The Truth About Cybersecurity Certifications and Job Market Realities

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The certification industry has heavily marketed two misleading ideas:
1) A massive shortage of cybersecurity professionals exists, with companies desperate to hire.

2) Certifications alone guarantee high-paying jobs.

Reality check:

  • Promised “fat salary” jobs are rare and not advertised on LinkedIn.
  • Thousands of certified candidates compete for the same entry-level roles (e.g., VAPT jobs paying ~4LPA).
  • Certifications lose value when everyone holds them—no longer a differentiator.

You Should Know:

1. Skills Over Certifications

  • Linux Command for Network Scanning:
    sudo nmap -sS -A -T4 target_IP -oN scan_results.txt

    Flags: `-sS` (Stealth SYN Scan), `-A` (Aggressive OS/Service Detection), `-T4` (Speed).

  • Windows Command for Log Analysis:

    Get-WinEvent -LogName Security | Where-Object {$_.ID -eq 4624} | Export-CSV login_attempts.csv

Filters successful login events (ID 4624).

2. Practical Experience > Paper Certs

  • Set Up a Home Lab:
    Kali Linux tools update
sudo apt update && sudo apt install metasploit-framework wireshark
  • Automate Vulnerability Checks:
    Nikto web scanner
nikto -h https://target_site.com -output vuln_report.html

3. Real-World Growth Paths

  • Threat Hunting with ELK Stack:
    Install Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana
curl -fsSL https://artifacts.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/elastic.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/elastic.gpg] https://artifacts.elastic.co/packages/7.x/apt stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/elastic-7.x.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install elasticsearch kibana

What Undercode Say

The cybersecurity field rewards demonstrable skills, not just certifications. Focus on:
– Hands-on tools: Burp Suite, John the Ripper, Snort.
– Scripting: Python for exploit automation (!/usr/bin/env python3).
– OSINT: Use `theHarvester` for reconnaissance:

theHarvester -d target.com -l 500 -b google

Expected Output: A shift from certification-chasing to skill-building, with practical commands and labs as your resume.

Prediction

The market will soon saturate with certified-but-unskilled candidates, leading employers to prioritize practical testing (e.g., CTF challenges, live simulations) over paper credentials.

Relevant URL: Druva Ransomware Workshop (for hands-on incident response training).

IT/Security Reporter URL:

Reported By: Adhokshajmishra The – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

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