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What's the hardest challenge you have faced in cyber security when starting out?

Credentials, certificates, credibility

technology fall25 cyber-security
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Val’s Answer

The hardest challenge I faced when starting out in cybersecurity was transitioning from accounting into a highly technical field and feeling like I didn’t fit in. I struggled with confidence, credibility, and even failed the Certified Ethical Hacker exam the first time. Retaking it forced me to really understand the fundamentals, which built patience, grit, and a stronger foundation. Over time, hands-on experience became my real confidence booster. Being honest when I didn’t know something, asking questions, accepting feedback, and learning every day helped me grow from a beginner into a security engineer
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Laura’s Answer

The biggest challenge I personally faced when finishing out my cybersecurity degree was passing the Pentest+ certification test. It was a big challenge to play the "bad actor" role and be offensive (red team) instead of defensive (blue team). Other challenges those just starting out on this career path face are deciding what area of cybersecurity they would like to focus on. Many say "I want to do cybersecurity" yet there are so many different avenues to pursue such as compliance, risk management, technical testing, auditing, etc. And now we have AI in the mix which broadens the field again. Hope this information is helpful.

Laura recommends the following next steps:

Visit https://www.isc2.org/landing/1mcc if you are interested in pursuing a cybersecurity career, it's a good source of information to get started with.
https://www.sans.org/mlp/cybersecurity-training-community is also a good source of information.
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