join clubs, professional bodies - so an ISC2/ISSA/ISACA chapter local membership would allow for networking/find a mentor etc.
Learn, learn learn - if you have the luxury of going back to school computer science or a cybersecurity degree are solid options but require 3-5 years.
Certifications wise:
CompTIA’s security plus is your king entry level certification in cyber security.
ISC2’s CC is relatively cheap if you take the offer(it’s not free you need to pay fifty bucks once you pass). It’s young but can’t hurt to. SSCP is probably more useful initially.
Google offers a similar certified security professional that has a comparable cost with hands on.
If you really know your stuff from private study then look at Offensive Security’s OSCP - it’s hands on labs, and realworld skills test for pen testing…
Anyway good luck and all good strategies have fallbacks or alternatives should your main pillars not do so adaptive is good.
