TL;DR: 2 years supporting enterprise cybersecurity SaaS products with experience troubleshooting SSO/SAML, Okta/Entra, AD/SCIM, M365/Exchange, email security, DNS, APIs, logs, PowerShell and Linux. Finishing a BS in IT and working toward Security+. Currently at ~$60K in Boston and targeting $80K+. What cybersecurity roles am I realistically competitive for without starting over at entry level?
M:29
I’m trying to figure out the best way to leverage my current experience into a more specialized cybersecurity role rather than starting over at entry level.
I have about 2 years of professional IT experience working for two cybersecurity SaaS companies and currently work as a Technical Support Specialist. I support enterprise customers and troubleshoot security products, primarily around email security.
My day-to-day exposure includes:
SSO/SAML
Okta and Microsoft Entra ID
Active Directory and SCIM/user provisioning
Microsoft 365/Exchange and mail flow
Email security
DKIM/SPF/DMARC and DNS
APIs
Log analysis/troubleshooting
PowerShell
Linux/CLI
Networking fundamentals
Security policies and product configurations
Most of my work involves investigating customer issues, reviewing logs and configurations, troubleshooting integrations/product behavior, and working directly with customers through tickets, email, phone, and Zoom. If an issue goes beyond my support tier, I gather the relevant information and escalate it to the appropriate team.
I’m two semesters away from completing a BS in IT and currently working toward Security+. I’m also studying for A+, although I’m wondering whether my time would be better spent on something more security-focused at this point.
Through school I’ve worked with Python, Bash, SQL, APIs and some JavaScript, but I don’t have professional programming experience.
What I enjoy most is investigating technical problems, figuring out why something happened, and doing work that has a meaningful security impact. I also enjoy working with customers, so I’m not necessarily looking for a role where I never interact with users.
I’m currently making around $60K in the Boston area and would like to target $80K+ for my next position, ideally within the next 6 months.
I’ve been looking at roles like Security Analyst, IAM Analyst/Engineer, Security Support Engineer, Product Security Support, SOC Analyst, Cloud Security, Solutions Engineer and similar positions, but I’m having trouble determining which ones are actually realistic with my experience.
For those already working in cybersecurity:
Which security roles does my current experience translate to best?
Would employers view 2 years supporting cybersecurity products as actual relevant security experience, or primarily as technical support experience?
What job titles should I be searching for if I want to build on what I already know instead of starting over?
And if you had 6 months to prepare for the transition, what skills, projects or certifications would you prioritize?
I’m not expecting to jump straight into a senior Security Engineer position. I’m mainly trying to identify the most realistic next step that builds on my existing experience and gets me closer to the engineering/security side.
Source: r/SecurityCareerAdvice · by /u/SongRevolutionary404