Need guidance in cybersecurity carrier

[swathiraok]

Hi,

I’m Swathi, a technology professional with over 11 years of experience in the IT industry, primarily as a Full Stack Developer. Recently, I’ve developed a strong interest in cybersecurity and am now transitioning my career in that direction.

I’ve already scheduled my Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) exam, and my next goal is to pursue the CISSP certification. I’m reaching out to seek your guidance on how best to prepare for CISSP—ideally in a cost-effective way.

Additionally, I’d appreciate your advice on how I can start gaining practical experience by contributing to real-world cybersecurity projects or communities.

Thank you in advance for your time and insights!

Best regards,
Swathi

Swathi

[Spirnia]

Have you thought about which cybersecurity path you’d like to pursue?

The major paths include: oversight and governance, design and development (your current role), implementation and operation, protection and defense, and investigation.

You can look into these paths here: https://niccs.cisa.gov/workforce-development/cyber-career-pathways-tool

There’s also https://www.cyberseek.org/pathway.html which talks about feeder roles into cyberspace and one of them is yours, software development. That roles can be used to get into cybersecurity analyst or penetration and vulnerability tester.

I wonder why you’d like to jump from the CC to the CISSP. That is a major leap.

It is doable. Just wondering.

As for the CISSP certification preparation, I used:

- ISC2 self-paced official curriculum

- Sybex official study guide for CISSP

- Sybex official practice tests for CISSP

- CBT Nuggets

- How to think like a manager for the CISSP exam book

- And if you need additional help with a specific sub-objective of the exam, the books under WannaBeACISSP cover a sub-objective each.

However, prior to using those resources, I had already earned my A+, Network+, Security+, and CC certifications.

Best of luck to you!

[emb021]

@Spirnia gave some good advise.

I will echo the recommendation about figuring out what EXACTLY you want to do in cybersecurity.  I see this too much with students and other newbies to our field.  There are many areas you can do in cybersecurity, and these areas have different kinds of skills and knowledge needed.

I would also recommend you network with local cybersecurity organizations.  Look for local chapters of ISSA, ISC2, ISACA, et al, as well as any local groups, Defcon, CitySec, etc.  You want to meet and engage with others in the field, and this is many times the way you will learn of opportunities in our field.

Also look for cybersecurity conferences, such as those put on by ISSA, ISC2, ISACA, and many of their local chapters.  As well as local BSides conferences.  Many of this will often have presentations and tracks of talks aimed at those wanting to get into the field.

[Spirnia]

And for educational online-labs which you perform through your browser, look into:

- TryHackMe https://tryhackme.com

- Cybrary.it https://www.cybrary.it

These two websites provide you with real nice labs!

And for free webinars that you can use to keep up with the industry, look into:

- BrightTALK https://www.brighttalk.com

[ericgeater]

Hello there!  I'm curious to know if you might continue to code.  Because there's also CSSLP, which focuses on secure software development.

[sanadshuaib]

Hi @swathiraok ,

I am also a developer who switched to cybersecurity, and let me tell you, CC is the right start.

I have passed the CC exam and am now aiming to gain more practical experience to strengthen my fundamental knowledge in cybersecurity.

After you pass your exam, I would recommend looking for vaulanteering opportunities in cybersecurity to gain more understanding on the subjects that you learned in the CC course.

ISC2 offers many volunteering options that you can benefit from.

Check out: Volunteering with ISC2

All the best.

[Steve-Wilme]

Since you're a developer, don't forget your local OWASP chapter as a source of useful information and chapter meetings that provide networking opportunities.