Reality of US Job Market for Indian Students | MS in USA | Cybersecurity in USA

00:46:54
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1Bj6FboUow

Sintesi

TLDRIn this podcast, Bala Pranit shares his journey as a cybersecurity engineer, discussing his education at UNCC Charlotte and the various career roles in cybersecurity. He emphasizes the importance of strong software engineering skills and networking for job hunting. Bala outlines his job application strategy, which included attending cybersecurity conferences and customizing resumes for specific roles. He addresses concerns about job security in the field due to AI, asserting that demand for cybersecurity professionals will continue to grow. Bala also provides practical advice for aspiring cybersecurity engineers, including essential skills and certifications to pursue.

Punti di forza

  • 🎓 Bala graduated from UNCC Charlotte, emphasizing its strong cybersecurity curriculum.
  • 💼 Networking is crucial; attending conferences can lead to job opportunities.
  • 📄 Customizing resumes for specific roles increases chances of landing interviews.
  • 🔍 Understanding both offensive and defensive security is important in cybersecurity.
  • 💡 Strong fundamentals in software engineering are essential for cybersecurity roles.

Linea temporale

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The discussion begins with a focus on the importance of cybersecurity education and career opportunities. The speaker emphasizes the need for strong software engineering skills as a foundation for becoming a successful cybersecurity engineer. They also touch on the job market's current state, particularly in 2023, and the challenges faced during job hunting, including the impact of AI on job availability.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The speaker elaborates on the vastness of cybersecurity, explaining their role as an information security engineer and the various domains within the field, such as red teaming, blue teaming, and software development security. They stress the importance of understanding both hardware and software aspects of cybersecurity for a well-rounded skill set.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The conversation shifts to the differences between red and blue teams, with red teams focusing on offensive security (hacking) and blue teams on defensive security (protecting systems). The speaker mentions their current role in a purple team, which combines elements of both red and blue teams, and discusses the importance of cloud security and compliance roles in the industry.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    The speaker addresses the booming demand for cybersecurity professionals, reassuring listeners that AI will not eliminate jobs in the field. They emphasize the importance of passion and continuous skill development in ensuring job security and success in cybersecurity careers.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    The speaker shares their personal job hunting journey, detailing their timeline and strategies for applying to internships and full-time positions. They highlight the importance of networking, customizing resumes, and the sheer volume of applications submitted to secure interviews.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    The discussion includes insights into the interview process for cybersecurity roles, including online assessments and technical interviews that test candidates' knowledge of vulnerabilities and problem-solving skills. The speaker shares their experiences with different interview rounds and the types of questions asked.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    The speaker provides a breakdown of typical salary ranges for cybersecurity internships and full-time positions, noting that salaries can vary based on experience, location, and company. They emphasize the potential for high earnings in the field, especially in fintech companies.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    The conversation concludes with advice for aspiring cybersecurity engineers, including the importance of mastering fundamentals, gaining practical experience through platforms like Hack The Box, and pursuing relevant certifications. The speaker encourages continuous learning and building a strong professional network.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:46:54

    Finally, the speaker reflects on their journey, expressing gratitude for the support received and the importance of enjoying the learning process while navigating the challenges of building a career in cybersecurity.

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Mappa mentale

Video Domande e Risposte

  • What are the different career roles in cybersecurity?

    Roles include information security engineer, network engineer, security analyst, risk analyst, and more.

  • Is cybersecurity a booming field?

    Yes, cybersecurity is in high demand and is expected to grow despite advancements in AI.

  • What is the typical salary range for cybersecurity engineers?

    Entry-level salaries typically range from $90,000 to $140,000, depending on experience and location.

  • What skills should aspiring cybersecurity engineers develop?

    They should focus on software fundamentals, learn programming languages like Python, and understand networking concepts.

  • What is the difference between red team and blue team?

    Red team focuses on offensive security (hacking), while blue team focuses on defensive security (protecting systems).

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Scorrimento automatico:
  • 00:00:00
    first of all why do you say least famous
  • 00:00:03
    university and what are these different
  • 00:00:05
    career roles that people can get into if
  • 00:00:08
    they do SEC cyber security if you want
  • 00:00:10
    to become a good cyber security engineer
  • 00:00:12
    I think you would have to be a very good
  • 00:00:15
    software engineer first is cyber
  • 00:00:17
    security booming does it have job is it
  • 00:00:21
    going to have job with this Ai and all
  • 00:00:23
    of I don't know for some reason I was so
  • 00:00:24
    happy to look at that rejection mail cuz
  • 00:00:28
    I knew I was on the right track if I'm
  • 00:00:30
    at least getting some responses the IBM
  • 00:00:32
    did not convert into fulltime and that's
  • 00:00:34
    because obviously 2023 worse Market they
  • 00:00:37
    were not hiring hiring frees and all of
  • 00:00:39
    that so now comes the full-time hunt
  • 00:00:43
    when did you start what was the strategy
  • 00:00:45
    that you applied so what is the typical
  • 00:00:48
    salary range for cyber security
  • 00:00:50
    Engineers wait I help you save 30k
  • 00:00:54
    how before we dive into all the
  • 00:00:56
    strategies and stories that we're going
  • 00:00:57
    to discuss in this podcast let me ask
  • 00:00:59
    you this do you have a clear job hunting
  • 00:01:02
    strategy to get an internship or
  • 00:01:04
    full-time job most people don't and it's
  • 00:01:06
    costing them opportunities I've helped
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    to recruiters uh it was one of the best
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    through WhatsApp group I will walk you
  • 00:01:46
    through every single step that you need
  • 00:01:48
    with real examples and the tools that
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    will give you an edge I don't want you
  • 00:01:52
    to miss any other opportunity to land
  • 00:01:54
    your next job or an internship so check
  • 00:01:57
    the link in the description and now I
  • 00:01:59
    will let you enjoy the podcast thank you
  • 00:02:01
    Bala for doing this I am excited to talk
  • 00:02:05
    about first there's not many security
  • 00:02:08
    engineering content on my channel so
  • 00:02:11
    thank you for saying yes to me and I'm
  • 00:02:13
    excited to share your journey with
  • 00:02:15
    everybody on your unique job hunting
  • 00:02:18
    tips and how you got the job as well but
  • 00:02:21
    before we get to that let's do like a
  • 00:02:23
    quick intro starting off with myself uh
  • 00:02:25
    my name is Bala pranit and I came to the
  • 00:02:28
    US in the year 21 especially during the
  • 00:02:32
    fall semester I've studied uh Masters in
  • 00:02:36
    cyber security from one of the least
  • 00:02:39
    famous I would say universities called
  • 00:02:41
    UNCC Charlotte it's in North Carolina
  • 00:02:45
    okay and uh during my Ms U I've been U
  • 00:02:50
    exposed to a lot of different cyber
  • 00:02:51
    security topics and domains so I think
  • 00:02:54
    that uh helped me further in my career
  • 00:02:58
    to learn a lot of skills also one more
  • 00:03:00
    thing well so two questions first of all
  • 00:03:02
    why do you say least famous
  • 00:03:05
    university and the second one did you
  • 00:03:08
    have any experience in
  • 00:03:10
    India uh yeah sure so alansa with the
  • 00:03:13
    first one uh I mention it as least
  • 00:03:16
    famous because uh I think it's the
  • 00:03:20
    curriculum itself for cyber security
  • 00:03:22
    over there in the UNCC is absolutely
  • 00:03:27
    topnotch if you want to learn really
  • 00:03:29
    good skills get your fundamentals right
  • 00:03:32
    I think that is where the place you
  • 00:03:34
    would have to look into especially in in
  • 00:03:36
    that University and I personally wanted
  • 00:03:39
    to bring this up just to make people
  • 00:03:42
    aware that if you are interested in
  • 00:03:44
    cyber security then you got to check it
  • 00:03:47
    out UNC Charlotte the work experience
  • 00:03:50
    part I would say a little bit on and off
  • 00:03:53
    because I was doing a bit of freelancing
  • 00:03:56
    and also I was working on a real time
  • 00:03:59
    project so I work for like a corporate
  • 00:04:03
    company as called but I do have some
  • 00:04:06
    kind of experience while uh being in
  • 00:04:09
    India espe during the year of like 2020
  • 00:04:12
    so okay got it so some Prof you do have
  • 00:04:17
    like a overall profile and a port
  • 00:04:19
    portfolio about security stuff but you
  • 00:04:22
    don't like have a a internship like a
  • 00:04:25
    legal not legal but like a corporate
  • 00:04:28
    full-time job that uh you had as a
  • 00:04:31
    security engineer so that'll be
  • 00:04:33
    interesting to kind of dissect further
  • 00:04:35
    but before we dive into your job hunting
  • 00:04:39
    I am noob in in security engineering
  • 00:04:42
    like I I know I keep hearing so many
  • 00:04:45
    terms network engineer security analyst
  • 00:04:48
    risk analyst cyber security engineer
  • 00:04:51
    what what is your role and what are
  • 00:04:54
    these different career roles that people
  • 00:04:56
    can get into if they do secure cyber
  • 00:04:59
    security
  • 00:05:00
    so yeah uh one of the important aspects
  • 00:05:04
    in cyber security is it's very vast okay
  • 00:05:08
    and my current role is I work as an
  • 00:05:11
    information security engineer for a
  • 00:05:13
    financial
  • 00:05:15
    institution and then generally speaking
  • 00:05:18
    of cyber security people assume red
  • 00:05:20
    teaming and then blue teaming only two
  • 00:05:22
    sides of it but then I would say there
  • 00:05:26
    is a lot of domains especially looking
  • 00:05:29
    onto be supply chain security or might
  • 00:05:32
    be a software development security right
  • 00:05:34
    Che your code you have to know have the
  • 00:05:37
    knowledge of writing secure code right
  • 00:05:40
    and
  • 00:05:41
    then if any of the vulnerabilities are
  • 00:05:44
    there in your code right you would also
  • 00:05:46
    have to know what kind of
  • 00:05:49
    packages or other different software
  • 00:05:52
    Frameworks have vulnerabilities so I
  • 00:05:55
    would say not diving into depth but if
  • 00:05:59
    you you want to become a good cyber
  • 00:06:01
    security engineer I think you would have
  • 00:06:03
    to be a very good software engineer
  • 00:06:06
    first
  • 00:06:07
    CU understand how systems
  • 00:06:12
    work it's going to be a painful job for
  • 00:06:15
    the security Engineers so but what about
  • 00:06:18
    like I also hear about the network uh
  • 00:06:21
    Engineers network security Engineers do
  • 00:06:24
    they have to really understand how the
  • 00:06:27
    coding works because I don't think they'
  • 00:06:28
    really care right like it's all about
  • 00:06:30
    firewall and again I don't know this I'm
  • 00:06:33
    asking you this question so again yud
  • 00:06:36
    here the concept comes like if you are
  • 00:06:39
    interested in the hardware side of
  • 00:06:41
    things or the software side of things
  • 00:06:43
    right you look at a network engineer you
  • 00:06:45
    can look at it in two perspectives one
  • 00:06:48
    in a very Hardware perspective and
  • 00:06:50
    another in a very above Hardware that's
  • 00:06:53
    software like right so if you trying to
  • 00:06:58
    become a network engineer for an example
  • 00:07:00
    correct you would have to know the
  • 00:07:02
    fundamentals of networking like what are
  • 00:07:05
    ports what protocols are there right
  • 00:07:08
    what is HTTP what is htps these are very
  • 00:07:11
    fundamental things right once people
  • 00:07:15
    have grip on these fundamentals they can
  • 00:07:19
    easily pivot into another domain what
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    you're going to watch is an amazing
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    story but before you watch that I just
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    want to quickly say that all of these
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    absolutely free link is in the
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    description or you can go to YouTube
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    dj.com
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    newsletter uh you also mentioned red
  • 00:08:03
    team blue team what's the
  • 00:08:05
    difference so to Simply tell you red
  • 00:08:09
    consider red team as hackers who
  • 00:08:14
    actively hack into systems right and
  • 00:08:19
    then these are good hackers
  • 00:08:22
    again so yeah I mean they're
  • 00:08:24
    intentionally trying to hack so it can
  • 00:08:26
    show that hey look your system is
  • 00:08:29
    hackable
  • 00:08:30
    correct yeah right and this helps uh the
  • 00:08:34
    red team hackers to solve and find out
  • 00:08:37
    vulnerabilities before the bad guys
  • 00:08:39
    actually hack into the
  • 00:08:41
    network yeah that is simple way of
  • 00:08:45
    explaining red teaming but then if you
  • 00:08:47
    consider blue teaming it's like you're
  • 00:08:50
    Defending Your Castle right you are
  • 00:08:53
    defending your network
  • 00:08:55
    and if the red team is attacking you
  • 00:08:58
    have to know how to defend your network
  • 00:09:00
    so that's like oh so if the virus has
  • 00:09:04
    been come to your system now you have to
  • 00:09:06
    figure out like how to get out of it
  • 00:09:08
    exactly right got it got it so what is
  • 00:09:11
    which team are you in uh I am in again
  • 00:09:15
    currently a team called Purple team so
  • 00:09:18
    what purple team does is basically a bit
  • 00:09:22
    of red teaming and as well as blue
  • 00:09:24
    teaming so you have to have an idea of
  • 00:09:28
    the red team fundament
  • 00:09:30
    the you know tactics and
  • 00:09:33
    methodologies at the same time it's
  • 00:09:35
    important to have that blue team mindset
  • 00:09:38
    wherein you know how to manage your
  • 00:09:41
    assets defend your assets at the same
  • 00:09:44
    time so yeah there's a it's a special U
  • 00:09:48
    domain that's called Dev seop cud for
  • 00:09:51
    this one so okay and and then there is
  • 00:09:55
    cloud security as well uh which I'm
  • 00:09:58
    assuming falls under the network
  • 00:10:00
    software side of things because it's
  • 00:10:02
    it's in the cloud but then there's whole
  • 00:10:05
    another Deo and KPMG these people also
  • 00:10:08
    hire from cyber security to write
  • 00:10:10
    compliance uh policies and sock to
  • 00:10:13
    compliance and sock compliance so what
  • 00:10:15
    are what are these areas sure so mostly
  • 00:10:19
    these are defined these are defined as
  • 00:10:22
    GRC roles right so what these roles do
  • 00:10:27
    in real time is let's say they give you
  • 00:10:30
    best practices guide to follow to
  • 00:10:34
    implement a certain technology stack
  • 00:10:37
    right think of it as it as a safe guard
  • 00:10:41
    rails for your technology technology
  • 00:10:44
    stack before you actually architect the
  • 00:10:46
    entire solution
  • 00:10:48
    like to put it up in a simple way
  • 00:10:50
    consider a house right you always have
  • 00:10:53
    to lock your house lock your doors right
  • 00:10:55
    make sure everything is like clean and
  • 00:10:58
    neat so these are all compliances like
  • 00:11:00
    it's mandatory that you have to do it
  • 00:11:03
    yeah and and the companies like Deo KPMG
  • 00:11:07
    and all these people uh they obviously
  • 00:11:10
    they are getting hired by the clients to
  • 00:11:13
    make sure they are sock compliant love
  • 00:11:15
    it one last question before we dive into
  • 00:11:18
    the job hunting is is cyber security
  • 00:11:21
    booming does it have job is it going to
  • 00:11:24
    have job with this Ai and all of this a
  • 00:11:26
    lot of people are scared that AI is
  • 00:11:28
    going to take away cber security
  • 00:11:29
    Engineers job so is this true or is is
  • 00:11:34
    there a demand of this field yeah uh
  • 00:11:38
    this is actually a very huge question
  • 00:11:41
    for me to answer UD I'm just a small
  • 00:11:43
    small part of this entire puzzle but
  • 00:11:47
    uh I think if you're really passionate
  • 00:11:50
    and interested in cyber security or in
  • 00:11:52
    any kind of domain you will find your
  • 00:11:55
    way
  • 00:11:56
    out all it requires is to have a bit of
  • 00:11:59
    of craziness like yes do you like it or
  • 00:12:01
    not yes if you you'll find your way out
  • 00:12:05
    so yeah I and so I the reason I was
  • 00:12:08
    asking was I did a podcast last week
  • 00:12:11
    with
  • 00:12:12
    someone they work in apple as a security
  • 00:12:16
    network engineer and uh so they
  • 00:12:19
    mentioned that this field is never going
  • 00:12:23
    to die and no matter of AI is not going
  • 00:12:26
    to take away the jobs uh as long as like
  • 00:12:28
    you said you have the skills and he also
  • 00:12:32
    said something interesting he said the
  • 00:12:34
    thing with the security is like you just
  • 00:12:36
    have to know the basic concepts and
  • 00:12:38
    fundamentals if your core is strong you
  • 00:12:41
    will be fine and the bar is like that
  • 00:12:44
    low I'm like wow that is interesting is
  • 00:12:47
    that true would you agree uh I would
  • 00:12:50
    agree and disagree at the same time
  • 00:12:52
    because one thing what you said right is
  • 00:12:54
    U the fundamentals are core pillars
  • 00:12:57
    right you have to make sure that
  • 00:12:59
    fundamentals are right but at the same
  • 00:13:01
    time if you build your skills on the
  • 00:13:04
    fundamentals right I think it will take
  • 00:13:06
    you a long way ahead don't just for like
  • 00:13:09
    one two years of time look at a long
  • 00:13:12
    journey where you want to sustain in
  • 00:13:13
    this
  • 00:13:15
    field so I would say keep building up
  • 00:13:18
    your skills and then you're in a very
  • 00:13:20
    good place to go nice okay great let's
  • 00:13:23
    dive into the job hunting journey of
  • 00:13:26
    yours um you came in fall when did you
  • 00:13:29
    graduate so I graduated in
  • 00:13:34
    2023
  • 00:13:35
    May which is the worst job market ever
  • 00:13:39
    uh there were no one no one was hiring
  • 00:13:42
    uh but something interesting you also
  • 00:13:44
    told me that you had IBM Co-op as well
  • 00:13:50
    for which was like a pretty big like
  • 00:13:53
    almost 12 months Co-op right so is that
  • 00:13:56
    so sorry I know we are going to talk
  • 00:13:58
    about job but because I have the
  • 00:14:00
    question so onee Co-op uh does UNCC
  • 00:14:03
    allow you to do one-ear
  • 00:14:05
    co-op so uh there is a very tricky way
  • 00:14:09
    of putting this out Yi uh to simply
  • 00:14:12
    answer yes it does right and then Co-op
  • 00:14:16
    doesn't necessarily have to be 40 hours
  • 00:14:19
    it can also be 20 hours of time okay so
  • 00:14:22
    I have done is uh I did get an
  • 00:14:25
    internship during the summer for my
  • 00:14:28
    first year
  • 00:14:29
    right I've worked really hard on this
  • 00:14:32
    one and then I've learned a lot of new
  • 00:14:35
    skills so the manager had seen something
  • 00:14:39
    in me and he then extended that offer to
  • 00:14:43
    the next December that's the next fall
  • 00:14:46
    semester okay so what happened here is I
  • 00:14:49
    was working only 20 hours with
  • 00:14:52
    IBM consider it as like a part-time job
  • 00:14:55
    while being a student right yeah yeah
  • 00:14:57
    yeah I did the same thing yes
  • 00:14:59
    yeah yeah but then instead of working on
  • 00:15:01
    campus I was working for
  • 00:15:04
    IBM that's how I continued the next 6
  • 00:15:08
    months or whatever the time period is
  • 00:15:11
    and then that got extended into another
  • 00:15:14
    20 hours in the next
  • 00:15:17
    semester this was again done by
  • 00:15:20
    replacing a subject what I done is we
  • 00:15:23
    have to complete 10 subjects in order to
  • 00:15:27
    get a degree right so I did only nine
  • 00:15:30
    subjects and then the last subject had
  • 00:15:33
    switched it with that internship and
  • 00:15:35
    then did a one full year of that
  • 00:15:39
    internship yeah yeah interesting yeah I
  • 00:15:42
    did the same I got my project management
  • 00:15:45
    internship in summer and then uh they
  • 00:15:48
    extended it they wanted me to continue
  • 00:15:51
    um they wanted me to work more but they
  • 00:15:55
    said like 20 hours is fine too so then I
  • 00:15:57
    did not end up doing on campus job I
  • 00:16:00
    started doing this but I had to take one
  • 00:16:03
    CPT credit to do that like it's not like
  • 00:16:07
    I you can do off-campus job you still
  • 00:16:09
    have to enroll into a credit to show
  • 00:16:12
    that that is helping you with your
  • 00:16:14
    education so I'm guessing it's a similar
  • 00:16:17
    concept yeah it's exactly the same yeah
  • 00:16:19
    yeah got it okay cool so how did you get
  • 00:16:22
    it um what was the timeline when did you
  • 00:16:25
    apply when did you start your job
  • 00:16:27
    hunting Journey was the first thing you
  • 00:16:29
    did okay so most of my friends started
  • 00:16:33
    applying in the month of uh right when
  • 00:16:35
    they landed in the US but I was just
  • 00:16:38
    trying to enjoy you know actually taking
  • 00:16:41
    that happens in the US right and then I
  • 00:16:43
    started off my
  • 00:16:45
    applications exactly in the month of
  • 00:16:49
    January so you skipped the first
  • 00:16:51
    semester completely yep and then uh you
  • 00:16:54
    started applying in January but what did
  • 00:16:57
    you work on your resume LinkedIn and all
  • 00:17:00
    of that in the first semester or no so I
  • 00:17:04
    had worked on all of these things while
  • 00:17:06
    I was in India okay gave me advantage of
  • 00:17:09
    that you know first semester try to
  • 00:17:12
    enjoy you know meet new people
  • 00:17:14
    experience yeah okay so started applying
  • 00:17:18
    uh in January and then I was doing just
  • 00:17:22
    two three applications per day and I
  • 00:17:25
    started noticing a pattern wherein
  • 00:17:29
    if let's say I applied today for a
  • 00:17:31
    particular job role I would get a
  • 00:17:34
    response which is obviously rejected in
  • 00:17:38
    minimum time span of like let's say 20
  • 00:17:40
    days so I started reling this pattern
  • 00:17:44
    and then what I've done is actually
  • 00:17:48
    applied properly I would say in the
  • 00:17:50
    month of February okay applying in
  • 00:17:53
    February again I did 30 applications per
  • 00:17:56
    day w from 3 to 30 okay right uh the way
  • 00:18:02
    I've uh again thought about this
  • 00:18:05
    isud I've consider this as my part-time
  • 00:18:08
    job so I used to sit down four hours 3
  • 00:18:11
    hours straight try to apply as many
  • 00:18:14
    applications as possible among that 30
  • 00:18:18
    20 quality applications and 10 random so
  • 00:18:23
    that that's my strategy of applying it
  • 00:18:26
    so I kept on applying it uh I used to
  • 00:18:28
    get a lot of rejection males and I don't
  • 00:18:32
    know for some reason I was so happy to
  • 00:18:34
    look at that rejection maale cuz I knew
  • 00:18:37
    I was on the right track if I'm at least
  • 00:18:39
    getting some responses yeah yeah yeah
  • 00:18:42
    complete ghosting is like a feeling like
  • 00:18:44
    I don't even know if if if like what's
  • 00:18:46
    going on so yeah 100% agree getting a
  • 00:18:50
    reject is is at least a good sign that
  • 00:18:52
    okay you can change the direction but
  • 00:18:55
    not getting anything is
  • 00:18:57
    frustrating exactly L right so and I've
  • 00:19:01
    started applying like this long story
  • 00:19:04
    short I've applied around 800 to 900
  • 00:19:08
    applications wow yeah and then I've got
  • 00:19:13
    calls from at least I think around 20
  • 00:19:15
    companies among all of these and then
  • 00:19:18
    out of these 20 companies I remember
  • 00:19:22
    clearing four interviews which had four
  • 00:19:26
    rounds for
  • 00:19:27
    internships and among that I had landed
  • 00:19:30
    one from
  • 00:19:33
    IBM
  • 00:19:35
    wow all the students who are watching
  • 00:19:37
    this they should do the math in their
  • 00:19:39
    head that rough like I know some there
  • 00:19:43
    are obviously exceptional cases where
  • 00:19:45
    people apply to 10 and they get it and
  • 00:19:48
    some apply to thousands and then they
  • 00:19:50
    ultimately get one offer so just don't
  • 00:19:54
    give up keep added is ultimately what
  • 00:19:56
    I'm trying to get at that uh you never
  • 00:19:59
    know like the thousandth application you
  • 00:20:02
    did and that was going to turn into an
  • 00:20:04
    offer yeah totally agree on yeah uh
  • 00:20:09
    so I want to Deep dive into something
  • 00:20:13
    you said uh quality application what
  • 00:20:16
    I've done is made up around s to eight
  • 00:20:19
    resumes one for redeeming as again since
  • 00:20:22
    I'm in cyber security one for blue
  • 00:20:24
    teaming one for purple teaming one for
  • 00:20:26
    network engineer all of these fields
  • 00:20:29
    right I did make certain resumes keep on
  • 00:20:33
    applying and changing every resume for a
  • 00:20:36
    particular role for exactly these 10
  • 00:20:39
    roles okay right and for the remaining
  • 00:20:42
    20 of them I used the best resume which
  • 00:20:46
    I think fits for that particular role
  • 00:20:48
    kept on applying
  • 00:20:50
    it all it so you customize the quality
  • 00:20:55
    application in your opinion is
  • 00:20:56
    customizing your resume for that role
  • 00:20:59
    that you are applying and even spending
  • 00:21:01
    extra time in answering those
  • 00:21:03
    application questions correct
  • 00:21:06
    100% uh so is that so you mentioned that
  • 00:21:09
    you did 800 to 900 application and you
  • 00:21:12
    got 20 interview calls and you know
  • 00:21:15
    ultimately four final rounds and one
  • 00:21:17
    offer uh was that the only way you ended
  • 00:21:21
    up getting calls did you try networking
  • 00:21:24
    referal route at all or does that did
  • 00:21:26
    not work at all for you yeah I mean I
  • 00:21:29
    was a bit naive on this one uh so for
  • 00:21:33
    internships I didn't want to use that
  • 00:21:35
    referral because I wanted to keep it for
  • 00:21:38
    a full-time job okay interesting okay
  • 00:21:41
    right and my actual strategy of job
  • 00:21:44
    hunting starts when it comes to
  • 00:21:47
    full-time and then that's how I'm going
  • 00:21:49
    to share that in a while though so but
  • 00:21:51
    yeah intership side kept it simple you
  • 00:21:54
    know rather go the traditional way keep
  • 00:21:57
    applying give it track it yeah the
  • 00:22:00
    managers hiring managers and the
  • 00:22:01
    managers would test you on your
  • 00:22:04
    fundamentals and if you deep dive into
  • 00:22:07
    technical skills I think it's important
  • 00:22:10
    to understand the top web
  • 00:22:14
    vulnerabilities for example right and
  • 00:22:17
    then going a bit further understand what
  • 00:22:20
    is active directory and what attacks you
  • 00:22:24
    can do in Windows environment especially
  • 00:22:27
    for teaming side of it but if you're on
  • 00:22:30
    Blue teaming side of it I would say
  • 00:22:33
    understand how you can resolve a
  • 00:22:36
    particular bug ticket right and then
  • 00:22:40
    have different methodologies of solving
  • 00:22:44
    one
  • 00:22:45
    problem and then once you have this kind
  • 00:22:47
    of technical skills and that mindset to
  • 00:22:51
    solve it I think you'll be in a pretty
  • 00:22:53
    good shape to get and learn those skills
  • 00:22:57
    as you progress
  • 00:22:59
    got it and so is there like an online
  • 00:23:02
    assessment so you know how software
  • 00:23:04
    Engineers have an OA or online
  • 00:23:07
    assessments before even they get to the
  • 00:23:09
    interview round is that true for uh
  • 00:23:13
    security internships or no yes that is
  • 00:23:16
    uh correct some companies do use this
  • 00:23:19
    kind of uh approach so the the way it
  • 00:23:22
    works is they give you a web application
  • 00:23:25
    okay and they are going to tell you hey
  • 00:23:29
    look try to find out as many as
  • 00:23:31
    vulnerabilities you can prepare a very
  • 00:23:35
    well documented approach of how You'
  • 00:23:37
    actually found those vulnerabilities and
  • 00:23:40
    submit that document to
  • 00:23:42
    us once the hiring manager or the panel
  • 00:23:46
    looks at the documents reviews it then
  • 00:23:50
    they will decide if the candidate is you
  • 00:23:53
    know well vered for that role or not but
  • 00:23:56
    yes assessments do exist is for the
  • 00:23:58
    security Engineers got it okay sweet so
  • 00:24:02
    you got the IBM stuff what's the typical
  • 00:24:05
    salary range for security
  • 00:24:08
    internships so uh typical salary range
  • 00:24:12
    would be around uh 38 to
  • 00:24:16
    $65 nice yeah talking about this uh got
  • 00:24:20
    it okay but if in general if you had a
  • 00:24:23
    loan which was pretty high percentage
  • 00:24:26
    15% interest rate
  • 00:24:28
    you would have been able to pay off with
  • 00:24:30
    with your Co-op that's correct I would
  • 00:24:32
    have easily paid off with that Co-op for
  • 00:24:35
    got it okay nice um that is crazy right
  • 00:24:39
    that is so crazy but did your IBM
  • 00:24:43
    internship you said you have a full-time
  • 00:24:45
    strategy and that was separate which
  • 00:24:47
    tells me that the IBM did not convert
  • 00:24:49
    into full-time is that correct
  • 00:24:52
    absolutely and that's because obviously
  • 00:24:54
    2023 worst Market they were not hiring
  • 00:24:57
    hiring free and all of that so now comes
  • 00:25:00
    the full-time hunt when did you start
  • 00:25:03
    what was the strategy that you applied
  • 00:25:06
    so for the full-time uh job strategy uh
  • 00:25:10
    I started applying in the month of
  • 00:25:14
    December okay so you are graduating in
  • 00:25:16
    May 2023 you started in December 2022 so
  • 00:25:20
    roughly six months uh before you started
  • 00:25:23
    working on it Go and this was while I
  • 00:25:27
    while I had the cop offer in my hand
  • 00:25:29
    because I knew since it's the worst
  • 00:25:32
    Market we cannot take any kind of
  • 00:25:35
    risks yeah yeah going to that one
  • 00:25:37
    company so what I've done and my
  • 00:25:40
    strategy was to attend lot of security
  • 00:25:43
    meetups in the US so security Community
  • 00:25:48
    has a very vast conferences in the USA
  • 00:25:52
    right one of it is called
  • 00:25:55
    bsides which is very active all over
  • 00:25:58
    even in India even in the US every state
  • 00:26:02
    and city has it almost like that b s i d
  • 00:26:06
    s b and sides okay yes I see it uh go so
  • 00:26:13
    there are a lot of places like uh
  • 00:26:16
    besides rale besides Charlotte and then
  • 00:26:19
    besides even San Antonio and places like
  • 00:26:24
    that so what I have done is uh I used to
  • 00:26:28
    find some time during the especially
  • 00:26:30
    most of these conferences are during the
  • 00:26:32
    weekends so what I used to do was attend
  • 00:26:35
    a lot of conferences I think the EXT and
  • 00:26:38
    me had come out attend these conferences
  • 00:26:42
    so upon attending these conferences I
  • 00:26:45
    noticed that it's a two-day conference
  • 00:26:47
    right my simple thing is I love to make
  • 00:26:50
    friends so I love to learn from people
  • 00:26:53
    on the first day I I would interact with
  • 00:26:57
    every person out there whom I think we
  • 00:27:00
    can replicate right it's just it goes
  • 00:27:03
    with the flow like what activities you
  • 00:27:04
    do and then how do you network it out
  • 00:27:07
    all these skills matter
  • 00:27:08
    again so the second day what I did is I
  • 00:27:12
    was just I don't know why I had this
  • 00:27:15
    idea I just printed out my resumes and
  • 00:27:18
    then on the second day it was a bit like
  • 00:27:21
    chilled out it's not that rush so I used
  • 00:27:23
    to go to these uh friends of mine and
  • 00:27:27
    these would be the people of like
  • 00:27:29
    managers directors and like hardcore
  • 00:27:32
    programmers and stuff like that I used
  • 00:27:34
    to go to these people hand out my
  • 00:27:36
    resumes and be like hey buddy uh you
  • 00:27:39
    know can you please review my resume and
  • 00:27:41
    they' be like yeah sure why not you know
  • 00:27:44
    people will agree for some and people
  • 00:27:46
    might not agree so be cool with that no
  • 00:27:49
    no offense on that respect people's time
  • 00:27:52
    and then if people say yes right sit
  • 00:27:55
    down I used to sit with them 10 minutes
  • 00:27:58
    give my resume and explain my story of
  • 00:28:02
    why I love cyber security and they would
  • 00:28:05
    actually review it and then tell me the
  • 00:28:07
    points and then I used to not out the
  • 00:28:09
    points then and
  • 00:28:10
    there that's how we already made a
  • 00:28:12
    connection professionally as well we've
  • 00:28:16
    a connection personally which is very
  • 00:28:18
    amazing we've also got to know each
  • 00:28:20
    other sharing our stories and talking
  • 00:28:22
    about Security in general and then once
  • 00:28:25
    this was
  • 00:28:26
    done I think if it's important to
  • 00:28:30
    validate the person's efforts and
  • 00:28:33
    appreciate them their time what I used
  • 00:28:35
    to do is drop them a LinkedIn message
  • 00:28:39
    right then and there thanking them for
  • 00:28:41
    their time so in this way what happens
  • 00:28:45
    is they actually remember you that oh
  • 00:28:48
    you know what I actually know this
  • 00:28:50
    person like we've interacted with them
  • 00:28:53
    and then I know him in person right so
  • 00:28:57
    that's how I did it and then as I kept
  • 00:29:00
    doing this it was a rough Journey but I
  • 00:29:03
    don't know for some reason I loved it as
  • 00:29:05
    I kept doing this uh one person noticed
  • 00:29:09
    something in me and he's like uh Hey
  • 00:29:11
    Bala I think uh I have a job role coming
  • 00:29:14
    up you want to interview for it I was
  • 00:29:17
    like yeah sure why not so I got the
  • 00:29:21
    interview and then attended that one
  • 00:29:26
    shot cleared it
  • 00:29:28
    landed a
  • 00:29:30
    job but this is the end of the story now
  • 00:29:34
    going
  • 00:29:35
    back while doing this strategy I had got
  • 00:29:39
    a lot of calls from the
  • 00:29:42
    companies because while doing the
  • 00:29:45
    strategy at the end of the day all it
  • 00:29:47
    takes is like one person to watch for
  • 00:29:49
    you yeah
  • 00:29:52
    yeah if one person believes in you you
  • 00:29:54
    are in the company M so I think as I was
  • 00:29:58
    doing the strategy I had received a lot
  • 00:30:00
    of calls but then unfortunately I wasn't
  • 00:30:03
    up to their Mark I had
  • 00:30:07
    uh I would say not that good skills
  • 00:30:10
    which the company
  • 00:30:12
    expected but I did eventually land a job
  • 00:30:16
    in this process of like networking you
  • 00:30:19
    know reviewing my resumes build legit
  • 00:30:23
    good connections don't build connections
  • 00:30:26
    for your job or for personal sake build
  • 00:30:29
    connections so that you can contribute
  • 00:30:32
    and as well as they can help you out so
  • 00:30:34
    it's a two-way
  • 00:30:36
    process look at my professional and
  • 00:30:39
    personal connections so yeah
  • 00:30:42
    yeah now that you know that this works
  • 00:30:46
    uh going back in time would you have now
  • 00:30:50
    started instead of December 2022 would
  • 00:30:53
    you have started when you landed because
  • 00:30:56
    by then you would have so much more
  • 00:30:58
    opportunities than starting 6 months
  • 00:31:00
    before you are graduating would you
  • 00:31:02
    agree or no uh I don't agree on the cud
  • 00:31:05
    uh because I personally wanted to enjoy
  • 00:31:08
    the exposure and the culture change you
  • 00:31:10
    know coming back from India so I
  • 00:31:13
    wouldn't like start right away once I
  • 00:31:16
    landed in the US I you enjoyed the
  • 00:31:20
    conferences and meeting
  • 00:31:21
    people yeah but what I'm trying to say
  • 00:31:24
    is I wouldn't want to do that right when
  • 00:31:27
    I landed into the
  • 00:31:28
    US right I would I would want to get
  • 00:31:32
    some time to settle down and actually
  • 00:31:35
    understand like the culture changes the
  • 00:31:37
    people over here and then you know how
  • 00:31:38
    to talk it's important to communicate
  • 00:31:42
    well right yeah so once I have all of
  • 00:31:45
    these things down then maybe yes yeah
  • 00:31:48
    yeah I mean if I I would 100% double
  • 00:31:52
    down on what you said the strategy which
  • 00:31:55
    you used um I didn't know there were so
  • 00:31:57
    many sec maity conferences but that's
  • 00:31:59
    good I'm assuming it's the same for
  • 00:32:01
    product as well and software engineer I
  • 00:32:04
    know there are many conferences out
  • 00:32:06
    there for software people there GHC as
  • 00:32:09
    well which is Grace Hooper
  • 00:32:11
    conference I yeah I would I agree like
  • 00:32:15
    land but not like the next day you go to
  • 00:32:18
    a conference but I wouldn't wait until
  • 00:32:20
    like two semesters gone uh I mean sure
  • 00:32:23
    and you can still enjoy because it
  • 00:32:25
    sounds like it just happened on weekend
  • 00:32:27
    so you can still go and it sounds like
  • 00:32:29
    it was more fun I would still go and
  • 00:32:32
    have fun while you are networking
  • 00:32:35
    because again the ultimate goal is not
  • 00:32:37
    to get a job is to build relationship so
  • 00:32:39
    it shouldn't feel like you're doing a
  • 00:32:41
    job and it shouldn't feel like stressful
  • 00:32:43
    it should just feel oh this is I'm going
  • 00:32:46
    to a fun conference I'm going to get to
  • 00:32:48
    learn I'm going to get to meet people
  • 00:32:50
    instead of eating attending a college
  • 00:32:52
    event I'm going to do this hopefully
  • 00:32:54
    it's free I mean lot of conferences are
  • 00:32:56
    not free so so that's different story
  • 00:33:00
    yeah and the only uh I'd agree on this
  • 00:33:03
    one because I personally hadn't had like
  • 00:33:08
    a very good U what do you say I wanted
  • 00:33:11
    to enjoy that first 6 months or whatever
  • 00:33:14
    time enjoy like what do you what do you
  • 00:33:16
    do when you say Enjoy I I tell you what
  • 00:33:19
    what happens you uh in UNCC
  • 00:33:23
    right uh especially our room is like a
  • 00:33:26
    party house
  • 00:33:28
    okay right so we' actually uh invite
  • 00:33:33
    people over and then in that way we also
  • 00:33:37
    make good friends so we so that we don't
  • 00:33:39
    feel left out in the us when we first
  • 00:33:42
    land yeah we don't have anyone here in
  • 00:33:45
    the US right it's one for one so I was
  • 00:33:49
    just it took me personally took me a lot
  • 00:33:52
    of time to just accept that I'm in the
  • 00:33:56
    US cuz I'm the first person in my family
  • 00:33:58
    to land in the US and me took some time
  • 00:34:01
    to digest and accept like okay I'm here
  • 00:34:05
    let's see look around what is there
  • 00:34:07
    enjoy and then I
  • 00:34:11
    lle coming out of Co I think this was a
  • 00:34:13
    much needed break for me especially for
  • 00:34:16
    me yeah you wanted to celebrate and be
  • 00:34:19
    in the moment that you've made it I want
  • 00:34:22
    to live this moment and not be in the
  • 00:34:25
    rush of like I need to find a job kind
  • 00:34:27
    of thing correct because see it's simple
  • 00:34:30
    just take a moment cherish the little
  • 00:34:33
    wins that you are in the US enjoy the
  • 00:34:36
    little moments and then go
  • 00:34:39
    around job hunt coming back to the
  • 00:34:41
    fulltime is that the only strategy you
  • 00:34:44
    applied or did you also do the cold
  • 00:34:46
    application as well no that's the only
  • 00:34:49
    strategy have applied I have not return
  • 00:34:52
    any cold emails to any and is that the
  • 00:34:55
    only conferences strategy or like you
  • 00:34:57
    were also doing online events or online
  • 00:35:01
    uh networking through Linkedin Etc so I
  • 00:35:04
    was the networking on LinkedIn was going
  • 00:35:07
    parall UD it's not like that is the only
  • 00:35:10
    strategy I would say try to combine the
  • 00:35:13
    network in aspect through Linkedin and
  • 00:35:17
    as well as try to attend conferences
  • 00:35:19
    learn a lot of stuff I learn visually so
  • 00:35:22
    when I attend conferences you can learn
  • 00:35:24
    stuff you know meet people there and
  • 00:35:27
    learn from them so I would say combine
  • 00:35:29
    LinkedIn online applications as well at
  • 00:35:32
    the same time attend conferences get
  • 00:35:35
    that new exposure of like what happens
  • 00:35:37
    in a conference and learn a lot
  • 00:35:41
    so in security
  • 00:35:43
    conferences they teach you particularly
  • 00:35:46
    like there'll be Villages for example
  • 00:35:50
    these are called as Villages where you
  • 00:35:51
    can go to a particular Village and they
  • 00:35:53
    will teach you in person like how a
  • 00:35:55
    process is being done like in
  • 00:35:58
    was there any difference in the
  • 00:36:00
    interview process for full-time or was
  • 00:36:02
    it pretty much the same I think
  • 00:36:05
    full-time was uh a bit grilling to be
  • 00:36:10
    honest yeah uh generally people would
  • 00:36:14
    want to know that how you actually solve
  • 00:36:18
    a problem and then do you really have
  • 00:36:21
    the knowledge or are you just blabbering
  • 00:36:24
    around to be honest with you like
  • 00:36:26
    firstly as I mentioned the web
  • 00:36:28
    application stuff like companies hand
  • 00:36:30
    over an application to you you attack it
  • 00:36:34
    document it give that report to the
  • 00:36:36
    managers right the second round once
  • 00:36:39
    you've cleared that and uh the second
  • 00:36:42
    round would be
  • 00:36:44
    actually diving deep into every
  • 00:36:47
    vulnerability that you've attacked let's
  • 00:36:49
    say for example uh there is a
  • 00:36:52
    vulnerability called csrf right so it
  • 00:36:55
    stands for cross-side request forgery
  • 00:36:57
    the managers would want to know how how
  • 00:37:00
    much depth of knowledge you have in this
  • 00:37:03
    particular vulnerability so they would
  • 00:37:06
    dive dive deep into
  • 00:37:09
    it and once you keep
  • 00:37:12
    answering again and again and again it
  • 00:37:16
    goes a way a long way and they would
  • 00:37:19
    want to test how far you can break H
  • 00:37:23
    like that that's how you actually know
  • 00:37:25
    that you're knowledgeable right uh
  • 00:37:28
    look at how much depth you can go and
  • 00:37:30
    once they hit that melting point they're
  • 00:37:32
    like okay it's cool if you've cleared at
  • 00:37:35
    least like three to four levels of their
  • 00:37:38
    depthness and the questions I think you
  • 00:37:40
    are pretty good to go so that would be
  • 00:37:42
    the second round and the third would be
  • 00:37:45
    scenario based right let's say they
  • 00:37:48
    would they can ask you questions like u
  • 00:37:51
    in security ctfs are very common UD
  • 00:37:54
    these are capture the flag events oh
  • 00:37:57
    yeah yeah yeah yeah and I took uh sorry
  • 00:38:00
    the reason I remember I took a security
  • 00:38:03
    course in my masters because I did my
  • 00:38:05
    masters in computer science and we had
  • 00:38:07
    to participate in the competition which
  • 00:38:10
    was completely based on Capture the Flag
  • 00:38:13
    kind of thing and they would have
  • 00:38:16
    problems and I would have to solve like
  • 00:38:18
    once you solve it then you cap like you
  • 00:38:20
    basically capture the flag and they were
  • 00:38:23
    we were divided into multiple teams and
  • 00:38:26
    uh it was fun it was a fun course I I
  • 00:38:28
    would like recommend people to get that
  • 00:38:30
    course if they going to GCO state but
  • 00:38:31
    regardless sorry yes uh it just reminded
  • 00:38:34
    me about that that so CTF in the
  • 00:38:37
    interview process is it the same or is
  • 00:38:39
    it different so during this is a bit
  • 00:38:42
    different generally what security
  • 00:38:44
    Engineers do is play a CDF
  • 00:38:48
    but the interviews what I've given these
  • 00:38:52
    questions are like architecture design
  • 00:38:53
    and system designs they ask me in a
  • 00:38:56
    reverse way of how how do you actually
  • 00:38:58
    create a CTF for security
  • 00:39:01
    engineers and then this involves again
  • 00:39:05
    software development you would have to
  • 00:39:06
    know a bit of cloud where do you host
  • 00:39:08
    your services and how you actually
  • 00:39:11
    create that architecture itself so a
  • 00:39:15
    system design knowledge is also
  • 00:39:16
    important I would say that architectural
  • 00:39:19
    patterns and knowing studying these
  • 00:39:22
    would definitely help so these would
  • 00:39:25
    generally be the three rounds
  • 00:39:28
    of when you are interviewing for a
  • 00:39:30
    security engineer Ro nice and then you
  • 00:39:33
    get the offer which is million dollar
  • 00:39:35
    offer no sorry just
  • 00:39:37
    kidding
  • 00:39:39
    I uh but I've heard security people in
  • 00:39:42
    the fintech company which you are gets a
  • 00:39:45
    lot more money than the typical product
  • 00:39:48
    manager so what is the typical salary
  • 00:39:50
    range for cyber security
  • 00:39:52
    Engineers so yeah again this will vary
  • 00:39:56
    upon experience
  • 00:39:57
    uh so I would say let's say consider
  • 00:40:01
    start a person with like two and plus
  • 00:40:03
    years of experience or one plus year of
  • 00:40:05
    experience right the entry level
  • 00:40:07
    person for them I would say typically it
  • 00:40:11
    ranges between 90 to
  • 00:40:16
    140k and you're talking about base pay
  • 00:40:19
    yeah just the base yeah you're like just
  • 00:40:22
    just the base okay uh keep going yeah
  • 00:40:26
    and then upon this you would have a
  • 00:40:29
    different kind of you know perks that
  • 00:40:32
    would from the company like relocation
  • 00:40:35
    bonus annual bonus and things like that
  • 00:40:38
    okay great and then uh most of it would
  • 00:40:41
    again also be on the location as well
  • 00:40:44
    with state in the US are you from and
  • 00:40:48
    where you work from do you work remote
  • 00:40:49
    do you travel so even all of these come
  • 00:40:52
    into picture but I would say if you're
  • 00:40:55
    skilled enough right you would
  • 00:40:57
    definitely make good Chun of money but
  • 00:40:59
    if you the same let's say if you take
  • 00:41:02
    the same security engineer in Netflix
  • 00:41:04
    that
  • 00:41:06
    goes that's that's the same thing uh
  • 00:41:09
    sorry the last guy I interviewed for
  • 00:41:11
    from Apple he's told me the same thing
  • 00:41:13
    that Netflix pay crazy to their Network
  • 00:41:17
    Engineers uh and I didn't know until
  • 00:41:20
    then he explained me why and all of that
  • 00:41:22
    was very interesting yeah uh if you were
  • 00:41:26
    to give like a quick crash course on
  • 00:41:30
    aspiring cyber security engineer uh who
  • 00:41:32
    wants to do what you are doing they
  • 00:41:34
    don't have any work experience um just
  • 00:41:37
    like you and they don't know how to
  • 00:41:40
    build a profile what are the things they
  • 00:41:43
    should be doing during Masters during
  • 00:41:45
    The Bachelors whenever they watching
  • 00:41:46
    this what are some of the skills they
  • 00:41:49
    should be doing to build so that their
  • 00:41:51
    profile is can stand
  • 00:41:55
    out okay I would say say talking about
  • 00:41:59
    the skills keep your F fundamentals
  • 00:42:00
    right the basic software fundamentals
  • 00:42:03
    right Learn Python I recomend I'm a very
  • 00:42:08
    huge fan of python so I'm just watching
  • 00:42:10
    for it but learn at least one
  • 00:42:12
    programming language right once you're
  • 00:42:15
    good with
  • 00:42:16
    these understand how the windows
  • 00:42:19
    environment work understand what is
  • 00:42:21
    active directory what are domains right
  • 00:42:25
    all those concepts of it and how you can
  • 00:42:27
    attack active territories once you're
  • 00:42:30
    good with that start off uh with web
  • 00:42:33
    hacking like there are a lot of
  • 00:42:35
    different platforms called as Buck
  • 00:42:37
    hacker one and just make a profile in
  • 00:42:41
    these they are called as there there's
  • 00:42:43
    some programs called as vdps where you
  • 00:42:45
    can just go and Hunt vulnerabilities for
  • 00:42:48
    free this you get a very practical
  • 00:42:51
    approach and experience you get hands on
  • 00:42:54
    actual real-time hacking so try these
  • 00:42:57
    try these Buck R
  • 00:42:59
    programs and I would say I would also
  • 00:43:02
    recommend to
  • 00:43:03
    upskill you as you're progressing this
  • 00:43:06
    journey the various platforms like try
  • 00:43:08
    hack me hack the Box let's defend. right
  • 00:43:12
    all of these cover red taming and blue
  • 00:43:14
    taming
  • 00:43:15
    aspects they have a special roles for
  • 00:43:19
    security engineer or a red team attacker
  • 00:43:22
    and blue teaming side of it going to
  • 00:43:25
    these
  • 00:43:26
    websites take one of their courses read
  • 00:43:30
    and then learn upon it right so track me
  • 00:43:35
    hack the Box let's defend. once you're
  • 00:43:38
    good with these if you want to level up
  • 00:43:41
    start pursuing offensive security
  • 00:43:44
    certifications and TCM security
  • 00:43:47
    certifications these are very good to
  • 00:43:51
    get you into the industry I would highly
  • 00:43:53
    recommend TCM security over offensive
  • 00:43:56
    security
  • 00:43:57
    because
  • 00:43:59
    uh I think the value what it brings
  • 00:44:02
    especially in terms of
  • 00:44:04
    learning it's really good offensive
  • 00:44:07
    security tests you a lot of resilience I
  • 00:44:11
    think even that's good but I am more
  • 00:44:13
    aligned towards TCM Security in general
  • 00:44:17
    so yeah what about um the Cisco's the
  • 00:44:22
    certifications
  • 00:44:24
    NWS right so one thing we have to
  • 00:44:27
    understand UD is that there are certain
  • 00:44:30
    vendor neutral certifications and there
  • 00:44:33
    are certain generalized certifications
  • 00:44:35
    yeah so as we talk about the Cisco and
  • 00:44:38
    AWS
  • 00:44:39
    certifications these CTS will tell you
  • 00:44:42
    that you have certain
  • 00:44:43
    knowledge that products right yeah if
  • 00:44:48
    you take Cisco CCNA that's a base it
  • 00:44:51
    only covers the base of the Cisco
  • 00:44:53
    products in the majority M but but if
  • 00:44:57
    you want to look at General Security I
  • 00:45:00
    think certifications like TCM security
  • 00:45:03
    offensive security these do add up a lot
  • 00:45:06
    of value in your
  • 00:45:09
    profile nice great I love it um is there
  • 00:45:15
    anything else would you like to say to
  • 00:45:18
    aspiring cyber security Engineers one
  • 00:45:20
    last words of wisdom before we wrap I
  • 00:45:23
    think the important part is embrace your
  • 00:45:28
    hurdles and enjoy your journey while
  • 00:45:31
    you're learning lot of
  • 00:45:33
    skills it simple don't over complicated
  • 00:45:37
    keep it simple and it goes up so yeah
  • 00:45:41
    and keep watching my videos too you
  • 00:45:42
    should say that
  • 00:45:45
    too without saying you youve helped me
  • 00:45:48
    save 30k and that I helped you save 30k
  • 00:45:52
    how right so this this is a very funny
  • 00:45:55
    story again I don't know if you're
  • 00:45:57
    remember it or not so what happened was
  • 00:45:59
    while I was back in India I was filling
  • 00:46:01
    up my ds160 form which is required to
  • 00:46:04
    come to views right I saw a video
  • 00:46:07
    wherein you posted the entire DS1 160
  • 00:46:11
    filling it up right and Lally used to
  • 00:46:14
    pause that video and look oh did he get
  • 00:46:18
    this did I get this right and then I
  • 00:46:19
    filled out the
  • 00:46:21
    ds160 and then I did not opt for a
  • 00:46:24
    consultant if I had I had opted for
  • 00:46:26
    consultant that
  • 00:46:29
    would thanks to you for making this
  • 00:46:31
    videos and nice so when when I come to
  • 00:46:34
    your place you can treat me for a dinner
  • 00:46:36
    now oh yeah it's it's on me nice cool uh
  • 00:46:41
    sweet I love it thank you so much for
  • 00:46:44
    doing this I can't wait to now Deep dive
  • 00:46:46
    into your UNCC Journey because I know
  • 00:46:49
    that's what we're going to be filming
  • 00:46:50
    next but until our next one keep smiling
  • 00:46:52
    and keep hustling
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