Time management

Author: Stefan Waldvogel
Editor: Shana Wejuli -reserved-

Proper time management needs a specific goal has multiple advantages:

You have a clear path with a timeline. If you follow your timeline, you see all the bricks in a row, and you can focus your energy.
Setting up milestones is helpful because you waste less time. One example: You want to reach a challenging goal in 3 days, should you watch sports or study and work? Without a plan, you might pick watching sports.
You can calculate how much money you need to reach your goal and when you need it.

Time management in learning Cybersecurity is complicated because you do not know long you need to finish one brick. Let us say you study for Security+ and you google for a time. You will find everything between 2 weeks and six months because people learn differently and have different free time.

The following picture is an example for a SOC Analyst path (US-based) without the job application process:

Do you see the most significant advantage? Getting a job in Cybersecurity suddenly looks achievable! You get a good mix of IT basics, two valuable certifications for HR, the specific knowledge for a SOC Analyst position, and you do networking. With your lab at home, you transform Network+ and Security+ in hand on, and later you can add more. During an interview, you stand out because you can talk about mistakes and what you learned. If you do not get a job, check the local market. Find a close alternative, maybe Azure SOC Analyst, and you add SC-200.

In other countries, this looks very different, and I pick Germany to show this:

I worked in an extensive IT department in Germany and installed hardware and software at an airport without a single certification. Few people have certifications because the needed training to get most jobs is between 2,5 and 3,5 years. This step is mandatory for > 90% of all available jobs! If you finish this training, your hands-on level and knowledge are significantly higher than most certifications.

It would help if you found your path.

Next: Cybersecurity domains