the reality vs. expectation in cybersecurity.
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the influencer candidly discusses the reality versus expectations of a cybersecurity career. They challenge the notion of a 'skills shortage', suggesting instead a 'talent or experience gap', where entry-level jobs are scarce and competition is fierce. The script highlights organizational complexities and the cultural attitudes within companies that can hinder security efforts. It also touches on the daily grind and burnout faced by professionals, emphasizing the need for continuous learning in an ever-evolving field. The video serves as a realistic portrayal of the cybersecurity industry, urging viewers to consider both the challenges and rewards of a career in this domain.
Takeaways
- 🚀 The video aims to contrast the expectations versus the realities of a cybersecurity career, highlighting the complexities and barriers faced in the industry.
- 🎓 The speaker, a university student, initially had an idealized view of cybersecurity, expecting to read news and handle tickets, but found the reality to be more complex.
- 🔒 The speaker feels disappointed with the organizational barriers in cybersecurity, which are not as apparent when you're just starting out in the field.
- 🤔 Three main expectations versus realities are discussed in the video: the skills shortage gap, the challenge of adding value early in a career, and the daily grind of cybersecurity.
- 📈 The cybersecurity industry is often portrayed as having a skills shortage, with many high-paying jobs available, but the reality is more about a talent or experience gap.
- 💼 Entry-level cybersecurity jobs are competitive and not as readily available as expected, with recruiters seeking experienced professionals.
- 🏢 The organizational culture and leadership's attitude towards security greatly impact the success of a security team and individual within an organization.
- 🔄 Companies often underinvest in their security programs until they experience a breach, leading to a cycle of minimal effort followed by a ramp-up in security.
- 📚 The constant need to learn and adapt to new technologies and techniques can lead to information overload and burnout in the cybersecurity field.
- 🔄 The speaker emphasizes the repetitive nature of some entry-level tasks and the mental and emotional toll that the daily grind can take on professionals.
- 🌟 Despite the challenges, the speaker still finds the cybersecurity career path rewarding and is committed to continuing in the industry.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the video script?
-The main theme of the video script is the contrast between the expectations and realities of a career in cybersecurity, as experienced by a university student entering the field.
What misconception does the video creator address about the cybersecurity job market?
-The video creator addresses the misconception that there is a significant skills shortage in cybersecurity, suggesting instead that it is more of a talent or experience gap, with many qualified individuals struggling to find jobs due to a preference for experienced professionals.
Why does the video creator feel disappointed when looking at the queue of tickets in real life?
-The video creator feels disappointed because they realized there are many organizational barriers in cybersecurity that they did not anticipate, making the job more complex and challenging than expected.
What is the difference between expectation and reality regarding job opportunities for cybersecurity graduates?
-The expectation is that cybersecurity graduates would have many high-paying job offers, but the reality is that the job market is very competitive, and entry-level positions are hard to come by due to the demand for experienced professionals.
How does the video script describe the organizational complexity in cybersecurity?
-The script describes organizational complexity as a set of internal tools, processes, and company culture that a new cybersecurity professional must learn and navigate, which can be difficult and varies greatly between industries and sectors.
What is the impact of company culture on the success of a cybersecurity team?
-Company culture and attitudes towards security, including leadership's awareness and risk tolerance, play a significant role in determining the success of a cybersecurity team within an organization.
Why do some companies only increase their security efforts after experiencing a breach?
-Some companies may put minimal effort into their security program due to budget constraints or lack of awareness, and only after experiencing a breach do they ramp up their security budget and program, creating a cycle of underinvestment and reactive spending.
What does the video script suggest about the daily grind or burnout in cybersecurity careers?
-The script suggests that the daily grind or burnout in cybersecurity careers is due to the constant need to learn and adapt to new technologies, attack techniques, and industry jargon, which can be overwhelming and exhausting.
How does the video creator feel about the repetitive tasks often associated with entry-level cybersecurity positions?
-The video creator acknowledges that entry-level tasks can be repetitive, such as account provisioning or responding to low-level incidents, and that this can contribute to the feeling of burnout.
What advice does the video creator give to those considering a career in cybersecurity?
-The video creator advises prospective cybersecurity professionals to be aware of the challenges and realities of the field, to maintain a balance between expectations and the actual demands of the job, and to take care of their mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
Outlines
🤔 Cybersecurity Career Expectations vs. Reality
The speaker begins by acknowledging the cliché of discussing cybersecurity career expectations versus reality, a common theme in influencer videos. They reflect on their own journey and the misconceptions they had as a university student about the field. Initially, they thought the role would involve reading security news and handling a manageable number of tasks. However, they discovered that organizational barriers and complexities are significant in the cybersecurity industry. The speaker expresses a sense of disappointment as they realized the reality of the job market and the gap between the skills learned in university and the experience demanded by employers. They challenge the notion of a skills shortage, suggesting it's more of an experience gap, with entry-level positions being scarce and competitive.
🏢 Navigating Organizational Challenges in Cybersecurity
In the second paragraph, the speaker delves into the organizational and cultural aspects of cybersecurity, emphasizing that company culture and leadership attitudes significantly impact the success of a security team. They discuss the difficulty of assessing these factors as an outsider and the complexity of internal tools and processes within an organization. The speaker also touches on the reactive nature of some companies' approach to security, often increasing efforts only after a breach occurs. This leads to a cycle of minimal investment followed by a sudden ramp-up, highlighting the intricacies of working in the cybersecurity field and the importance of understanding organizational dynamics.
🔥 The Grind and Burnout in Cybersecurity
The final paragraph addresses the personal toll of working in cybersecurity, focusing on the continuous learning required to stay current in the field. The speaker talks about the overwhelming amount of information and the pressure to keep up with evolving technologies and tactics. They describe the potential for burnout due to the repetitive nature of certain tasks, especially at the entry level. The speaker acknowledges the challenges but also the rewards of the career, urging others to consider their experiences and to approach the field with a balanced perspective, taking care of their mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Influencer Bandwagon
💡Cybersecurity
💡Skills Shortage Gap
💡Triage
💡Organizational Barriers
💡Experience Gap
💡Company Culture
💡Informational Overload
💡Burnout
💡Entry-Level Jobs
Highlights
The video discusses the reality versus expectation of cybersecurity careers, aiming to provide a realistic perspective for newcomers.
The creator reflects on their third year in cybersecurity, realizing the complexity and barriers within the industry.
A common misconception is that cybersecurity has a skills shortage; instead, it's more of an experience gap.
Despite the high demand for cybersecurity professionals, entry-level jobs are competitive and hard to secure.
The reality of cybersecurity jobs is that they require not just technical skills but also the ability to navigate organizational complexities.
Company culture and leadership attitudes significantly impact the success of a security team within an organization.
The video points out the difficulty of assessing company culture as an outsider and the importance of internal company processes.
Cybersecurity professionals often face the challenge of informational overload and the need for continuous learning.
The video creator emphasizes the personal struggle with burnout due to the ever-evolving nature of cybersecurity.
Repetitive tasks and the daily grind can lead to a sense of burnout in cybersecurity roles.
The video encourages viewers to approach cybersecurity careers with a balanced view, acknowledging both challenges and rewards.
The creator shares their personal experience of feeling the pressure to constantly learn and adapt in the cybersecurity field.
The video serves as a cautionary tale for those considering a career in cybersecurity, highlighting the need for mental and emotional well-being.
A call to action for viewers to share their own experiences with cybersecurity careers in the comments section.
The video concludes with a reminder to maintain a holistic approach to well-being while pursuing a career in cybersecurity.
Transcripts
all right so I'm hopping on the typical
influencer bandwagon with dumb video
ideas like reality versus expectation
but in today's video I thought you know
as I enter into my third year and I've
had these conceptions of cyber security
careers I thought that I would create
this video as bandwagon as it is uh to
talk about cyber security realities
versus the expectation and uh as I grow
into this career I realized that there's
lots of things that I don't know as a
university student entering into cyber
security I had a picture of what the
ideal day-to-day would look like maybe
you read some security news triage some
tickets and maybe call it a day uh but
what I found is that there is a lot of
complexity and barriers when you are in
an organization and approaching security
with people and As I Grew into this role
I felt like disappointed as I looked at
a queue of tickets in real realize that
there's a lot of organizational barriers
that cyber security has that you
otherwise wouldn't have so in today's
video I'm going to be talking about
three expectations versus the realities
and this is subject to change as I
continue to learn new things but as a
university student or as maybe a
perspective individual looking into this
industry these are three realities or
expectations that I would just keep in m
in the back of your head now these may
seem like kind of overly negative and
I'm not trying to be a negative
individual here I think that there are
super positive things about this career
so starting out with expectation versus
reality 1 it's it's really the skills
shortage Gap we know that cyber security
marketing uh circles around the skills
shortage Gap and how many unopened six
figure jobs there are within this
industry you look at universities
marketing programs uh or boot camps and
courses and they'll tell you hey there
are 4 and a half million opening jobs
projected by
2030 and you think okay this is the
career I can get into uh and then you
start to learn the curriculum perhaps
pursue some certifications or maybe get
a University degree like I did myself
and you realize that um it's a lot
harder than actually looks uh well it's
an illusion so as a university student I
had the expectation that I would be able
to have job opportunities coming out of
school and when I applied online to
online job search engine websites I
realized it's a lot harder than it looks
I expected I had this relatively easy
time I had this resume I had a
University degree maybe a few
certifications which I had at the time
and I thought that I would be a decent
candidate but what a lot of recruiters
are looking for is experienced
professionals and this is where kind of
my controversial opinion comes in is
that cyber security really doesn't have
a skills shortage Gap or maybe that's
the wrong phrasing um it's more of a
talent or experience Gap that uh cyber
security has there are lots of students
and individuals which may possess the
skills or the potential with their
skills to go out and add value to an
Enterprise but what you find is that
recruiters cyber security managers and
companies in general are looking for
people who have already tenure with it
and specifically cyber security and
they're pretty stringent on their
requirements depending on which types of
company or sector you're looking into uh
so I think that that there's this
reality versus expectation where the
expectation is you'll have multiple
high-paying job offers but the reality
is it's very competitive for those
high-paying jobs you have to have and
possess the skills and potential and
ultimately um the realities are cyber
security jobs entry-level cybercity jobs
they may not exist or they may depending
on who you ask and they're hard to get
and I am not going to minimize that
within any of my videos they are are
difficult they're not impossible but
they're difficult this transitions me
into expectation versus reality which is
adding value day one or even adding
value year one um so when you look at
cyber security it's as much of an
organizational or cultural issue as it
is an actual technical tooling
implementation type thing um you know
company culture and attitudes towards
security ultimately will determine how
your department your security team and
you are successful within the
organization leaderships General
awareness and risk tolerance towards
security often shape how it's going to
look within your industry and this can
be really hard to assess as an outside
candidate unless you have maybe some
contacts inside who can tell you the
company culture um so as an individual
when you get into your organization
what you'll find is that not only is the
attitude important but it's also this
organizational complexity where you have
these internal tools that you're trying
to learn from a company how they uh deal
with processes in general and just their
overall approach to security and um
again depending on the industry or
sector you're in some of them some of
them are going to be more more risk
tolerant than others and more aware um
often times and we've seen this time and
time again it's basically a company puts
maybe minimal effort into their security
program with in terms of budgeting uh
personnel and training and then they get
hit by ransomware they get breached and
then they upramp the entire budget or
the security program and that cycle kind
of continues over and over again uh so
there's this level of complexity that I
didn't really realize going in is that
it's not
necessarily how can I write this bash
script to automate this really cool
configuration it's like that's cool but
unfortunately there's a lot of
organizational red tape and barriers in
Enterprises and that's just inherent to
working with people it's difficult and
complex and then finally for expectation
reality 3 I created a video recently
about this and I've been really feeling
this this year and that is just the
daily burnout or grind you know you look
at a lot of YouTubers marketing you know
they're sitting there on their cool
computers they're you know typing away
cool awesome things and it just seems so
trendy and cool to be a hacker or to be
an information security professional but
what you realize very quickly is just
the amount of information that you have
to continue to learn you know including
just like the advanced attack techniques
procedures defenses new technology and
navigating all the different buzzwords
you're going to have defense in depth or
zero trust or you're going to have all
these different buzzwords that you don't
really need to know but you kind of need
to know it's it's tough and the
informational overload and complexity
can consume you uh for me personally I
feel in my life is that if I'm not
learning or if I'm not doing something
industry cyber security related I'm not
growing and not only that but I'm
falling behind uh and then that's a
personal uh issue that I have to deal
with but I think a lot of individuals
feel that to some extent in themselves
one must continue to learn in this ever
evolving industry and not only that but
the tasks that you're doing especially
from an entry level perspective
depending on where you're at with in
security can be very repetitive you know
it could be account provisioning or
responding to lowlevel incidents in a
sock there's a lot of different nuances
with entrylevel security careers but
ultimately you're going to have this
Daily Grind or burnout and it just it
eats your soul eventually and I I think
I haven't really felt that until about
year or two in this industry and and now
I'm kind of kind of thinking like what
how do I actually approach this because
this is my career I don't regret getting
into it but it's it's just something you
have to deal with so you know the
ultimately the moral story is you know
don't trust or look at individuals on
YouTube with a little bit of a lens uh
including myself right I think everyone
has to feed the YouTube algorithm but
you you have to make sure that you are
going into this perspective of yeah
there's a lot of challenges and there's
a lot of good things and it's just a
balance between what you are looking for
so yeah that's my generic bandwagon
video on the reality versus expectations
this is subject to change as I learn and
grow in new ways in this industry and I
think that everyone has their own unique
experience so what is your experience
with cyber security careers are you
trying to get into it are you a student
are you an industry professional leave a
comment in the description or in the
comment section below this security
industry ultimately is a very rewarding
career path and um I I do think that
ultimately it's still the career I want
to be in um so make sure to take care of
yourself mentally physically emotionally
and well yeah until the next time have a
good day
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