Should a CISSP with 20 years' experience & rare Doctorate of CS in cyber have to work in Car Parts?

[jbuitron]

Hi all,

I have been a CISSP since I passed the exam in November of 2007. Have a BS in CIS, Master's in CISO Operations, & a Doctorate in CS/Cybersecurity.

      Have led teams of up to 15 cyber engineers, and led solving complex cyber issues. Am at Scientist Level in the Risk Management framework.

     Been looking now for 2.5 years; have applied for somewhere over 1600 openings. Interviewed probably 150 times. Still looking.

Since I have run out of personal funds and costs are only rising, applied at a Community College to teach . . turned down. Applied at the US Post Office . . surprisingly tough to get hired there too.

Am now applying at automotive parts stores; because I have very good Mechanical Reasoning skills and fix my own cars, I have a halfway decent chance of making slightly over minimum wage while selling car parts . .

I am in the NE Denver Metro Area and will take work anywhere within the State of Colorado for a reasonable rate. Would be delighted to work remotely.

I ask you all, in complete honesty . . with the 'business of cyber' continually griping/screaming about Not Enough People . . Should I have to go work in car parts just to stop losing money?

(The old saying goes):   What is Wrong with This Picture?

Private message me for more information and a resume.

Thank you all for reading,

Doctor Jan, CISSP, CCISO, DCS

[nkeaton]

@jbuitron  Your resume sounds solid to me.  I would encourage you to look for local active cybersecurity chapters such as ISC2, ISSA, ISACA, Infragard, OWASP, etc.  People that attend those know the local job climate and can provide assistance in your search.  We start ours with jobs looking for people and people looking for jobs.  Since Denver is a big city, you might also look for no cost cybersecurity events for further networking.  There are also a lot of government jobs in the area although not as good of employer as they used to be, your CISSP would set you apart.  Their jobs are listed on usajobs.gov.  I know is a tougher environment right now and definitely always a disadvantage being older.  Do what you need to, but please do not sell yourself short in the long run.  

Also while it seems counterintuitive, I know people that omit any degrees above a Bachelors.  They say that the higher degrees listed cause their applications to be put aside as employers expect to have to pay more for those and avoid them.  Doing a little research, it seems that this is very true.  

[emb021]

@nkeaton beat me to it to encourage networking.  If you aren't doing this, start ASAP.  I spent 7 years looking for a new job, thankfully I was working as a security consultant.  But the market sucks.

Look for local conferences to attend.  I don't know about local BSides, but there is the RMISC coming in June 2026 and the Rocky Mountain CyberSecurity Symposium (RMCS) just before it.

[dcontesti]

It is unfortunate but we see this story all too often.

Many folks that become unemployed for any number of reasons are now having issues finding employment in their chosen fields.

I have seen many articles from various organisations stating that there is a shortage of folks in cybersecurity.  Even ISC2 has come out and said there are over a million of unfilled jobs, hence the creation of the CC.

I have seen where folks are suggesting networking but that does not always work.  It is a good start but it takes time for those folks to get to know you and your skills (sorry to sound negative) and I am sure that you have already done that.

You may need to look at relocating (unfortunate) but that is the reality that we all face.

When I was looking for my last position, I wasn't getting any bite so this is what I did:

1. I contacted a head hunter to help me polish my resume and contact letter (most do it free as they are hoping to place you)

2. I let the head hunters sell me to organisations.

3. I widened my search area.

4. Actively sought out remote positions

5. Yes I did networking

Fortunately, I did find something local but it did take time.

All the best in your search

[nkeaton]

@emb021  I definitely agree that networking is a good way to become your own best advocate in the industry.  Our ISSA is my favorite organization that belong to.  There are people from many verticals and is great to actually be in an environment where can discuss current topics and learn.  I will never forget one of the people that I took once saying We never have discussions like this at work.  No, we don't unfortunately.  We do not have a Bsides here, but I use other resources to find local cybersecurity events.  They are fortunately in a good size city; so they should be more able to find work than other locations.  

[jbuitron]

I was set to go to last month's Denver ISC2 meeting, yet was ill with the flu. 

Am focusing on personal connections as much as possible.

Thank you