First off, welcome to the world of cyber-security.
A lot of people may disagree with me, but I would recommend getting a job on a helpdesk or another entry level IT job. Decide what facet of security (network, devops, malware analysis, IR, pen testing, red/blue team, etc.) you are interested in and then try to get a job doing anything related to what you are interested in. Learn as much as you can, talk to the guys doing security and pick their brains, ask what you can do to ensure that you are doing things the way they need to be done from a security standpoint (as long as it does not conflict with how your boss has told you to do it). That way when you get your first security role you will understand how the different parts of IT work together, and you will have a good understanding of how to secure what needs to be secured. I know some extremely smart people in their security specialty that cannot troubleshoot simple windows issues.
The other thing I would recommend is finding out if there are ISC2, ISSA, ISACA, OWASP, or other IT groups in your area. Start attending meetings/get-togethers and network with people in your area. This will help in your job search and in future opportunities. It also will help with your CPEs for the certs.
Feel free to reach out if you have other questions, and I will do my best to answer them.
