Transitioning from Animal Science into Cybersecurity – Looking for Honest Advice
Hi everyone,
I’m currently transitioning into cybersecurity from a completely different academic background, and I’d really appreciate some honest advice from people already working in the field.
My undergraduate degree is in Animal Science from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria. I know that’s quite far from cybersecurity, but over the past period I’ve developed a genuine interest in the field and have been working to build my knowledge and practical skills.
My interest became very personal after I experienced cyber fraud twice. I lost my school fees during one incident and later lost my savings through a credit card breach. Those experiences made me want to understand how these attacks happen and, more importantly, how they can be detected and prevented.
Since then, I’ve been learning cybersecurity through self-study and practical training. I have completed Cisco Academy courses/certificates in Introduction to Cybersecurity, Networking Basics, and Operating Systems.
I’ve also had practical exposure through cybersecurity training with SBTS, where I’ve been learning about:
- SOC operations
- SIEM and Wazuh
- Wireshark
- Nmap
- Networking
- Linux/Kali Linux
- Incident detection and analysis
My current goal is to build myself towards a SOC Analyst / Cybersecurity Analyst career.
I’m also planning to pursue a Cybersecurity Conversion MSc, since my first degree isn't IT-related. I want the MSc to help me strengthen the areas I currently have gaps in and give me a more structured and advanced understanding of cybersecurity.
My biggest question is for people who are already working in cybersecurity:
If you were starting again from my position, what would you focus on over the next 6–12 months?
Would you recommend focusing more on:
- Networking and Linux
- SIEM tools such as Wazuh/Splunk/Sentinel
- Blue-team labs and incident response
- Certifications
- Building a cybersecurity portfolio/GitHub
- Getting an IT/helpdesk/networking role first
I’m especially interested in hearing from people who came into cybersecurity from a completely different academic or career background.
I’m not looking for shortcuts. I just want to make sure I’m spending my time learning the right things and building skills that actually matter in the real world.
Any honest advice, criticism or recommendations would be appreciated.