Hi all, first post.
I moved to The Netherlands a few years ago, and am wanting to prepare for a career change from helpdesk to cyber security. I’m also doing a Dutch language course 1 day every week, ik moet het leren.
Long ago, I held a CompTIA A+ cert. I don’t have any at this point. Not strong on networking or programming skills, either.
Got any good suggestions on getting into the field in 2026? I’m a GNU/Debian guy, and have free time to study. Any good meetups in The Netherlands to seek mentorship or sharing of knowledge? Hoping some Dutchies and Duitsers can chime in.
Goal is to become a CISO but if I don’t make it that far, I’ll still land amongst the stars.
Alvast bedankt! Thanks in advance! -LOLseas
In the US, the cert most often expected is sec+.
Generally you should look at job listings and work backwards from there. Most companies use software like nessus and splunk, and there are plenty of free alternatives to those and others that you can play around with.
Competency in networking (firewall rules/acls, routing, subnetting) and programming (python, powershell, bash, batch script) are a big benefit.
Thank you for taking the time to respond! Much appreciated!