Qualifications and career path in security

I'm doing an undergraduate at the moment which includes a few security modules, the last is pentesting. I sometimes read Reddit and there seems to be a few trends that I've noticed on the cybersecurity sub there. First is a lot of people claiming to be leaving the field and posting doom and gloom about the state of employment in the field. The second is a advising against education and towards work experience, even if it's helpdesk work many people are claiming this is more valuable than a masters degree to employers. Obviously due to Reddit being Reddit and especially that it's 2024 I doubt the value of any information I can gather from reddit on this matter but I'm posting here for some alternative perspectives on an actually decent platform. I have been out of work for quite some time already and so another year or two doing a masters isn't a big deal to me, and I think id enjoy it a lot. But whether it be cybersecurity or not, or whether I choose to study it before pursuing some employment is yet to be seen. I wouldn't be surprised if the cybersecurity jobmarket and quality of jobs is in a poor state right now, but I did always think that demand would rise over time

I would not recommend a masters degree in your situation. The only case I would recommend an infosec masters is if you were transitioning from a non-tech career and already had a non-tech bachelors. Sounds like you're working on a tech degree, so in your case the experience will be more valuable. If you've never had a tech job before, look for entry level help desk or SOC jobs.

>>23872 What is the allure of security work TO YOU? For most it seems to be money, but that should not necessarily be the goal if you don't truly want to do the kind of work. I think that is why so many people are disillusioned. There is a delicate balance of education vs. work experience. Yes, work experience is definitely going to help, but some companies want certifications and training for liability purposes too. My advice is figure out the job you want and see what you need to get it, not getting overly qualified to just be qualified. Some of the best advice someone gave me was that. I asked for advice on what to study and I was told to educate and get experience for the job I wanted, not to just get a bunch of creds and certifications because then I would spend time and money on something that is completely unnecessary for what I was trying to do in the first place. I will also say that alternative pathways to your goal will stand out more than being a cookie cutter expert in your field.