Underrated Cyber Security Certs that WILL get you HIRED

Summary

The video script discusses the outdated advice of pursuing traditional certifications like CompTIA and CCNA for a career in cybersecurity. Instead, the speaker advocates for hands-on, lab-based training, sharing the story of Josh, an electrician with a cybersecurity degree, who sought career mentorship. The speaker recommends platforms like Let's Defend for defensive technical skills and GC Mastery for non-technical GRC skills to broaden employability. The emphasis is on gaining practical experience and applying for jobs to build confidence and skills, rather than solely focusing on recognized certifications.

Takeaways

• 🚫 Outdated Advice - The conventional path of CompTIA, Network+, Security+, and CCNA before entering cybersecurity is considered outdated.
• 🌐 Global Success Stories - The YouTube channel shares success stories of individuals who achieved success in cybersecurity through alternative paths and trainings.
• 📋 Foundation Over Certifications - Emphasizing the importance of foundational skills and hands-on experience over traditional certifications.
• 🔍 Confidence Through Application - Gaining confidence in cybersecurity through real-world applications and interview experiences rather than just studying.
• 🛠️ Hands-On Training - Recommending lab-based, hands-on cybersecurity training as a more effective approach to learning and skill development.
• 🔧 Career Mentorship - Utilizing career mentorship calls to guide individuals in their cybersecurity career path and address specific concerns.
• 🔄 Broad Skillset - Advising beginners to focus on a broad skillset to maximize job opportunities rather than specializing too early.
• 🎯 Job Application Strategy - Encouraging job applications as soon as possible to gain experience and improve interview skills.
• 🔄 Continuous Learning and Applying - Emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and job application to increase the chances of landing a cybersecurity job.
• 🔎 Misconceptions About Hiring - Clarifying that hiring managers in cybersecurity are not solely focused on certifications but rather on practical skills and experience.
• 🌟 Specialization vs. General Skills - While specialization is important, having a general skillset that applies to a wide range of cybersecurity jobs is more beneficial for beginners.

Q & A

What is the speaker's opinion on the traditional advice of pursuing CompTIA, Network+, Security+, and CCNA before entering cybersecurity?

The speaker believes that following this traditional advice is outdated, comparing it to advice given 20 years ago. They argue that many successful cybersecurity professionals have achieved their goals without these certifications by following alternative paths and training.

What was Josh's background and why did he book a career mentorship call with the speaker?

Josh is a 32-year-old electrician living in the US who also holds a cybersecurity degree from WGU University, which includes many CompTIA certifications. Despite this, he felt unprepared and lacked confidence to apply for cybersecurity jobs, leading him to seek guidance from the speaker.

What was the speaker's first recommendation for Josh to improve his cybersecurity skills?

The speaker recommended a platform called Let's Defend, specifically its Security Analyst pathway, which focuses on the defensive technical side of cybersecurity and can qualify Josh to work in a Security Operations Center (SOC).

Why did the speaker suggest Josh pursue a broad range of skills rather than focusing on a specific specialization early in his career?

The speaker advised Josh to be as generic as possible to qualify for a larger number of jobs, maximizing his chances of landing a cybersecurity position. Specialization is less important initially, and a broad skill set is more marketable, especially for someone new to the field.

What is the speaker's stance on the importance of recognized training and certifications in the cybersecurity job market?

The speaker emphasizes that hiring managers are not just looking for recognized training or certifications. They value the skills listed in job descriptions more, and candidates should focus on acquiring practical skills that match the job requirements rather than chasing after recognized certifications.

What is GC Mastery and why was it recommended to Josh?

GC Mastery is a training program focused on the non-technical side of cybersecurity, known as GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance). It was recommended to Josh to broaden his skill set and increase his chances of landing a cybersecurity job, even if it's not directly related to his ultimate goal of digital forensics.

What are the other Hands-On training options mentioned by the speaker for someone looking to enter cybersecurity?

The speaker mentions Blue Team Level One, Hack The Box, and Try Hack Me as other practical, hands-on training options that can help individuals gain the necessary skills for a cybersecurity career.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the selection of a training course?

The speaker advises that the specific training course chosen is less important than the commitment to completing a hands-on, practical cybersecurity training. The goal is to gain skills and experience, not to collect certifications.

What is the speaker's strategy for job hunting in cybersecurity?

The speaker suggests starting with a basic foundational certification, then immediately engaging in hands-on cybersecurity training while simultaneously applying for jobs. This approach involves continuous learning and applying to gain experience and confidence, increasing the chances of landing a job.

What mistake did Josh make that is common among beginners looking for their first cybersecurity job?

Josh made the mistake of only searching for digital forensics jobs, limiting his opportunities. The speaker advises against this narrow approach and encourages job seekers to apply for a broader range of cybersecurity positions.

How does the speaker suggest improving one's chances of landing a cybersecurity job?

The speaker recommends a combination of completing hands-on cybersecurity training, gaining practical experience through labs, and applying to a variety of cybersecurity jobs to build confidence and interview experience. Persistence and a willingness to learn from rejections are key to success.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Challenging Traditional Cybersecurity Career Advice

The speaker shares an alternative approach to entering the cybersecurity field, emphasizing the importance of hands-on experience over traditional certifications like CompTIA and CCNA. The story of Josh, a cybersecurity degree holder, is used to illustrate the limitations of conventional wisdom. The speaker recommends lab-based, practical training and highlights the value of broad, marketable skills to increase job opportunities. The focus is on gaining real skills that can lead to a rewarding career, rather than just collecting certifications.

05:01

🎯 Prioritizing Job Acquisition Over Specialization

The speaker advises that the primary goal for beginners should be to secure a cybersecurity job, regardless of specialization. They should aim to acquire a wide range of skills to qualify for various positions, especially generalist roles. The speaker introduces GRC Mastery as a valuable training for the non-technical side of cybersecurity, despite Josh's interest in digital forensics. The recommendation is to combine technical and GRC skills to enhance employability and to focus on the first job as a stepping stone to further opportunities.

10:03

📈 Maximizing Job Prospects Through Continuous Learning and Application

The speaker emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and applying for jobs concurrently to gain experience and confidence. They suggest that after completing a foundational certification, one should immediately start a hands-on cybersecurity training and begin job applications. The speaker encourages persistence and a growth mindset, advising to keep learning and applying until the desired job is achieved. They also address common misconceptions about job hunting in cybersecurity and the overemphasis on specific certifications.

Keywords

💡CompTIA Security+

CompTIA Security+ is a certification that demonstrates foundational knowledge in cybersecurity. In the video, it is mentioned as part of the conventional wisdom for entering cybersecurity, but the speaker suggests that it may not be as necessary as it once was for career advancement in the field.

💡CCNA

CCNA, or Cisco Certified Network Associate, is a certification program focused on networking skills. In the context of the video, the speaker implies that pursuing CCNA might not be the most effective path for everyone looking to break into cybersecurity, as there are other, less traditional paths that could be more beneficial.

💡Career Mentorship

Career mentorship refers to guidance or advice given by an experienced professional to help someone in their career development. In the video, the speaker offers career mentorship to Josh, providing him with a list of hands-on cybersecurity training to help him gain practical skills and confidence for job applications.

💡Hands-On Training

Hands-On Training refers to practical, experiential learning where individuals directly engage with the material or tools related to a specific field. The video emphasizes the importance of hands-on cybersecurity training over traditional certification exams, suggesting that real-world practice is more valuable for career development.

💡Security Operations Center (SOC)

A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a centralized unit that monitors and manages an organization's security risks and incidents. In the video, the speaker suggests that the skills learned from the recommended training can qualify someone to work in a SOC, which is a key entry point for many cybersecurity careers.

💡Digital Forensics

Digital Forensics is the process of collecting, preserving, and analyzing digital evidence in order to investigate and prevent cybercrime. In the video, Josh expresses his ultimate goal of working in digital forensics, which is a specialized area within cybersecurity.

💡GRC Mastery

GRC Mastery is a training program focused on Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC), which is the non-technical side of cybersecurity. The video highlights the demand for skills in this area and how the training provides practical labs and assessments to prepare individuals for GRC roles.

💡Job Application Strategy

Job Application Strategy refers to the approach one takes when applying for jobs, including when to start applying and how to present oneself to potential employers. In the video, the speaker advises starting to apply for jobs immediately after completing a foundational certification and continuing to apply while further training to gain experience and confidence.

💡Blue Team Level One

Blue Team Level One is a certification that focuses on the defensive side of cybersecurity, providing practical training for roles in security operations. The video mentions it as one of the recommended trainings for someone looking to enter the cybersecurity field, emphasizing hands-on experience over traditional exams.

💡Hack The Box

Hack The Box is a platform that provides hands-on cybersecurity training and challenges, allowing users to test their skills in a safe and legal environment. In the video, it is recommended as a practical training resource for aspiring cybersecurity professionals to gain experience and enhance their skills.

💡Cybersecurity Job Market

The Cybersecurity Job Market refers to the demand and supply of cybersecurity professionals in the job market. The video discusses the importance of having a broad skillset to maximize job opportunities and the misconceptions about hiring in the cybersecurity field.

Highlights

The conventional advice of obtaining CompTIA, Network+, Security+, and CCNA before entering cybersecurity is outdated.

Success stories are shared weekly on the YouTube channel, showcasing alternative paths to cybersecurity without traditional certifications.

Josh, a 32-year-old electrician with a cybersecurity degree from WGU University, felt unprepared for cybersecurity jobs despite having multiple CompTIA certificates.

Josh's lack of confidence in applying for cybersecurity jobs is a common issue among those who follow conventional wisdom and certification paths.

The importance of applying for cybersecurity jobs to gain experience and confidence, rather than waiting for perfection from foundational certificates.

A list of lab-based, hands-on cybersecurity training is recommended for practical application of learned concepts.

Let's Defend is recommended for its focus on the defensive technical side of cybersecurity and its potential to qualify for work in a Security Operations Center.

Josh's ultimate goal of working in digital forensics, a cybersecurity specialization, is acknowledged, but broad skills are advised for initial job applications.

The myth that hiring in cybersecurity is solely based on recognized certifications and ticking boxes is debunked.

The importance of focusing on the skills listed in job descriptions rather than just the certifications.

GRC Mastery is recommended for its practical approach to the non-technical side of cybersecurity, despite Josh's desire for a technical role.

The necessity of being well-rounded in cybersecurity to maximize job opportunities, especially for beginners.

Blue Team Level One and Hack The Box certifications are mentioned as valuable, but the emphasis is on hands-on skills over specific course names.

The strategy of combining technical Security Operations Center skills with GRC skills to enhance employability in cybersecurity.

The advice to apply for cybersecurity jobs as soon as possible, even with the risk of rejection, to gain experience and confidence.

Josh's mistake of only searching for digital forensics jobs, illustrating a common beginner's approach that limits job opportunities.

The importance of a winner's mindset and continuous learning and applying to secure a cybersecurity job.

Transcripts

if you are told you must do the comp A

Plus network plus Security Plus and CCNA

before you get into cyber security then

you're listening to the same stupid

advice that was given to me 20 years ago

but what if I told you that every week

on this YouTube channel I post weekly

success stories from all over the world

by following advice from this YouTube

channel without even doing any compa or

CCNA instead they do other Sears and

training that you may not have even

heard of like the ones that I recommend

it to Josh so Josh who's 32 years old

booked a career mentorship call with me

last week he is an electrician he lives

in the US and he also did a cyber

security degree from WGU University

which comes with a lot of compa

certificates yet he was confused because

he followed the conventional wisdom of

getting those foundational certificates

yet he felt like he learned nothing he

didn't feel confident enough to even

apply to cyber security jobs but the

problem is if he doesn't apply to cyber

security jobs he will not gain that

confidence that he's after he needs to

be in interviews he needs to learn how

to answer questions on the spot this is

how we gain confidence so he booked a

career mentorship call with me to know

what his next move should be so in order

for me to give him the skills and the

confidence that he needs to start

applying to cyber security job I

compiled the list of lab based Hands-On

cyber security training where he can

actually practice the concepts that he

learned instead of just scking boxes

cramming and passing multiple choice

exams this way he can learn a concept

apply it in a lab remember those

Concepts that he learned the training

and certification list that I provided

him with are challenging they will take

time but this is the only way to gain

real skill that will open so many doors

and lead to a very lucrative and

rewarding career my first recommendation

to him was a platform called let's

defend it's full of labs that focus on

the defensive technical side of cyber

security their website is a little bit

confusing but what I asked Josh to do

was their sock analyst pathway because

the skills that he will learn there can

qualify him to work in a security

Operation Center which will open so many

doors but Josh told me that his ultimate

goal was to work in digital forensics

which is a cyber security specialization

where you perform cyber forensic

examination as part of an investigation

yet I still advised him to follow let's

defend the stock analyst pathway so he

can have broad skills that will maximize

his chances of Landing a sa security job

even if the job is not directly influenc

the idea is to give him as many broad

marketable skills as possible to

maximize his chances of Landing a job

the specialization itself is not really

that important in the beginning so I

advised him to be as generic as possible

so he can qualify for a larger number of

jobs but then the next question he asked

me is this training recog recognized

this one drives me crazy there seem to

be this myth circulating around that

hiring in cyber security is based on

ticking boxes beginners seem to think

that we as hiring manager we only look

at the name of the training or the piece

of paper they think if they show us a

piece of paper then that's all we need

to qualify for a job which couldn't be

further from the truth they also seem to

think that the reason why they can't

plan the cyber security job is because

they don't have this magical recognized

piece of paper I have no idea who

started this idea but please please get

it out of your head we most definitely

don't look for certain keywords you are

not going to trick a hiring manager by

showing them the word comp in your CV

that is not what we look for sure in

some job descriptions we might list some

certifications that are nice to have but

please don't ignore the rest of the job

description where we list the skills

that we need for this job the skills

part of the job description is the most

important part this is what you you need

to focus on so yes lit's defend is not

widely known however the skills that you

will learn in that training are

Universal they apply to every situation

and every country your situation is not

special you are not a special snowflake

now the next training that I recommended

for Josh surprised him it was GC Mastery

there is a huge area in cyber security

called GRC which is the non-technical

side of cyber security there is so much

demand in this area and there was simply

no training that can cover Your Tracks

when it comes to GC so I created GC

Mastery which is fully practical full of

Hands-On labs and practical assessments

that will give you the skills that we

need for GRC jobs but Josh wasn't after

a untechnical cyber security job in fact

he wanted the complete opposite he

wanted to work in digital forensic which

is one of the most technical parts of

saba security so why did I recommend GC

Mastery well Josh is an electrician he

has never never worked in it before so

he has zero it experience so in his case

getting any cyber security job should be

his number one priority he shouldn't

Focus too much on the specialization in

the beginning instead he needs to have

the maximum number of skills that will

qualify him for the largest numbers of

cyber security jobs out there he simply

needs to get his foot in the door now

there are a lot of cyber security jobs

that are generalist in nature so they

want you to have more than one skill

this is really for small and

medium-sized organizations they will

usually want someone with the title

information security officer or a cyber

analyst where they want you to work with

their security service provider they

want you to respond to some incidents

but they also want you to run some

vulnerability scans conduct risk

management work with auditor and even

run security education awareness

campaign so that's a large number of

skills now they don't want you to have

deep knowledge in all of these areas but

they want you to touch on all of these

areas so so in order to maximize Josh's

chance of Landing any cyber security job

is for him to be a little bit more

well-rounded so combining technical

Security operation Center skills and GRC

skills will put him at an advantageous

point this will make him a lot more

attractive to an employer than someone

who simply just did one track or one

pathway this is key especially if you're

trying to land your first cyber security

job and you don't have any experience

now I talked about GRC Mastery in detail

in this video so please check it out now

Josh's next question was what about Blue

Team level one what about hack the Box

cdsa both are certifications that I've

personally recommended in previous

videos are they good should he do these

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back to the video so to answer the

question which training course is the

best you may not like the answer but it

is the truth which is it doesn't really

matter the reason why I recommend

courses like let's defend or hack the

box or try hack me is to Simply get you

out of the mindset of chasing multiple

choice based exams and keywords and

other stupid courses that don't teach

you anything I'm trying to get you to

focus on the skills on the Hands-On Labs

that will actually lead you to a job the

goal is to maximize your chances of

Landing a cyber security job it's not to

collect trophies and keywords and

certifications so the skills that you

learn in in Blue Team level one or hack

the box or let's defend they're all very

similar so it honestly doesn't matter

which one you choose pick one and go

with it till the end now for Josh I gave

him four options to do after he finishes

let's defend and GRC Mastery the first

one is try hack me sock one which is a

fantastic training it's a great chance

to practice everything that you've

learned and strengthen the knowledge

that you already have in a practical way

the second one is called cyber Defenders

they have a fantastic security analyst

certification that's fully lab based

that covers everything that you need to

work in a security Operation Center it's

really ideal for someone who want to be

a sock analyst or even a digital

forensic analyst the third option was

hack the Box cdsa again it's another

phenomenal handsome practical

certification that takes all the boxes

for what I look for in a good training

and the fourth one was blue Team level

one which is a phenomenal Hands-On

training that again teaches you

everything you need to work as a cyber

security analyst now the biggest

question that Josh had that we ended up

spending the majority of the Consulting

call on was at what point should he

start applying to cyber security job and

how many set should he do should he do

all of them should he pick one should he

pick two which one should he do first

well this is what I told Josh and this

is the mindset that I want you to have

as well once you finish one basic

foundational certification like let's

say the Google cyber security SE or even

comp Security Plus then the plan is to

start doing two things first immediately

pick a Hands-On practical cyber security

training and certification don't wait

start right away start start whilst

you're fresh pick any of the trainings

that I recommended it doesn't matter

which one if you're not sure which one

to pick then do them in the order that I

specified but the second thing that you

need to do is to start applying to cyber

security jobs as soon as possible yes

you will get rejected but you also might

plan the job you never know but the idea

is as you continue to study as you do

more and more practical Hands-On

training and as you apply to more and

more jobs you will have more confidence

you will get more experience in

interview settings you will start to

know which companies are hiring this way

your chances of Landing a job will go

way up for example let's say you did

let's defend and GC Mastery and now

you're doing try hack me so one and as

you apply to jobs you might get an

interview maybe you'll get a job but

let's say you get rejected that's fine

keep studying pick hack the Box this way

you will get to go over the same concept

that you learned you might learn

something new but more importantly you

get to have more projects on your CV the

idea is to continue studying and

continue applying until you land your

dream job I want you to have the winnner

mindset don't stop until you get to your

goal and it can happen really fast it

depends on how much time are you willing

to dedicate to it but it also comes down

to how bad do you want it how invested

are you now Josh actually made the

classic mistake that I see all beginners

make when they chy to land their first

cyber security job which is he was only

searching for digital forensics job and

he was complaining that there aren't

many digital forensics jobs advertised

this is not the correct way to look for

jobs in fact this is one of the five

mistakes that every beginner makes when

they try to land their first cyber

security job I talked about them in

detail in this video so please check it

out and I'll see you there