MCSI #035 - You’ve Been Promised a Job. You’ve Been Lied To.
There are no guarantees — only the courage to continue without them.
Over the years, hundreds of students — across all levels of experience — have written to me in frustration, despair, or quiet hope. Many are trying to land their first cybersecurity job. Some are out of work entirely. Others are years into their careers but feel like they’ve hit a wall.
What I’ve come to understand, and what isn’t said nearly enough, is this: trying to find a job in cybersecurity can be a profoundly disorienting and even traumatic experience. Not because people aren’t trying — but because so much is out of their control. And too often, what is in their control is never clearly explained.
Let’s speak plainly.
Location Matters
Where you live still determines how far your skills can take you.
MCSI has users in over 80 countries. If you're based in a region with no tech sector, or one where remote work is viewed with suspicion, the road ahead is harder.
Even in the West, students from rural or economically stagnant areas are at a disadvantage. Some employers still won’t hire remote workers unless they’re known quantities. Why? Because to them, you're an unknown. In the worst-case scenario, a security risk.
None of this is fair. But it is real.
Gender Matters
For many of our female students — particularly in countries where women face legal or cultural barriers to work — the struggle is not about skill. It's about permission.
Some of the most technically gifted people I’ve seen in our program are women who are legally barred from practicing the very craft they’ve mastered. It’s enraging. But pretending otherwise helps no one.
Skills Matters
This may sting — but it must be said: you might not be as good as you think you are.
In cybersecurity, value is measured by your ability to solve problems worth paying for. If your skills aren’t at the right level, employers notice quickly. Even if they don’t say so.
Cultural Fit Matters
You can be technically brilliant — and still get rejected because you didn’t “click.”
Workplace culture is a real factor. If you come across as a “social risk” — you might never hear back, no matter how strong your CV.
The Market Matters
Sometimes, it’s just timing.
You can have the right skills, the right attitude, and still miss out — because the market has turned, or budgets have frozen, or some senior leaders just received some new information and decided to “pause hiring.”
It’s not personal. But it feels personal. That’s what makes it so brutal.
Connections Matters
Many cybersecurity jobs come through referrals and reputation. If no one knows your work, getting hired is harder — plain and simple. Even with connections, there are no guarantees.
Networks open doors, but they don’t carry you through.
No Guarantees. Only the Real.
No one — no program, no credential, no institution — can guarantee you a job in cybersecurity. That’s not cynicism. It’s the Real. And coming to terms with it is the first act of freedom.
If you’ve enrolled in a bootcamp, a degree, or a certification on the promise of guaranteed employment, you’ve been misled — and perhaps, if you're honest, you've misled yourself.
It’s a hard truth. But far better to face it now than build your hopes on a foundation of sand.
At MCSI, we make no promises of employment. What we offer is harder — and more honest.
We teach real skills: the kind that solve problems, not just impress recruiters. We simulate the pressures, the ambiguity, the stakes of the work itself. And we keep our training as accessible as possible — because talent shouldn't depend on wealth.
Still, some of our students struggle to find jobs. Not because they failed — but because the world is not fair. Bias, timing, geography, gatekeeping — these aren't footnotes. They're structural.
But here is the line you must cross:
To stop asking for guarantees.
To let go of the fantasy that the system will reward you for doing everything right.
To see the Real — the contingency, the arbitrariness, the indifference — and decide to act anyway.
That’s not optimism. It’s not resignation.
It’s courage without illusion.
And it's where real growth begins.