A Simple Hack To Find Your North Star in Cybersecurity

Avoid Wasting Time and Build a Purposeful Cybersecurity Career in 2025

When Ali started his cybersecurity journey, he was filled with excitement.

He had heard about the booming industry, the high salaries, and the endless job opportunities.

With no clear direction, he did what most beginners do — signed up for an expensive cybersecurity bootcamp and chased multiple certifications, hoping to land a job quickly.

Two years later, Ali found himself frustrated.

Despite earning a handful of certifications, he still didn’t have a job in cybersecurity.

He had spent thousands of dollars on training programs but lacked real-world experience and a clear specialization.

The industry was evolving rapidly, and Ali felt lost, overwhelmed, and discouraged.

So ..what went wrong?

Ali didn’t have a North Star — a guiding path to navigate his cybersecurity career.

I have talked about this before and why it is essential when you are starting out in cybersecurity be as a fresher or someone transitioning from another career

Ali had wasted valuable time jumping from one thing to another without a clear strategy.

If he had focused on understanding his strengths, interests, and long-term career goals, he could have avoided this costly mistake.

If you’re considering a cybersecurity career — whether you’re a non-technical person transitioning into the field or a recent graduate — it’s critical to define your North Star early so you don’t waste time like Ali did.

Why Your North Star Matters in Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a vast field with numerous career paths, including:

• Cloud Security

• Identity and Access Management (IAM)

• Penetration Testing & Ethical Hacking

• Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)

• Security Operations & Incident Response

• Application Security

Without a clear focus, you risk falling into the trap of endlessly collecting certifications or applying for jobs you’re not suited for.

Your North Star helps you:

• Make better career decisions

• Choose the right skills and certifications

• Position yourself strategically in the job market

How to Find Your North Star in Cybersecurity

1. Identify Your Strengths and Interests

Ask yourself:

• Do I enjoy working with people and solving business problems?

• Am I interested in hands-on technical work?

• Do I have a background in IT, networking, or coding?

• Am I good at handling pressure ?

Be as brutally honest as possible here

2. Understand the Different Cybersecurity Roles

Instead of blindly chasing certifications, take time to research different career paths.

Find your ideal job in LinkedIn and see how you measure against it and what skills you are missing

3. Use the Power of GenAI

I typically recommend step 3 is for people to find a mentor but I realize it is not so easy and might be a bit intimidating for freshers to start DMing people on LinkedIn

But no problem .. one of the biggest advantages of starting a cybersecurity career in 2025 is the availability of AI-driven career guidance.

Just to be clear .. GenAI can never replace someone with years of Cybersecurity career experience but it can help you clear away some confusion

BUT .. most people use GenAI the wrong way.

Instead of providing it with context about their background and skills, they just start prompting with vague questions like, “What is the best cybersecurity career path?”

This leads to generic, unhelpful responses that don’t consider personal strengths or career aspirations.

Think of it like asking a personal trainer, “How do I get fit?” without mentioning your current fitness level, lifestyle, or goals.

If you’re a beginner who wants to lose weight, your workout plan would look completely different from an athlete training for a marathon.

Similarly, AI needs specific inputs about your background, skills, and preferences to generate useful career guidance.

Here’s a prompt you can use to get tailored career guidance and that helps GenAI optimize the advice it gives you !

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TASK:

Determine the most suitable cybersecurity career path based on personal background, strengths, and interests.

CONTEXT:

• The user is exploring cybersecurity career options but is unsure of the best path.

• The user has a specific educational background, work experience, and skill set.

• The response MUST be tailored to the user’s technical or non-technical preferences.

• THINK STEP BY STEP when analyzing user input to generate an accurate recommendation.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• DO analyze the user’s background, strengths, and interests thoroughly.

• DO provide a cybersecurity career recommendation that aligns with their skills and preferences.

• DO suggest essential skills, certifications, and first steps to break into the recommended field.

• DO structure the response clearly and concisely.

OUTPUT FORMAT:

1. Recommended Cybersecurity Career Path

2. Explanation of Why This Path Fits

3. Key Skills Required

4. Recommended Certifications

5. First Steps to Start

INPUT:

• Education: [Enter your education]

• Relevant Experience: [List any relevant work or projects]

• Strengths: [List strengths such as analytical thinking, attention to detail, communication skills, problem-solving]

• Preferred Work Type: [Technical or non-technical tasks]

• Interests: [Specific interests such as penetration testing, cloud security, governance, incident response, or risk management]

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Try it out and see the magic happen !

Used correctly .. AI can be an incredible tool for self-discovery and career alignment.

There are other prompts you can also use to experiment such as the following:

“I have experience in [your previous job role] where I worked on [key skills/tasks]. What cybersecurity roles align with my existing skills, and how can I transition into the field?”

This helps you avoid starting from scratch and instead leverage what you already know.

Different cybersecurity roles suit different personalities. Some are highly analytical, others are more strategic. To find your fit, use this:

“I enjoy [working alone/working in teams], prefer [structured work/environments with uncertainty], and thrive in [high-pressure situations/calm environments]. Based on my personality, which cybersecurity roles might be the best fit for me?”

Cybersecurity is not just for highly technical professionals. If you’re unsure where you fit, ask:

“I don’t have a technical background but want to get into cybersecurity. What are some non-technical or hybrid roles that might be a good fit for me, and what skills should I develop?”

This ensures you don’t waste time learning deep technical concepts if you’re better suited for governance, compliance, or security awareness training.

The difference between people who struggle for years and those who break into cybersecurity quickly is having a North Star.

Define your career goals, leverage AI for career guidance, and use smart prompts to get clarity on your path.

By taking a structured approach, you can land your first cybersecurity job faster, with more confidence, and without feeling lost.

So, what’s your North Star in cybersecurity?

Good luck!