How to Get a Cybersecurity Job with NO Experience (2026 Step-by-Step)

Learn how to get a cybersecurity job with no experience in 2026 by building skills, earning certs, and gaining hands-on practice.

Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.

Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.

Key Takeaways

Proof of skills matters more than job experience to break into cybersecurity.
Start with structured learning focusing on fundamentals and certifications like Google Cybersecurity Certificate, Network+, and Security+.
Hands-on labs and real-world problem solving are essential to develop practical cybersecurity skills.
Entry-level IT roles can serve as stepping stones to cybersecurity positions.
Tailored resumes and direct applications improve chances of landing a job.

What the video covers

You don't need prior job experience but must have demonstrable cybersecurity skills.
The Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate is a great entry point with hands-on labs and projects.
Networking knowledge is essential; CompTIA Network+ and Security+ are recommended certifications.
Skipping CompTIA A+ is possible but not always advised for beginners.
Structured learning and understanding fundamentals like traffic flow, DHCP, DNS, ACLs, and firewalls are critical.
Hands-on experience and problem-solving skills are more important than just stacking certifications.
Entry-level IT jobs like help desk can build foundational experience before moving into cybersecurity roles.
Applying directly on company websites with tailored resumes is crucial for job hunting.
Using AI tools and practice tests like Jason Dion’s resources can enhance learning and exam preparation.
There are multiple career entry paths, including going straight to SOC analyst roles, though help desk experience is beneficial.

Chapters

Can I get a cybersecurity job without any prior job experience?

Yes, you can get a cybersecurity job without prior job experience if you have the necessary skills and can prove them through certifications and hands-on labs.

What certifications should I start with to enter cybersecurity?

Starting with the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate is recommended, followed by CompTIA Network+ and Security+ to build a strong foundation.

Is it necessary to have networking knowledge for cybersecurity?

Absolutely. Networking is the basis of cybersecurity, and understanding how traffic flows, DHCP, DNS, ACLs, and firewalls work is essential to be effective in the field.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Everyone keeps saying that you can't get a cybersecurity job with no experience. And I'm going to be honest, that's kind of true, but also not really. You don't need job experience, but you do need skills, and you absolutely need to be able to show proof of those skills.

Speaker A

able to show proof of those skills. Now, when people hear no experience, they think that they could just watch a couple of videos, take some notes, take a practice test, and then go start applying. Now, an employer isn't going

Speaker A

Now, when people hear no experience, they think that they could just watch a couple of videos, take some notes, take a practice test, and then go start applying. Now, an employer isn't going to care about this. They're going to think about whether you can actually think through problems, whether you can reason about systems, whether you can analyze logs, identify suspicious activity, and respond to issues appropriately. They don't care if you learned it from your lab or from a job or from your bedroom, but you do need to be able to show that you actually learned it.

Speaker A

learned it from your lab or from a job or from your bedroom, but you do need to be able to show that you actually learned it. So, in this video, I'm going to discuss what I would do if I was

Speaker A

So, in this video, I'm going to discuss what I would do if I was going to get a cybersecurity job with no experience in 2026. We'll talk about certs, labs, and resources. I will have all of those pinned in the description.

Speaker A

I actually realized this kind of late in my IT career. When I was at tier one, I was dealing with phishing issues, MFA issues, account lockouts, all of those things are cybersecurity. I just didn't realize it at the time. So, even if you

Speaker A

I actually realized this kind of late in my IT career. When I was at tier one, I was dealing with phishing issues, MFA issues, account lockouts, all of those things are cybersecurity. I just didn't realize it at the time. So, even if you aren't in a cybersecurity job, you might be building a foundation without realizing it.

Speaker A

not true, but you do need to prove that you belong there. So, starting from zero, no connections, here's exactly what I would do. First, I would give myself structure. You cannot just randomly learn cybersecurity. There's just too much information. There are too

Speaker A

And one of the biggest lies that you'll hear is that you need 10 years of X experience in order to break into cybersecurity. This is just not true, but you do need to prove that you belong there.

Speaker A

best entry points. It's not a cert that you're going to be able to say, "Hey, I have this. Now, give me a job." But, it is a cert that's going to give you this entryway into cybersecurity. You'll have

Speaker A

So, starting from zero, no connections, here's exactly what I would do. First, I would give myself structure. You cannot just randomly learn cybersecurity. There's just too much information. There are too many tools, too many amazing platforms, certs, and things that you could do. I would start with the fundamentals.

Speaker A

what's to come next. So, after this one, I would do CompTIA's Network Plus to understand network infrastructure and how computers actually connect.

Speaker A

And in my opinion, the best thing to give you the fundamentals of cybersecurity is the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate. Now, this is one of the best entry points. It's not a cert that you're going to be able to say, "Hey, I have this. Now, give me a job." But, it is a cert that's going to give you this entryway into cybersecurity. You'll have hands-on experience, labs, real projects. You're going to practice real-life things that you do on a cybersecurity job, and it's going to be a good litmus test to tell you, "Hey, do I actually even like cybersecurity?"

Speaker A

secure what you don't understand. If you don't understand how traffic flows, how DHCP works, how DNS works, how ACLs and firewalls work, you're not going to have a very good time. So again, you want to deeply understand this. Now, I have my

Speaker A

And then it also really sets you up well for what's to come next. So, after this one, I would do CompTIA's Network Plus to understand network infrastructure and how computers actually connect.

Speaker A

Now, a little bit of a hot take here. I think you can skip the CompTIA A+ If you have zero experience, it's not a terrible cert. It's just two tests. It's half a grand, and it takes a lot of time

Speaker A

Absolutely fundamental. And Security Plus. Now, I need to be 100% clear about this. If you skip the networking part, you are not going to be a very good cybersecurity professional. Networking is the basis of everything, and from there you can branch out. You can't secure what you don't understand.

Speaker A

entryway into tech in general. Like, "Hey, what is all this stuff?" Again, link for that in the description as well. But, the point is you want to structure your learning in the proper way. And then on top of that learning,

Speaker A

If you don't understand how traffic flows, how DHCP works, how DNS works, how ACLs and firewalls work, you're not going to have a very good time. So again, you want to deeply understand this.

Speaker A

and understand why one thing is right, why one thing is wrong, and what are the tradeoffs of these two different options. And Google Cybersecurity Certificate gives you this perfectly.

Speaker A

Now, I have my best resources for Network Plus and Security Plus in the description. Those are going to be the Jason Dion practice tests. They're absolutely clutch, and you're going to use AI a lot of the way as well to help learn these resources.

Speaker A

technology. It's something that most people will recommend that you do, and I also recommend that you do because again, if you're not a domain generalist, it's tough for you to secure something that you don't deeply understand. 3 to 6 months at this job is

Speaker A

Now, a little bit of a hot take here. I think you can skip the CompTIA A+ If you have zero experience, it's not a terrible cert. It's just two tests. It's half a grand, and it takes a lot of time to study for.

Speaker A

different security titles that you could target. Once you have the certs, you have a little bit of experience, and you have the titles that you can target, you're going to go apply. And when you apply, you have to apply on company

Speaker A

And I think you'd be better off doing the cybersecurity cert, going on to Network Plus and Security Plus. Now, there also is a Google IT Support Professional Certificate that I also think is very good just as an entryway into tech in general. Like, "Hey, what is all this stuff?"

Speaker A

everything very carefully so I can remember who replied to me, who didn't reply to me, and what's still in the pipeline. Now, option two is you can skip help desk entry level and go straight to like a SOC analyst. This is

Speaker A

Again, link for that in the description as well. But, the point is you want to structure your learning in the proper way. And then on top of that learning, something that many people do is they stack certifications, but they don't actually do anything with the knowledge they get from those certifications.

Speaker A

harder as well. So, I generally would advise against it. Again, it's not impossible, but I would advise against it. Now, on the note of applications as well, you're going to want to have a good resume tailored to the position

Speaker A

This is something that you want to avoid. You need hands-on experience. You need to sit down with problems, analyze data, and understand why one thing is right, why one thing is wrong, and what are the tradeoffs of these two different options. And Google Cybersecurity Certificate gives you this perfectly.

Speaker A

different opinions. I have a resume workshop on jakestechlabs.com that can help you out with this. It's 100% free, and I think it'll help get your resume in a working position. I've seen many people get jobs using this resume. Because if you zoom out, the

Speaker A

So, now you've got these entry-level certs. You have two options. You can apply to an entry-level IT job, something like help desk, IT support, tier one. This is going to get your foot in the door and get you experience with technology.

Speaker A

have a basic understanding of incident response, and then you have to have networking. Now, the part that bothers a lot of people is that getting the job itself is more about playing the game right than it is about being the most

Speaker A

It's something that most people will recommend that you do, and I also recommend that you do because again, if you're not a domain generalist, it's tough for you to secure something that you don't deeply understand. 3 to 6 months at this job is going to be well enough.

Speaker A

positioning can land the position. And that's just reality. So, you need to play the game. You need a solid strategy for how you're going to do these things.

Speaker A

Then after this, you want to look for those entry-level cybersecurity roles, things like SOC analyst, security analyst. I would even look at things like network security administrator. And you could talk with GPT. There's a bunch of different security titles that you could target.

Speaker A

And then one other important thing that I'm forgetting is that when you get to interviews, you need to be able to talk.

Speaker A

Once you have the certs, you have a little bit of experience, and you have the titles that you can target, you're going to go apply. And when you apply, you have to apply on company websites.

Speaker A

to actually post it anywhere. It doesn't have to hit YouTube or Instagram at any point in the future. But, it's going to get you comfortable talking about technical things. And this is really, really, really important. I've interviewed many times in my life for

Speaker A

If you put applications on LinkedIn, Indeed, Easy Apply, anything that's only one click, it's a waste of your time. I wouldn't even count it as an application. I would apply only on company websites, and I would track everything very carefully so I can remember who replied to me, who didn't reply to me, and what's still in the pipeline.

Speaker A

stuff every single day on this YouTube channel. Obviously, you don't have to go to this extent, but you do need to practice talking. Now, as far as timeline goes, how long is it going to take you to get into cybersecurity? If

Speaker A

Now, option two is you can skip help desk entry level and go straight to like a SOC analyst. This is possible. I've seen many people do it. I don't think this is optimal because again, it's tough to secure things that you don't understand.

Speaker A

you don't have to, but it's a good idea. If you go that IT route, it may take a little bit longer on paper, but honestly, I think it's a more optimal route. If you did 6 months to a year at

Speaker A

And if you don't have that basic tier one experience, it's going to make being a SOC analyst harder as well. So, I generally would advise against it. Again, it's not impossible, but I would advise against it.

Speaker A

simple. You just need to follow the rules and play the game right, and you can beat other people who are maybe way smarter or way more competent than you.

Speaker A

Now, on the note of applications as well, you're going to want to have a good resume tailored to the position that you're actually applying for. In order to buff out your resume, you got to use AI, you got to iterate a lot, and you got to have a good structure.

Speaker A

Is this good? You could argue yes, you could argue no, but it's how the world is. Now again, I want you to understand there's no perfect way of doing this.

Speaker A

How can I actually structure my resume? This is something hard. Everybody has different opinions. I have a resume workshop on jakestechlabs.com that can help you out with this. It's 100% free, and I think it'll help get your resume in a working position.

Speaker A

link. It pays me a little bit of money at no extra cost to you. But, there's also a free trial on it. So, you can try it for 1 week, and if you decide, "Hey, I hate this," don't do it. Guys, I

Speaker A

I've seen many people get jobs using this resume. Because if you zoom out, the core skills that you want to have are pretty straightforward. You want to understand Microsoft environments. You want to have log analysis.

Speaker A

Make some good decisions, and we'll see you in the next one. Bye.

Topics:cybersecurity jobno experienceGoogle Cybersecurity Professional CertificateCompTIA Network PlusCompTIA Security Plusentry-level ITSOC analystcybersecurity certificationsjob application tipshands-on labs

Get More with the SozAI App

Transcribe recordings, audio files, and YouTube videos — with AI summaries, speaker detection, and unlimited transcriptions.

App Store Google Play

Or transcribe another YouTube video here →

Free tools: TXT to SRT · SRT Validator · Merge SRT · Subtitle to Text · All tools