after graduating for the ones who didn’t get a internship did you go straight to entry level IT jobs for experience or what was your route?

Not in your boat, but I'll comment to boost engagement. I got an IT helpdesk gig my sophomore year, I think it's helped a lot, I still feel very behind, but that might be IT and life as a whole. The only big take away I can share is try not to compare yourself to others.

This is kinda insane to me. I go to a state school in the US and everyone I know that's good at cyber got a job in cyber after college

What do you do? Are you in GRC. How did you get there and what's it like? Where did you apply, Linkedin, Indeed, glass door, USAJobs.com? How many applications did you send out?

The question is how do you land the internship in the first place !

Simple, projects and club experience will take over for any work experience you don’t have. If you can, you should get part-time jobs in school as a research assistant, teaching assistant, or help desk to pad your resume. Combined with certs you should be fine to land an internship. Last of all it’s just a numbers game, apply everywhere and be open in what you are doing.

I think a lot of it is placed on the people skills more so than the actual knowledge of the person. I feel like if a person shows the willingness to learn new tech, then they'll be hired more so over someone who looks like they know what there doing. As well as I think each company is different so the vice versa can be true. I'd say it's probably luck with a side of people skills.

IT internship for about 6 months —> full-time IT Ops engineer for about a year and a half —> currently a SOC analyst

I graduated in April of 2025 with a B.S in Cybersecurity and didn’t get my current IT Support Tech job till mid January of this year. I also didn’t have internship experience. My advice: Start small in IT and bide your time. You’ll be amazed how much farther you get with job postings when you get as little as six months experience. Try not to compare yourself to others. I know it’s tough not to and believe me I struggle with it a lot. Let it motivate you and drive your ambition but don’t become bitter or resentful.

Created my own company and eventually joined a F500 as a senior principal engineer. No need to start at the bottom or always wait for someone to hire you.

i got a FT role before graduation. it was sheer luck. i tried to get many internships. even made it to one last round, but unfortunately was passed on. never ended up getting one. it’s tough man. i would just apply to all entry level roles while continuing to apply to internships. you’re about to graduate, the job market is tough, & hiring takes awhile anyways. i wish you & everyone else graduating during these times the best.

Went from the army to help desk/baby sys admin role and then did school.

i got into mainframe somehow and started working with IBM and American Express now pursuing a masters, will try to crack into security again after that

If this is in the US: I would start applying for helpdesk roles. “Entry-level” cybersecurity is almost a myth in 2026. Certs are great for getting past HR and into an interview but experience will always be more valuable for a cybersecurity position.

I’m one of the lucky few that job an entry level cyber job right out of college with no prior experience. The jobs are out there, they are just very limited and highly sought after. I wish you the best of luck!

Didn’t get an internship, was hired by my company who paid for my college after finishing my degree. Lots of companies are like that, look up the Guild benefit that companies use (Taco Bell, Walmart, Lowe’s, etc)

Yep! Went straight to IT support for about 2 years before I was finally able to pivot to the security team at my previous company

I basically started out in 1st‑line tech support, got lucky with timing, moved into the security team, and now I’m stepping into an SME role. It wasn’t a straight path, and it rarely is. I can only really comment from a blue‑team perspective, but a lot of entry‑level cyber roles get filled from within, so showing interest where you already are can make a huge difference. And don’t be worried about taking a similar role to build experience — help desk teaches you OS fundamentals, patching cycles, and you usually end up working closely with the security team anyway. A lot of the practical stuff I rely on day‑to‑day wasn’t something I learnt during my degree, real‑world roles fill in those gaps fast. The cyber job market is ridiculous right now, but the best advice I can give is to show genuine enthusiasm. Spend time with things like MITRE ATT&CK, get comfortable analysing logs and data, understand how security frameworks fit together, and bring transferable skills from other roles — they matter more than people think and help you stand out. And looking beyond “I want to do blue team/red team” helps a lot. What part of the team actually interests you? Why that role? What kind of work makes you tick? The more you understand that, the easier it is to find your lane.

Not a college grad and didn't attend any college but coming from a different work field switching over to IT, I started out at helpdesk to gain experience, and made my way in to cybersecurity.

Back in the 1900s, yes, I was already doing tech support during my last 2 years.

I did service desk for 5 years and then got into security. When they say “Entry level” on the job description they don’t mean “fresh out of college. Security is a job you won’t get immediately no matter what colleges or “boot camps” will tell you. Do internships and get hired or do your time in the mines of T1 IT.