Breaking into IT and cybersecurity starts with strong fundamentals, hands-on experimentation, and a willingness to keep learning. This guide summarizes insights from Rich Miller, Founder & CEO of STACK Cybersecurity, for students and early-career professionals who want a real entry level cybersecurity career path.
Start With IT Fundamentals
Cybersecurity is built on understanding the fundamentals of IT and how systems operate under normal conditions. If you can explain normal behavior across infrastructure, endpoints, and identity systems, you are far better equipped to detect suspicious activity and investigate incidents.
Networking fundamentals, routing, and traffic flow
DNS records and behavior (A, MX, CNAME, TTL)
Windows processes, services, and endpoint behavior
Firewalls, segmentation, and VLAN design
SIEM usage, telemetry collection, and log aggregation
EDR / MDR tools, patching, and system administration
Build a Home Lab
The quickest way to get into IT & Cybersecurity, is building things. A home lab lets you practice both IT operations and security analysis in a controlled environment while proving your initiative. By completeing personal projects, you can show what you know, as well as improving your own skills.
What to Build
- Create virtual machines locally or in cloud student tiers
- Deploy networks, servers, and monitoring tools
- Simulate attacks and investigate resulting artifacts
- Practice building and breaking systems safely
Example Lab Projects
- Deploy a SIEM and analyze host/network logs
- Configure firewall rules and validate traffic policy
- Run both Windows and Linux VMs
- Simulate phishing or credential misuse in a safe sandbox
Also, check out TryHackMe and HacktheBox for guided labs.
Technologies to Study
Use this roadmap as a checklist for starting a career in cybersecurity and IT. Focus on understanding how each technology works, what it protects, and how it is used during incident response or operations.
SIEM platforms and log analysis
Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
Managed detection and response (MDR)
IDS/IPS technologies
DNS infrastructure and troubleshooting
Network segmentation and VLAN strategy
Firewall rule design and validation
Windows processes and service management
RAID concepts and storage resilience
Check out our Cybersecurity Glossary and Common Acronyms for simple definitions of these terms.
Resume Tips for Entry-Level Candidates
- List technologies and terms clearly: DNS, SIEM, VMware, DHCP, EDR, and related tools.
- Only include technologies you can explain with confidence.
- Prepare to discuss how you used each skill in a class, job, or home lab project.
- Show broad IT exposure instead of presenting yourself as too narrow too early.
For most entry-level cybersecurity career opportunities, hiring managers care deeply about demonstrated knowledge, curiosity, and momentum, often more than credentials alone.
Certifications and Education
Certifications can support your IT career path by signaling baseline knowledge, but they should complement real-world practice, not replace it.
- CompTIA Security+
- CompTIA Network+
- CompTIA CySA+
- Other foundational security and infrastructure certifications
In interviews, hands-on projects and lab experience frequently carry the most weight because they demonstrate how you solve actual problems. However, certifications can signal some foundational knowledge, which can help you land an interview, but they will not carry you through a technical interview.
Demonstrating Drive
- Document your home lab projects with screenshots and outcomes
- Share learning progress and technical walkthroughs regularly
- Build a personal website or YouTube channel that highlights projects and lessons learned
- Participate in local IT and cybersecurity communities
- Attend events and meetups to build relationships
- Engage with professionals and mentors on LinkedIn
Showing real effort and curiosity can separate you from other candidates early.
Interview Preparation
- Know your resume inside and out, especially every listed tool and project.
- Expect troubleshooting scenarios and explain your thought process step by step.
- Be honest when you do not know an answer, then describe how you would find it.
- Demonstrate curiosity and calm problem-solving under uncertainty.
Building Your Career
Early careers grow fastest when you seek broad exposure. Entry-level roles in IT support or managed services at an MSP or MSSP can accelerate your development by exposing you to different environments, tools, and real production problems.
As you build relationships, keep experimenting, and continue learning, you create momentum that opens long-term cybersecurity opportunities.