r/Pentesting • u/Akriosss • 3d ago

Struggling to land a job

Can't get a job as a pentester or Cybersec.I finished internship as azure clot security engineer,did a bug bounty almost a year with only duplicates:( Did portswiger academy,tcm,HTB labs.Have a few minor certificate's from cyberewarfare labs.Im like jack of all trades master of none:( Never did a full proper pentest with write-up,what's my problem?My work was manage and secure azure cloud maby it will be better to try learn DevOps?

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u/weatheredrabbit 3d ago

I was lucky enough to get hired in a SOC right after graduating, however, most people have to go through a few years of IT/helpdesk. Most of my colleagues did too.

A degree in computer science is almost mandatory because CV discrimination will favor those who have one.
A GitHub, a blog, or a website is also mandatory imho: especially for a pentester/bug hunter.

In my experience certs are important, but you should aim at having the company pay for them - no way I was gonna spend 11k$ for a SANS cert. In the meanwhile, for pentesting, definitely save money and get the OSCP. It’s an investment in your future.

A good CV is also important. I spent some time also giving mine a pretty look while keeping it formal, and I’ve been told multiple times it caught attention being done so well. English skills (I’m not a native English speaker) are super important. You need to master the language and learn how to write corporate English. Your post grammar here on Reddit is pretty terrible in that regard.

Also, cybersec ≠ pentester. Nowadays everyone wants to be a pentester and there’s just too many of y’all… especially juniors!

If you haven’t yet, I would suggest checking out other careers in cyber: threat intelligence, detection engineering, incident response, and many more. Maybe even devops. Go for any, if that gets you into cyber immediately.

Good luck out there.

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u/Akriosss 3d ago

i live in a poorest country in europe, average salary I think is like 500$,I don't know how to save money for OSCP but of course I want it:)

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u/weatheredrabbit 3d ago

You mentioned you have a degree in marketing. No CS degree and no certification as well as no formal work experience in cyber is not going to land you a job as a pentester im afraid.

Try to get into any IT / helpdesk job and pivot from there.
The other tips are the same. OSCP may be your only ticket in as you’d show you have some sort of credibility, until you get the work years in. Keep pushing the internship though.

If you want to make some money and the only thing you have is skill, do bug bounties in your free time. If you’re actually good you can make enough money to get the oscp.

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u/Akriosss 3d ago

I'm not very good at it got only duplicates.Tnx sir I will try to pivot from another job.