4 Ways to Build Hands-On Cybersecurity Skills Without a Job

I hope everyone had a great week. I hope I can deliver valuable content to anyone in my network who is currently on their journey to transitioning into the cybersecurity field. I always do my best to tailor my content based on my experience when transitioning from the Marine Corps to the civilian sector so all my articles have my story as well. Today i want to talk about 5 ways you can build cybersecurity skills without having job in cybersecurity.

How Do I Get Experience?

Fort Dix, New Jersey: December 20th, 2020

?? I remember sitting in my empty apartment and wondering what life would be like if I worked in cybersecurity. I used to imagine how proud I would be of myself if I could leave the Marine Corps and stop working the job I did not enjoy. I didn't have a bed in my room only because I had just moved into my apartment, and the only thing I had was all my computer equipment stuffed in boxes, as tomorrow I was going to prepare to unpack everything and set up my work environment. The one thought that would pop into my head before I went to sleep was how am I going to build relevant experience to be credible enough to work in the cybersecurity field when I leave the military?

?? By the time I was able to set up my work environment, I remember scrolling through my LinkedIn account and looking into ways to turn my professional account into a honeypot of relevant cybersecurity skills that I could accumulate on my off-time. I wanted to build my own experience, but was I going to do courses? Or projects? Or just rack up certificates? How am I going to make this transferable to a relevant experience? This is when the engine to my creativity took off.

The Challenge Began...

Volunteering

??This is how you can get some experience working in the field. When I was in the Marine Corps, I would volunteer to perform Information technology tasks with the system administrators who worked in our Unit. When learning new things about server management, I would take any training manuals that gave an even better-detailed overview of system tasks and read them. And if I was given permission, I would perform the tasks on the server. Sure, it is extra work, and at times, it could feel like a waste of time, but if you pay attention to what is being taught to you. You could add that experience to your resume and be comfortable explaining what you learn to someone.

??Whether you're in HR, retail, or an administrative office, don't limit yourself to your current role. Cross-training within your organization can provide you with a wealth of experience that you can showcase on your LinkedIn profile or resume. By thinking outside the box, you can stand out and show your potential for growth and passion for the field.

??When I got my part-time job, I didn't want it for the money. During the interview, I told the hiring manager I would work for free as long as I could accumulate experience. At the end of the day, the money does not matter, but the experience and obtaining a part-time job could drastically increase my marketability. I looked at my part-time job as a volunteering opportunity, but it turned into a separate career.

Projects (Automation)

?? I spent thousands of hours when I was in the Marine Corps during my off time learning automation and programming. I find this skill valuable because you do not need to work in a corporate environment to learn programming. This is a technical skill you can learn by yourself. And I took advantage of that during my off time. For every project I built with whatever programming language I was using, I would add it to my GitHub portfolio. Automation is a skill that cybersecurity professionals will always need. It's better to learn how to program than to explain the definition of TCP/IP. You can be the one to build cybersecurity tools rather than rely on someone to give you the tools.

??Imagine if you could focus on honing your programming skills and use them to market your cybersecurity expertise. By building projects related to cybersecurity, you can set yourself apart in a field where competition is fierce. Don't underestimate the power of programming in this context. It's not about pushing the programming side but about recognizing the need to be competitive. In a high-stakes market, having a programming language and a GitHub account with your projects is a strategic advantage, regardless of AI and ChatGPT.

??I started with IOS development, which eventually helped me learn other programming languages, such as Python. The point behind this is that there is no perfect programming language. Pick one and stick with it until you learn enough to transfer the same concepts to another programming language.

Coding / Cybersecurity Boot Camp

?? When leaving the Marine Corps, I paid out of pocket to go into coding boot camp. I was unsure if it was a good idea as it cost almost 2,000$ dollars. And at the time, that was a lot of money for me as I was leaving the USMC. But I did it; even though I was proficient at programming, I wanted to add coding boot camp to my marketability. And it paid off as that was the first thing that stood out to my hiring manager, and I got the job. He didn't look at my degree.. He glimpsed at my military experience as there were many candidates already in the military that he was interviewing. But the coding boot camp sold him into investing his time in me.

??I dont agree with people going to 50,000-dollar boot camps that no go. I went to Nucamp, and the cost of attending coding boot camp was relatively cheap. I recommend learning programming during your off time but adding a coding boot camp to your background to show your precise learning abilities in logical thinking.

??If you need to improve at programming, it can help as well, but for marketability, it's a good way to compete against other candidates in the cybersecurity field. But make sure you are learning and not just putting 2,000K or whatever amount into just getting a certificate. Add value to it like you would with Security +.

Home Based projects

?? When I was in the Marine Corps, I met a staff sergeant who had a box server with Linux installed as the main operating system and a few Cisco switches. I went ahead and bought the server from him for 50$ and the other switches for 10$. When I got back to my apartment, I went ahead and set up my server for remote access SSH and configured my switches so I could remote from my laptop. I learned how to use a remote desktop and also taught myself Linux and the basics of switching and networking. I used these skills and developed content on LinkedIn explaining what I did in my newsletter and medium account. When it came close to writing my resume, I used my newsletter & medium as a way to market my technical skills on my resume.

?? You dont just need to find a job. There are other ways to market yourself and experience as a professional and someone studying cybersecurity. I hate it when people say I can't find a job, so I can't get experience. That's not true. You can develop content, freelance, or start a business and market your technical skills to fill in your resume. If you already have work experience, this can be a great addition to your resume when showing your passion for the field. Remember, this market is about competition, and if you are not willing to put in the work, you will be outnumbered by all the people trying to transition into the cybersecurity field.

??I developed content and marketed my technical skills based on it to fill in my resume and also hit those keywords, whether I had working experience or not. I was working when developing that content and teaching others about it. Sure, you might not be making any money from it, but imagine people who are actually at least trying to stand out. They will have more success than you.

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