Cyber security & AI for SaaS

[Nicolayyyy]

<div class="bbWrapper">Hi there,<br /> <br /> Last night I thought about the combination of AI and cyber security to make a SaaS. With the rising importance of cybersecurity, integrating AI could help to prevent threats and scan companies networks for recommendation to make. <br /> While there are existing tools in the market, I believe there&#039;s always room for innovation...<br /> <br /> I&#039;m currently pursuing a degree in cybersecurity and will graduate in a year. But I have no idea about how could I make a solution like that, better than those which already exist, and I don&#039;t know how AI and machine learning works and their integration with cybersecurity. I guess it&#039;ll take a while to learn and build a solution like this, and it could be a good long-term investment but the potential could be boundless.<br /> <br /> I&#039;d love to hear your thoughts on this topic!</div>

 

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[ZackerySprague]

<div class="bbWrapper">The best way is to get a job in Cyber and find needs you have tools already such as Rapid7 Nessus, Qualls, SentielOne.<br /> <br /> You&#039;d have to find ways to be very different or find different value skews that the current software that&#039;s on the market. AI is becoming super popular now days and will mostly likely have some sort integration or feature into the current market products.<br /> <br /> I&#039;m not sure I&#039;d even want to tackle the market of cybsecurity and AI.<br /> <br /> A friend from this forum told threw some ideas on how AI could be used in different markets instead.<br /> <br /> To me it seems that the space will become very competitive, very fast.<br /> <br /> If anything speak to your audience and what problems they have. Another way that I found a problem was from the job I has at the beginning of this month to which I now regret quitting, but I found a need that could be solved and will have to create it and test it in the marketplace.<br /> <br /> This field though is starting to frustrate me, so much hurt, in a short amount of time. I don&#039;t mind lending a helping hand to give you a head start when you get out. Shoot me a message and I don&#039;t mind getting on a quick call. Getting into Cyber is becoming difficult.<br /> <br /> IT has always been the &quot;Holy Grail&quot; of jobs that was advertised as secure, but its not. So don&#039;t be mislead by the titles, but don&#039;t be scared either. It&#039;s an ever evolving field that requires techs to keep their skills up to date.<br /> <br /> Don&#039;t be siloed into a role that doesn&#039;t allow you to grow, test, and learn new skills. Always been experimenting and making mistakes, acquiring certs to keep yourself up to date.<br /> <br /> Best of all is just to get into the Arena of a Cyber job, find pain points, call the potential companies to see if they would buy it. A small soft validation if you will, then build the MVP and acquire your first customer.</div>

 

[ZackerySprague]

<div class="bbWrapper">A problem I discovered was ITAD companies not tracking inventory such as laptops, desktops, monitors, etc. Their just shipping product out the door without ever adding to an inventory management system. I think the market could be disrupted though. <br /> <br /> I even have a few great ideas that I learned from somebody on a network event for the keyboards, mouse, and parts. It&#039;s kinda cool. Kinda excited if I can bring it to life as well.</div>

 

[ZackerySprague]

<div class="bbWrapper">Another thing I learned from Mike Rowe from a friend is that you shouldn&#039;t identify yourself with your current profession, instead try to gain experience this could come from a job, Freelancing, or starting a company. A lot to unpack for another time.</div>

 

[Nicolayyyy]

<div class="bbWrapper">Thanks for your replies.<br /> <br /> I&#039;m struggling to know what I want to do in cyber security. I have some ideas in other domains, with machine learnings, some apps, but I find this hard to find a solution which respects the Fast Lane process in relation to cyber security.<br /> <br /> I&#039;m currently a student from Rob&#039;s Fox Legend Program and I&#039;ve done my first project, so I&#039;m really happy and I&#039;m trying to continue find some new clients to make other deals. I also thought to &quot;upgrade&quot; this web design stuff to a Digital Marketing company, it could be good, but in the short-term. <br /> <br /> I have an internship to make next year before being graduated, I hope that it&#039;ll help me find some issues that I could solve.. <br /> <br /> <blockquote data-attributes="member: 96450" data-quote="ZackerySprague" data-source="post: 1088111" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1088111" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1088111">ZackerySprague said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> IT has always been the &quot;Holy Grail&quot; of jobs that was advertised as secure, but its not. So don&#039;t be mislead by the titles, but don&#039;t be scared either. It&#039;s an ever evolving field that requires techs to keep their skills up to date. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Everybody tells me that IT jobs and cyber security jobs are &quot;the future&quot; and &quot;there will always be a job for you in this field&quot;.. So I&#039;m a bit lost about what decisions I need to make for the future, and I know that I won&#039;t be happy in that kind of environment.<br /> <br /> <blockquote data-attributes="member: 96450" data-quote="ZackerySprague" data-source="post: 1088111" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1088111" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1088111">ZackerySprague said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> This field though is starting to frustrate me, so much hurt, in a short amount of time. I don&#039;t mind lending a helping hand to give you a head start when you get out. Shoot me a message and I don&#039;t mind getting on a quick call. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Thanks, of course it&#039;ll be a pleasure to get some help. What do you do in life ?</div>

 

[ZackerySprague]

<div class="bbWrapper">In Cybersecurity you have three roughly generic umbrellas:<br /> <br /> 1. Penetration Testing<br /> 2. Incident Response<br /> 3. Digital Forensics<br /> 4. Compliance<br /> <br /> If your desire is to go Fastlane then the idea, would to see the job as a stepping stone instead of a career. <br /> <br /> It is true that you will always find a job in IT but it&#039;s sometimes never a good idea to stay in one place where it&#039;s very regimented in doing one skill over and over again. <br /> <br /> What you have to figure out is what is your end goal? Is it to be in IT or to be an entrepreneur? <br /> <br /> Fox&#039;s courses teaches you how to step into the world of becoming a freelancer by learning web design skills, sales skills, Prospecting, and business acumen to sell projects in a high priced range and solving problems. So higher hourly rate and less time to do the work per project. It&#039;s to help gain capital in order to fund Fastlane ventures. <br /> <br /> I can teach you just how to get a head start into getting into Cyber to find your pain points such as what certificates to get, what degrees to get (cheaply), how to create resume, etc. Just some generic advice. <br /> <br /> One good idea (to which I am need to learn) is to focus on one thing at the moment. <br /> <br /> A good idea to start is to read Nathan Barry&#039;s ladders to wealth article to get you a good idea on which Ladder you are on or should focus on atm.</div>

 

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[Nicolayyyy]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 96450" data-quote="ZackerySprague" data-source="post: 1088120" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1088120" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1088120">ZackerySprague said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Is it to be in IT or to be an entrepreneur? </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>My God, just the idea of being in IT terrifies me. Since I&#039;ve discover through MJ DeMarco&#039;s books that it&#039;s possible, this life is not only reserved to special people with special skills, I can&#039;t see myself in the comfort life, with a job until my 60s. So yes, my goal is to be an entrepreneur and be able to be useful in this world by resolving others problems.<br /> <br /> <blockquote data-attributes="member: 96450" data-quote="ZackerySprague" data-source="post: 1088120" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1088120" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1088120">ZackerySprague said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Fox&#039;s courses teaches you how to step into the world of becoming a freelancer by learning web design skills, sales skills, Prospecting, and business acumen to sell projects in a high priced range and solving problems. So higher hourly rate and less time to do the work per project. It&#039;s to help gain capital in order to fund Fastlane ventures. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Exactly, and I still have things to learn and take action of this learning.</div>

 

[ZackerySprague]

<div class="bbWrapper">Information Technology isn&#039;t a bad field, I love computers and tech forever and always. My dislike is the people that&#039;s in and how companies are run. Corporate America and I are not best friends, I have my reasons but I make due.<br /> <br /> The field is ever evolving and it&#039;s excellent to be in, even for Fastlane ventures. If I am to be honest, I love anything and all tech related stuff. I&#039;ve just been out of touch.<br /> <br /> As in our Fastlane meetup today in DFW, the advice that was given which everyone should heed as well is that. You will not be in a position forever and should always been learning something new on the side or in the job. You should always been looking for the next thing you will do or venture you want to pursue. So while you are at this job always been learning.<br /> <br /> I made this mistake by not doing it, took every paycheck for the last year up until now to squeeze and payback every debt that I could. I should have used the certificate programs (if it wasn&#039;t me paying for it and them reimbursing it) to keep up with mu skills.<br /> <br /> If Cybersecurity and AI is what you want to do then look into markets like agriculture, cars, etc. Old stale markets that still see huge potential in growth year after year.<br /> <br /> Micha Rohressien saw that the car market was worth $1 trillion in market cap and created the company prodigy, helped buyers buy cars online. He observed another company who got VC in a small sub-niche for helping buyers online buy cars online. Just stole the idea and made it better. I still believe he read Unscripted the 2017 version to find this idea. Because his company dates back in 2018 when it started on Archive.org. oh well.</div>

 

[Tau Ceti]

<div class="bbWrapper">I will tell you the same thing I said to someone who came to this forum months ago and wanted to start an analytics company(think paid Google Analytics) and add AI to it.<br /> <br /> If your only moat is adding AI to your product, then you don&#039;t have a product. AI in this context would being GPT-4 api calls.<br /> <br /> Now if you were to build your proprietary models with proprietary data and sell access to them to customers, then, you would have a moat of some kind.<br /> <br /> But the question remains, why is AI needed in the first place and how is it going to make cybersecurity better? If you don&#039;t have an answer for that question, then you don&#039;t have business.</div>

 

[EmperorPear]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 119339" data-quote="Nicolayyyy" data-source="post: 1088098" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1088098" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1088098">Nicolayyyy said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Hi there,<br /> <br /> Last night I thought about the combination of AI and cyber security to make a SaaS. With the rising importance of cybersecurity, integrating AI could help to prevent threats and scan companies networks for recommendation to make.<br /> While there are existing tools in the market, I believe there&#039;s always room for innovation...<br /> <br /> I&#039;m currently pursuing a degree in cybersecurity and will graduate in a year. But I have no idea about how could I make a solution like that, better than those which already exist, and I don&#039;t know how AI and machine learning works and their integration with cybersecurity. I guess it&#039;ll take a while to learn and build a solution like this, and it could be a good long-term investment but the potential could be boundless.<br /> <br /> I&#039;d love to hear your thoughts on this topic! </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>The first step seems to be to see what the current solutions are and try to find a flaw in them. Since you&#039;re a cybersec expert, if anyone could find a flaw, it should be you. Once you find something lacking, then it&#039;s time to make an improved solution.<br /> <br /> From a purely technical standpoint, I would go with a transaction analysis system by using Kafka for real-time data processing, and use AI to analyzed the data. Usually, attack detection is done by using <i><b>rule-based</b> restrictions, <b>threshold-based restrictions</b>, or both</i>. A machine learning model or neural network would come into play with <u>threshold-based</u> restrictions. <br /> <br /> Now, since you said you don&#039;t know how to develop AI, that sounds like a good place to start, because this is not something ChatGPT will do for you. Without going too much into technical detail, a neural network uses numerical parameters to determine an output from your input, ie. like a function. It also uses equations and algorithms like backpropagation or convex optimization (this one is more commonly known as deep learning) to adjust for errors in output by changing the parameters themselves, thereby <b>learning from its mistakes</b>. <br /> <br /> Now that the quick rundown has been given, I can explain why you should also <u>secure your neural network as well</u>! Now, say you have successfully trained your AI and you have your parameters. If these were to be <i>discovered</i> you would face issues ranging from attackers circumventing your AI, or competitors copying your parameters for their own product! As for how you should encrypt an AI&#039;s parameters, I would suggest <u>homomorphic encryption</u><i>, which allows you to perform computations on encrypted data. </i>This is already used for certain neural networks in the medical field, in order to build accurate diagnostic networks, while preserving patient confidentiality. <br /> <br /> It is an interesting project to make, and I hope I&#039;ve given you some ways to approach your problem and some topics to think about as you begin to solve it, rather than just bog you down with overly technical stuff <img src="/community/imgs/emoticons/em-haha.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":happy:" title="Happy :happy:" data-shortname=":happy:" /> Good luck!</div>

 

[RedSpider]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 96450" data-quote="ZackerySprague" data-source="post: 1088120" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1088120" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1088120">ZackerySprague said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> I can teach you just how to get a head start into getting into Cyber to find your pain points such as what certificates to get, what degrees to get (cheaply), how to create resume, etc. Just some generic advice. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Hi Zack, can you share how to get a head start in cybersecurity? I have been working as a web developer for the last 10 years, and I would like to make a career move to cybersecurity, but I don&#039;t know where to start.<br /> <br /> My goal is to seek a job in New Zealand as I want to get a citizenship there for a long-term goal. Thanks before!</div>

 

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[ZackerySprague]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 82304" data-quote="RedSpider" data-source="post: 1160555" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1160555" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1160555">RedSpider said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Hi Zack, can you share how to get a head start in cybersecurity? I have been working as a web developer for the last 10 years, and I would like to make a career move to cybersecurity, but I don&#039;t know where to start.<br /> <br /> My goal is to seek a job in New Zealand as I want to get a citizenship there for a long-term goal. Thanks before! </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Hello <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/members/82304/" class="username" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" data-user-id="82304" data-username="@RedSpider">@RedSpider</a> ,<br /> <br /> I could write a whole guide on how I got into Cybersecurity, but I believe it would not have any relevance today as I no longer practice Cybersecurity and have left. I have not been in the field as since my layoff of 2023 for a proprietary security-based product by Unisys Corporation. I have been in a solely-focused role in 2019 working for Apex Fintech Solutions (Was Apex Clearing before). Currently, contracting in IT, But I&#039;ll write a guide here.<br /> <br /> <b><u>Tips/Notes:</u></b><br /> <br /> 1. Attend as many cybersecurity network meetups as you can. You want to find like minded individuals that you can network with that could potentially open up doors for you in terms of jobs. I attended a few here in Dallas (Dallas Hackers Association, Hack Fort Worth, The Pwn School Project)<br /> <br /> 2. Enroll in Cybersecurity related certifications (<i><u>If you can afford it, most of the certification prices are outrageous, don&#039;t spend the money though this how I got into debt really fast on Credit Cards</u></i>) here are a few vendors I have purchased from in the past:<br /> -Offensive Security: <a href="https://www.offsec.com/courses/pen-200/" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="noopener">PEN-200: Penetration Testing Certification with Kali Linux | OffSec</a><br /> -EC-Council (Certified Ethical Hacker): <a href="https://www.eccouncil.org/train-certify/certified-ethical-hacker-ceh/" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="noopener">CEH Certification | Ethical Hacking Training &amp; Course | EC-Council</a><br /> -Stationx.net: <a href="https://www.stationx.net/" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="noopener">StationX - Cyber Security Training and Career Development</a><br /> -INE: <a href="https://my.ine.com/search?learning_areas.name=Cyber%20Security&amp;content_type=learning-path" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="noopener">INE</a><br /> <br /> 3. Get an Associates Degree in some related major - Computer Information Systems or Cybersecurity related <u><i>(Cheaply as possibly, don&#039;t spend crazy amount on here don&#039;t get yourself into debt, I spent a total of $3,000 for my Associates at Ashworth College)</i></u><br /> -Website: <a href="https://www.ashworthcollege.edu/associate-degrees/computer-information-systems/" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="noopener">Computer Information Systems Associate Degree</a><br /> <br /> 4. Udemy Course: Career Hacking - <a href="https://www.udemy.com/course/golden-gate-bridge/?kw=Career+Hacking&amp;src=sac" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="noopener">https://www.udemy.com/course/golden-gate-bridge/?kw=Career+Hacking&amp;src=sac</a><br /> -Wait until the course is at $12 dollars or find a coupon online.<br /> -This course is what allowed me to get a Security Operations Analyst Job at Apex Clearing:<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/1740919955222-webp.63915/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/data/attachments/58/58674-3caa849fb0bc8830bcfff3befd8d00dd.jpg?hash=R3wthkOUDj" class="bbImage " style="" alt="1740919955222.webp" title="1740919955222.webp" width="276" height="200" loading="lazy" /></a><br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/1740920002846-webp.63916/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/data/attachments/58/58675-b1e385cebec86f0cfa22844d8f2ab785.jpg?hash=qMzGirtio8" class="bbImage " style="" alt="1740920002846.webp" title="1740920002846.webp" width="297" height="200" loading="lazy" /></a><br /> <br /> 5. Work on personal projects to show off your skills to future employers or even companies to hire you as a contractor/Consultant. This can be very helpful as it can help you standout from the competition people coming out of school or in school and looking for work. The industry is <b><i><u>VERY</u></i> </b>competitive at the moment and you will need to find ways to get yourself ahead of the game. Create yourself a website that has your name in the domain. Like Freelancers with Web Design that present portfolio projects.<br /> <br /> 6. Communication, definitely work on talking to people. In the Industry, IT individuals talk about technical details, which is great. But if you know how to talk well with people this can go very far into your career.<br /> <br /> 7. Don&#039;t burn any boats on your way up.<br /> <br /> <b><u>Warnings/Stuff to look out about Cybersecurity:</u></b><br /> I&#039;ve spent a crazy amount of money on Education to get into this field and would not recommend spending money like wildfire for this industry at the moment. IMHO, the certification providers and the courses they sell for such a high price tag is no longer worth it. It&#039;s no different than financing a degree with student loans. I would find other ways to fund the certifications without going into debt (taking out CC&#039;s or loans in this case).<br /> <br /> I would probably only pursue this career if their was a huge demand for the cybersecurity, but that just isn&#039;t the case at the moment.<br /> <br /> To see how healthy the marketplace is for Cybersecurity jobs, you want to browse major job boards such as Ziprecruiter, LinkedIn, and Indeed.com (Though Indeed.com seems to be dying now days). This can give you an indication of the supply/demand when it comes to the field and what I have come to find that there is not really a lot of jobs in the Cybersecurity field at the moment. I&#039;ll use Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas as an example. I&#039;ll search for Cybersecurity the keyword the search bar and show you the results below:<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/1740920391449-webp.63917/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/data/attachments/58/58676-82ad0fe4543683312786b8ffbadd059c.jpg?hash=TubgAJlErF" class="bbImage " style="" alt="1740920391449.webp" title="1740920391449.webp" width="342" height="200" loading="lazy" /></a><br /> <br /> Right now as of timestamp of this post, there is only 320 jobs in Dallas alone, so that makes this field very competitive. If you go to LinkedIn, the number will expand, but LinkedIn&#039;s job postings are not all exactly tied to &quot;Cybersecurity&quot;, they actually add different jobs into the mix so you won&#039;t get a really good result per say. You will have to comb through all of the listings yourself to find out. When looking at these job roles, you will see that some companies may want &quot;X amount of years of experience&quot;, you may get passed up when applying. But try anyway. The average salary in the States for these kinds of roles are anywhere between $65-$85k/year and depending on experience.<br /> <br /> I did a search for Cybersecurity Fort Worth and only got 149 results. Another tip is to be willing to relocate or move to a different city. Each city is it&#039;s own marketplace, one city might have more opportunity than another. If you have the funds or the company is willing to relocate you and provide you with the funds. I would recommend it, only if you are willing to go down this track.<br /> <br /> I actually stopped pursuing this career track, it has been 10 year&#039;s for me. Pre-2019, the field was booming 3k+ job postings, the market was up in terms of Cybersecurity, but now days the field is not where it use to be.<br /> <br /> This everything I know that could help someone get started from scratch. A friend and I way back in the day wanted to work in Downtown Dallas in one of the Skyrises and make $X per year. We once wanted to go to University of Texas at Arlington for school (Didn&#039;t do this) I achieved in back then. It&#039;s been fun though.<br /> <br /> The one thing I learned from this journey was never let someone say that you can&#039;t do something, if you put your mind to something that you want to do. You can achieve it. I went from being an IT Level 1 Help Desk technician to a SOC Analyst. I had plenty of no&#039;s in the past as well. I once had an offer for Citi Bank at $72k per year, but got rescinded. Then I got this one <img src="/community/imgs/emoticons/em-smile2.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-shortname=":)" /> <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/1740928238056-webp.63931/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/data/attachments/58/58682-cd4bdf6ce45573fa1ef1651349a814f9.jpg?hash=gkW-G3Wu-h" class="bbImage " style="" alt="1740928238056.webp" title="1740928238056.webp" width="305" height="200" loading="lazy" /></a><br /> <br /> I wish you all the best and Good Luck!</div>

 

[RedSpider]

<div class="bbWrapper"><a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/members/96450/" class="username" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" data-user-id="96450" data-username="@ZackerySprague">@ZackerySprague</a> thank you so much for the comprehensive guide! <br /> <br /> The insights from your experience is really helpful. I get a better idea about the challenges I might face now.<br /> <br /> <blockquote data-attributes="" data-quote="" data-source="" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> IMHO, the certification providers and the courses they sell for such a high price tag is no longer worth it </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> I think this is quite true in most IT related courses. Their cost far outweighs the benefits. Also, from 3k+ job posts to mere hundreds... that&#039;s pretty wild</div>

 

[ZackerySprague]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 82304" data-quote="RedSpider" data-source="post: 1160763" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1160763" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1160763">RedSpider said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/members/96450/" class="username" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" data-user-id="96450" data-username="@ZackerySprague">@ZackerySprague</a> thank you so much for the comprehensive guide!<br /> <br /> The insights from your experience is really helpful. I get a better idea about the challenges I might face now.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I think this is quite true in most IT related courses. Their cost far outweighs the benefits. Also, from 3k+ job posts to mere hundreds... that&#039;s pretty wild </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Your welcome. Took me 4+ years to learn it. Now days I probably wouldn&#039;t recommend this path to new students out of college getting to be in the workforce.<br /> <br /> I&#039;ve had my fun in Cybersecurity. Almost worked for Activison Blizzard, Gamestop Headquarters, State Farm Plaza in Dallas, Critical Start, etc. Had lunch with several CISOs in my past (GameStop and Statefarm). Loved their Plazas for both. Almost went on a 3 day fully paid business trip for an interview in California at Blizzards HQ at the time. <br /> <br /> And now I&#039;m ready retire.</div>

 

[RedSpider]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 96450" data-quote="ZackerySprague" data-source="post: 1160785" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1160785" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1160785">ZackerySprague said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Your welcome. Took me 4+ years to learn it. Now days I probably wouldn&#039;t recommend this path to new students out of college getting to be in the workforce.<br /> <br /> I&#039;ve had my fun in Cybersecurity. Almost worked for Activison Blizzard, Gamestop Headquarters, State Farm Plaza in Dallas, Critical Start, etc. Had lunch with several CISOs in my past (GameStop and Statefarm). Loved their Plazas for both. Almost went on a 3 day fully paid business trip for an interview in California at Blizzards HQ at the time.<br /> <br /> And now I&#039;m ready retire. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>That&#039;s a very interesting career you have <img src="/community/imgs/emoticons/em-smile2.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-shortname=":)" /> I&#039;m glad things work out for you.<br /> <br /> If you don&#039;t mind me asking, what path would you recommend for new students? I have a nephew about to graduate from college, and as I understand it, he&#039;s quite confused with the current job market situation (layoffs, AI threat, trade wars, .etc)</div>

 

[ZackerySprague]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 82304" data-quote="RedSpider" data-source="post: 1160879" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1160879" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1160879">RedSpider said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> That&#039;s a very interesting career you have <img src="/community/imgs/emoticons/em-smile2.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-shortname=":)" /> I&#039;m glad things work out for you.<br /> <br /> If you don&#039;t mind me asking, what path would you recommend for new students? I have a nephew about to graduate from college, and as I understand it, he&#039;s quite confused with the current job market situation (layoffs, AI threat, trade wars, .etc) </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Hey RedSpider,<br /> <br /> Ultimately, at the end of the day, I cannot make decisions for your nephew nor do I think I should give him advice. For students who are coming out of college, entering in the field. I am not sure at this moment. While IT will still be around, from a market perspective and what I have seen. Most entry level jobs such as Desktop Support/Help Desk are contract jobs that students can get straight out of high school with a CompTIA A+ and an internship. Starting pay for most Desktop Support jobs are around $20 dollars an hour or more. There are other areas of interest such as Cloud Engineering, but even those jobs are contracts. I found several that make upwards to $50 an hour, but require a crazy amount of exprience and year&#039;s in the field.<br /> <br /> For incoming students, I believe it will be much harder for them to find a job (at least in this timeframe, than it was when I started). With all of the talks about Artificial Intelligence. I have not seen the job boards flooded with postings looking for AI/ML Engineers, most companies right out of the gate will probably say something like &quot;We require XX years of experience, with a Bachelors of X (required)&quot; then list the responsivities they are looking for in a candidate and if you don&#039;t have those required skills or years of experience on your resume or underneath your belt, you might be skipped. Or even if you do, you might not be skipped but could be overqualified.<br /> <br /> I&#039;ve been a contractor going on 2 years of experience, most opportunities that came my way were Desktop Support for the Dallas Cowboys (Contract $35/hr), an Engineer for Startup called Island.io (Potential $125-135k per year), and finally one for Clipboard Health that wanted to Implement Single Sign On with Rippling IT and Stripe ($100k per year), but wanted me to create a case study before even talking to a recruiter.<br /> <br /> The job field at the moment seems to be very tough in IT, but Software Engineering seems to have tons of job postings. Regular IT jobs such as Help Desk and Desktop Support seem to be the most in demand now days and are ranging between $45k-$65k. $65k being the max amount that a company is willing to pay in the market.<br /> <br /> I would say for now, go for an entry level help desk job for your nephew starting out. Other things to consider is just how everything is getting expensive and the rate of inflation. With a salary of this kind, you will be able to living comfortably starting out (getting an apartment, etc), but don&#039;t go spending money like crazy or borrowing money i.e. buying a brand new car. I&#039;d tell your nephew to get something used and pick up one of MJ&#039;s books for starters.<br /> <br /> I&#039;m a little worried about AI, but then I&#039;m not. I do feel like things are changing in the field in a way with the Introduction of AI. But I&#039;m not exactly sure it will affect Help Desk, Cloud, Security, or Networking in a sense. I could see how an AI could provide basic level 1 help desk support, but it cannot take over other job functions related to Cloud. Maybe in security in some aspect when analyzing network traffic or reviewing traffic networks at Layer 3. It&#039;s hard to say,<br /> <br /> What I will say that I am seeing is that companies like Microsoft and Alkami are offloading developer jobs in India and are trying to utilize AI for coding. Meta announced months back that it was going to develop an AI to replace mid level engineers. A tax law for Software companies is hurting their revenue with R&amp;D, I would assume that&#039;s why many companies are trying to now move development off shore to save their bottom line. I would be worried if I was a software developer at the moment in the States at least. Google is even building a huge campus in India in the works.<br /> <br /> For trade wars, I wouldn&#039;t be to worried unless you are going into the product business, but I&#039;m not an expert in that field. Others on this forum can comment on that as they practice it very well.<br /> <br /> It&#039;s hard to say where the landscape of AI will be headed in terms of companies and terminating employees replacing some functions. Salesforce has AI Agents that can help business owners with some tasks, you could browse their website to find out more and ServiceNOW as well for a ticketing system. You will have to read articles in the market and make your own opinion on what you see.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/1741177809713-webp.64008/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/data/attachments/58/58729-0e858c6de9f09e317ccc7ca6032d0f5e.jpg?hash=l4_jF9dhvi" class="bbImage " style="" alt="1741177809713.webp" title="1741177809713.webp" width="420" height="200" loading="lazy" /></a><br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/1741177880490-webp.64009/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/data/attachments/58/58730-fc331929be599ea8bdacb8672071e919.jpg?hash=MlbZKVfSPT" class="bbImage " style="" alt="1741177880490.webp" title="1741177880490.webp" width="365" height="200" loading="lazy" /></a><br /> <br /> You will have to comb through the job listings to find out what the market is wanting at least in this case for AI/ML.<br /> <br /> <div class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--unfurl is-pending is-recrawl js-unfurl fauxBlockLink" data-unfurl="true" data-result-id="450425" data-url="https://frontendmasters.com/courses/hard-parts-ai/" data-host="frontendmasters.com" data-pending="true"> <div class="contentRow"> <div class="contentRow-figure contentRow-figure--fixedSmall js-unfurl-figure"> <img src="/community/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.frontendmasters.com%2Fassets%2Fcourses%2F2025-01-17-hard-parts-ai%2Fposterframe.jpg&amp;hash=3bdf985636e85195efd3f70b06e858f8&amp;return_error=1" loading="lazy" alt="frontendmasters.com" class="bbCodeBlockUnfurl-image" data-onerror="hide-parent"/> </div> <div class="contentRow-main"> <h3 class="contentRow-header js-unfurl-title"> <a href="https://frontendmasters.com/courses/hard-parts-ai/" class="link link--external fauxBlockLink-blockLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-proxy-href=""> Neural Networks: From Theory to Production | AI Fundamentals for Software Engineers </a> </h3> <div class="contentRow-snippet js-unfurl-desc">Understand how AI prediction and neural networks work under the hood! Learn core AI concepts through hands-on fraud detection and image recognition examples. Build the technical knowledge to confidently integrate AI into your applications.</div> <div class="contentRow-minor contentRow-minor--hideLinks"> <span class="js-unfurl-favicon"> <img src="/community/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Ffrontendmasters.com%2Ffavicon-32x32.png&amp;hash=540fce8e079b03d42eb3a0ca2823eac6&amp;return_error=1" loading="lazy" alt="frontendmasters.com" class="bbCodeBlockUnfurl-icon" data-onerror="hide-parent"/> </span> frontendmasters.com </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--unfurl is-pending is-recrawl js-unfurl fauxBlockLink" data-unfurl="true" data-result-id="450426" data-url="https://frontendmasters.com/courses/ai-agents/" data-host="frontendmasters.com" data-pending="true"> <div class="contentRow"> <div class="contentRow-figure contentRow-figure--fixedSmall js-unfurl-figure"> <img src="/community/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.frontendmasters.com%2Fassets%2Fcourses%2F2024-12-10-ai-agents%2Fposterframe.jpg&amp;hash=8fd2e8493bf04ef8c6a94762018cb2f7&amp;return_error=1" loading="lazy" alt="frontendmasters.com" class="bbCodeBlockUnfurl-image" data-onerror="hide-parent"/> </div> <div class="contentRow-main"> <h3 class="contentRow-header js-unfurl-title"> <a href="https://frontendmasters.com/courses/ai-agents/" class="link link--external fauxBlockLink-blockLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-proxy-href=""> AI Agents | LLMs, Function Calling, and Dahl-E Image Generation </a> </h3> <div class="contentRow-snippet js-unfurl-desc">Create your own chat-based AI agent with custom function calling, LLMs, and Dall-E image generation.</div> <div class="contentRow-minor contentRow-minor--hideLinks"> <span class="js-unfurl-favicon"> <img src="/community/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Ffrontendmasters.com%2Ffavicon-32x32.png&amp;hash=540fce8e079b03d42eb3a0ca2823eac6&amp;return_error=1" loading="lazy" alt="frontendmasters.com" class="bbCodeBlockUnfurl-icon" data-onerror="hide-parent"/> </span> frontendmasters.com </div> </div> </div> </div> <br /> If I could go back 10 years, I would focus on the money system MJ describes in the back of his book and start at 21 year&#039;s old. Instead of taking out credit cards and loans. Imho. Learn everything in the back of Unscripted #1 and start investing as early as possible and building up an emergency fund of 3 months for starters. If you have a $1million dollar pot with 5-7% in returns, you could live off of $62k per year. I could even do that today with where I am at currently.</div>

 

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[Panos Daras]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 119339" data-quote="Nicolayyyy" data-source="post: 1088098" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1088098" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1088098">Nicolayyyy said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> I don&#039;t know how AI and machine learning works and their integration with cybersecurity. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> If you don’t know that, then this business isn’t for you. Try landing a job as a security analyst first.<br /> To answer your question—for example, in payment platforms, AI models analyze customer behavior. They identify common patterns of what fraudsters do, and based on that, they can trigger 3DS or other security measures, or even block their credit cards.</div>