I work in Cybersecurity, Incident Response specifically.
I started off in IT and spent a lot of years as a sysadmin (Windows, mostly). A couple jobs ago, I often worked closely with the security team and when they had an opening, they all but held a gun to my head to get me to apply to move over. Some years and a few internal promotions later, I got a message on LinkedIn which (in part) read:
I came across your LinkedIn and thought you might be a great fit for a Sr. Information Security Analyst role that my team currently has open. It's a fully remote opportunity with one of our top clients. Would you be open to a brief call to discuss further?
I said yes and now I'm a making good money while reading other peoples' email in my pajamas.
After graduating I couldn’t even get an interview for a relevant position. I took whatever random jobs for a while until I got sick of it. Getting a good job in the city was impossible so, I started looking for jobs anywhere and everywhere. Before long I found one 600 km away from where I lived at the time. Turns out, it’s very difficult to find competent people willing to work in the middle of nowhere, so even fresh graduates will do.
I needed money, they needed people. The job was also a pretty good match to my degree, so it was a win-win for everyone.
Pro tip: if you want to compete with all the PhDs with 10 years of experience, stay in the city. If not, be open to relocating. Don’t be afraid of small towns, they are actually pretty nice. Oh and the rent! I’m paying peanuts for a very nice flat, because it’s so far away from all the big cities.
Currently, I'm a cabinet maker, and I was referred to my current employer by my state's department of labor representatives. I've done damn near everything though: been a dishwasher, a chef (my longest held position at about 10 years), worked retail, was a pharmacy tech, delivery driver, the list goes on.
I interview well, always go in willing to admit what I don't know but highlight what I do know, have a good attitude, and a decent sense of humor helps a lot (at least in my experience).
The thing that's helped me find work the most has been my status as a veteran. Checking that box has opened more doors for me than anything else in my life because, to employers, it shows I'm more "mature" than those around my age, I'm dependable, learn quickly, don't argue, and will get the work done if it needs to be done. It's not surefire, by any means, but it has usually at least gotten me an interview with most places I've applied. Veteran employers like to see it because it's something we can both relate to, and civilian employers like it because they know you learn a lot of soft skills through the military, and the maturity thing.
As an example, I was hired as a cook for a local brewery, but during the interview, the guy kept mentioning my time in the military and how he'd like me to start pushing their kitchen in a more professional direction than it currently was, despite the fact I had about 5-10 years less experience than their current supervisor and my military experience wasn't related to cooking at all.
Not everyone has that on their resume, but it's definitely helped me since I separated almost 10 years ago now.
Nuclear engineer. Went to school for dual degrees in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, got decent grades and had two relevant internships. Interviewed at a college job fair, had some follow-up interviews, and likely stood out because I was computer literate.
I am an IT guy at a medium sized company. I took some computer classes at a community college and I guess I impressed one of my teachers, who encouraged me to apply for a job she heard about. I got hired right away. This was a year ago. I'm in my 40s and never had an office job before, but have always been into computers.
All but one have been via "networking". Friends and old co-workers. Getting started was the hard part. Now I have a resume full of accomplishments, but when I was fresh out of school I didn't have anything. Probably should've made more friends in school or joined more groups.
I did customer service at the start and now do software development.
Sysadmin. I keep an eye on governmentjobs.com (US) and university/school system websites in my state whenever I’m looking for something new. I have a generic resume that I rewrite for each job I apply for using keywords in the job listing. I also always write a cover letter that details why I’m interested in the job and why my experience makes me a good fit. A lot of people say hiring teams don’t read those, but I’ve been told numerous times that my cover letter set me apart. I don’t apply for jobs I’m tepid about, so I don’t waste a lot of time applying dozens of places. I’d estimate if I’m called for an interview, I also get a job offer 75% off the time.
A lot of people discourage from public sector jobs, but in my experience they pay almost as well as private sector ones and come with better benefits, less stress, fewer mandatory overtime situations, etc.
Art Therapist. I am the services director at a youth shelter. I oversee the art therapy and psychology interns and the other staff, making sure we are providing the appropriate services (shelter, life skills, therapy, case management, fiduciary, etc) and are generally meeting the needs of our clients.
Additionally, I get to be the handy man...because stuff needs to get done and I'm the one with the drill and willingness to climb a ladder.
I got my current job due to my degree in art therapy. But before that, I worked in an embroidery shop. My kids have special needs and I wanted to be available for them while they were young. I replied to an ad for an embroidery specialist (without any training), and they hired me to run the shop based on me having a good work history, good education, and the expectation that I would be around for a while.
TL;DR. Most places just want to see that you're dependable and willing to work hard. Build up that reputation and you can branch out into different fields a little. Just apply to anything you are interested in. Good luck!!
Friend left his job just as a contract was ending for me so I just took over for him.
Since this is probably a young person asking whose looking to start their career: I applied to a lot of jobs and lied on my resume until I got lucky with a small business that took a chance on me.
I know what RAM looks like. That's literally what got me hired over the other candidate at my current MSP job. Other candidate didn't know that RAM doesn't have screws and removed the SSD of the laptop in the practical interview. I'd never seen an SSD before, but knew RAM didn't have screws. I took out the RAM and put it back in and was offered the position an hour later.
I had been fired from a tech support job 4 days before that very suddenly got absolute bullshit reasons and I was having a terrible time psychologically. This job is a million times better than my old one, so getting fired was actually the best thing to happen to my career.
I'm a level one helpdesk tech rn, but will probably become level two in a year or two. My company is really pushing me to grow and advance my career and it's so great.
I still struggle with the emotional damage getting fired in such a devastating way caused, but I'm going to be getting therapy so I can finally get over it.