How to Start a Cybersecurity Career in 2025 (Step-by-Step Roadmap)

Kyser Clark
Sep 7
4 min read

If you want to break into cybersecurity but feel overwhelmed with all the certs, labs, and career paths, you're not alone. Many people struggle with what to learn first, which certifications are worth it, and how to tell if they’re making progress. Add in hundreds of opinions, conflicting roadmaps, and terms you’ve never heard of, and no wonder so many people never get started.

The most common question I get is: “Where do I even start?”

This guide gives you a real, no-BS starting point. Not theory. Not hype. Just a clear foundation to help you build your skills and move toward your first role in cybersecurity.

Quick Summary on How to Get Started in Cybersecurity

You don’t need to be a genius to break into cybersecurity.
What matters is curiosity, consistency, and grit.
Success comes from repetition and discipline, not shortcuts.
Everyone’s journey looks different. Build a path that fits your goals and be ready to adapt.
Use LinkedIn as a career journal to showcase your progress.
Master the fundamentals: networking, Linux, and security basics.
Once solid, level up with coding and cloud computing.
Choose a specialization by studying job descriptions and reverse-engineering what employers want.
Stop passively consuming content. Take action daily.

Resetting Expectations

Let’s clear up a few myths:

You don’t need to be naturally good with computers, math, or coding to start cybersecurity.
None of us were born knowing this stuff. Everything can be learned.
What matters is passion, curiosity, and perseverance.

Cybersecurity is massive, and no single person knows it all. Not me, not the experts you follow, nobody. That’s what makes this field exciting. There’s always something new to explore.

If you’re asking “Am I smart enough for this?” you’re asking the wrong question. The real question is: Are you willing to keep going when it stops being fun or easy?

Roadmaps (and Why Yours Will Be Different)

Everyone wants a roadmap, but here’s the truth: there isn’t one single path into cybersecurity.

People enter this field from everywhere. Military, IT, retail, healthcare, straight from high school, or after college. My journey looked like this:

Restaurant work during and after high school
Oil refineries (sandblasting, painting, asbestos removal)
Military IT role
Full-time penetration tester

The industry changes constantly. New certifications, new training platforms, new job roles. Even established certs get updated every few years. That’s why you’ll see different roadmaps everywhere. They’re all valid, but the best roadmap is the one you build yourself.

Take advice as a launchpad, not the gospel.

Document the Journey

If you’re not using LinkedIn like a career journal, start today.

Share what you’re learning.
Post your certifications and what you gained from them.
Highlight insights that could help someone else following your path.

Posts like these attract recruiters, hiring managers, and peers. They help build your credibility and your network.

But here’s my rule: Don’t post “I’m starting XYZ cert.” No one cares what you start. They care what you finish.

Master the Fundamentals

The fundamentals never change. They’re the foundation of every specialization in cybersecurity.

Level 1 Fundamentals:

Networking
Linux
Security basics

I personally started with:

CompTIA Security+ (security basics)
Linux+ (Linux)
Cisco Certified Network Associate CCNA (networking), but I now recommend Network+ for most roles instead

Revisit the fundamentals regularly through platforms like TryHackMe until they feel automatic.

Level 2 Fundamentals:

Coding (basic scripting is enough)
Cloud computing

For cloud, I earned CompTIA Cloud+. It helped, but it’s just a starting point. If you want to go deeper, look at Amazon Web Services (AWS) certifications or the ISC2 Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP).

For Coding, you can see my 100 Days of Code journey here.

Choosing a Specialization

You don’t need to pick your specialization on day one, but once your foundation is solid, you must choose. Otherwise, you won’t make meaningful progress.

How to do it:

Look at real job descriptions for the role you want.
Identify common tools, skills, and certifications.
Build your roadmap based on that demand.

Examples:

Defensive security/blue team: Consider CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst+ (CySA+).
Offensive security/pen testing: Consider CompTIA PenTest+.

I’ve already made deep-dive videos on becoming a penetration tester, SOC analyst, and cybersecurity engineer, if you want details.

Your Next Five Moves

Close YouTube. Stop binge-watching and calling it “progress.” Use YouTube as a tool, not a crutch.
Create a TryHackMe account. Start with the Pre-Security path and hack your first website in a safe, legal environment.
Create or update LinkedIn. Share your first TryHackMe achievement and what you learned.
Order Network+ study materials. Todd Lammle’s guide is a great start, paired with CBT Nuggets by Keith Barker (worth the $59/month investment). Do at least 1,000 practice questions before attempting the exam.
Create a study plan and stick to it. Aim for 3–5 hours a day after school or work, and 8 hours on days off. Shoot for a 365-day TryHackMe streak.

I did it. It changed my life. It will change yours too if you put in the work.

Final Words

Cybersecurity isn’t easy, and that’s why it pays well. Not everyone will make it. The ones who succeed are the ones who outwork everyone else.

You are in competition, whether you like it or not. And the clock just started.

If you found this 2025 edition helpful but want an even deeper dive into résumé strategies, interview prep, IT-to-cyber pivots, networking, and salary negotiation, check out my 2024 edition of How to Break Into Cybersecurity. It pairs perfectly with this post and gives you the complete picture of both the technical and non-technical sides of landing your first cybersecurity role.