This is What I’d Tell Every Junior Cybersecurity Engineer
Cybersec Café #64 - 04/22/25
I’ve been working in tech for 7 years now - 5 of those as a Security Engineer.
During that time, I’ve expanded my domain knowledge, explored multiple disciplines across the industry, and started building a personal brand in the space that I’m genuinely proud of.
Now, as a Senior Security Engineer, I want to share the 9 things that I’d tell every current or aspiring Junior Engineer.
These are the lessons, mindset shifts, and habits that can help you grow fast, thrive in the field, and build a career you’re proud of too.
1. You’re Not Expected to Know Everything
You’re not just new to security, you’re new to being a professional. No one expects you to have an answer for everything right out of the gate.
Lean into that. Show up every single day with energy and a genuine curiosity to learn. Make it your mission to soak up knowledge from every conversation, ticket, and task.
And for whoever needs to hear it: Asking questions doesn't make you look dumb.
I know the feeling, worrying that saying “I don’t know” or asking a question will show what you don’t know. But the only way to grow is by asking thoughtful, timely questions.
Some of the best engineers I’ve worked with, Staff-level and beyond, are the first to admit when they don’t know something. They own it, seek out the right people, and ask quality questions to deepen their knowledge and get the problem solved.
Embrace that mindset early. It’s a superpower.
2. Attitude Matters
Be the kind of person you’d want to work with on your team.
Nobody wants to collaborate with someone who’s constantly negative, low energy, or pessimistic.
Positivity is contagious. When you show up with a good attitude, people notice. You’re more likely to be pulled into projects, learning opportunities, and conversations to help you grow.
Surround yourself with people who are equally curious, driven, and supportive. It will help you grow faster than you realize.
3. Find a Quality Mentor
A great mentor can accelerate your growth like nothing else.
On the flip side, a bad (or absent) mentor can just as easily hold you back.
Identify the person doing the kind of work you see yourself doing a few years from now. Reach out. Ask thoughtful questions. More times than not, if you show that you’re eager to learn, people will want to help.
A good mentor will guide you. They’ll ask thought provoking questions and challenge how you think. They view learning as the primary goal.
But they’ll never grab your keyboard and do it for you.
You’ll learn faster by doing the difficult things yourself, not by watching them get done for you.
4. Ask What Success Looks Like
Don’t wait for your annual performance review to find out how you’re doing.
Set up a recurring 1:1s with your manager. Don’t just discuss day-to-day blockers, but have honest conversations about what it looks like to thrive in your role.
Start building trust by embodying what success looks like. Once you’ve built a rapport, ask the question that most people are afraid to ask: “What do I need to do in order to earn a promotion?” (Key word here is earn)
You want your manager to give you a list of projects, outcomes, and behaviors. Write them down. Make this list your roadmap - not just for growth, but for making your case for that promotion when the time comes.
People who ask for what they want are way more likely to get it than those who don’t.
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5. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
If you’ve been stuck on the same thing for days and you’re just spinning your wheels - ask for help.
Nobody is keeping score.
There’s a good chance someone’s solved your problem before. Don’t be embarrassed. Reach out, but do it the right way.
Always come prepared to share the details of exactly what you’re stuck on, what you’ve already tried, and what you’re thinking of trying next.
People won’t mind helping, but they do want to see that you’ve put in the effort first and don’t just ping them at the first sign of friction.
You might be surprised at how willing others are to support you.
6. Build Relationships
Like it or not, you can’t avoid office politics.
But building genuine relationships with your coworkers makes them a hell of a lot easier to navigate.
Yes, it’s smart to build connections with people who may influence your career growth, but don’t let that be your only motivation - people can see right through that.
Approach people as people. When you connect on a human level, strong work relationships follow naturally.
Don’t be afraid to reach out, start a conversation, or just say hi. Seriously, saying “hi” is not weird - ignoring someone is.
Strong careers are built on strong relationships, invest in them early.
7. Round Yourself Out as a Professional
Cybersecurity is tough because it’s so dense and so wide.
Not only are you expected to have expertise in your specialization, but also to have deep knowledge on networks, applications, and cloud infrastructure.
While you shouldn’t set an expectation for yourself to learn everything, it’s important to broaden your range in a way that makes sense for how you want to progress in your career..
In Security Operations? Take some time to dip into Application Security. Are you an AppSec Engineer? Spend some time learning about Detection Engineering. Maybe you’re a Cloud Security Engineer? Cut out some time blocks to learn the basics of Incident Response.
The goal here is to develop context across disciplines. It will make you more effective, more valuable, and a better teammate.
And one more thing - I believe programming is a must-have skill in this field.
It sharpens your problem solving, helps you automate the boring stuff, gives you the power to build custom tooling, and could unlock new career paths.
The point is, don’t stay siloed. Expand your horizons and pursue continuous growth.
8. Set Boundaries
On-call rotations are a common part of the job in cybersecurity - but that doesn’t mean you should be “always on.”
So when you’re off, be off. Take time to reset. Protect your evenings and protect your weekends.
There will always be more to do, so learn how to prioritize what matters each day you show up.
You don’t earn respect from burning out - you earn respect by showing up consistently and delivering your best, day in and day out..
9. Be Patient
Stop measuring your progress in weeks, or even months.
Take a step back and look at what you’re trying to accomplish in a year's time, five years, or even a decade.
Despite what people try to sell you online, there’s no such thing as overnight success in cybersecurity.
Remember, you’re building a 20+ year career here. You won’t, and can’t, learn it all in a weekend.
Pace yourself. Keep learning. Stay consistent. Measure yourself against your past self. That’s how real professionals are made.
💬 What would be the 10th thing you’d want to tell current or aspiring Junior Security Engineers? Let them know below.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need to be a genius to thrive in cybersecurity.
What you really need is a passion for what you do, a relentless drive to learn, and the kind of attitude that makes you a good teammate..
Be patient - the knowledge will come in time.
Show up every day with the goal of being better than you were yesterday, and you’ll grow faster than you think.
Securely Yours,
Ryan G. Cox
Just a heads up, The Cybersec Cafe's got a pretty cool weekly cadence.
Every week, expect to dive into the hacker’s mindset in our Methodology Walkthroughs or explore Deep Dive articles on various cybersecurity topics.
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Oh, and if you want even more content and updates, hop over to Ryan G. Cox on Twitter/X or my Website. Can't wait to keep sharing and learning together!
Valuable tips, Thank you for sharing!
Valuable tips, Thank you for sharing!