How I Became a Hacker (and What I'd Do Differently)

[@_JohnHammond]

Huge thanks for including Fetch the Flag! Stoked to see you at Wild West Hacking Fest next week! (I may or may not be wearing a respective "TCM GOAT" shirt 🤪)

[@aloneff724]

Hii John❤

[@_JohnHammond]

@@aloneff724 hiiiii!!! 😁

[@joshuandaki8077]

bro👍😂

[@samshingler8186]

You may not read this but if you do, I want to thank you for inspring me and help me go from a complete newbie to now someone persuing my dream job as a Pentester. I never found books always great for me to learn but I took your very first course and now use your platform religiusly, you are making a huge difference and once get my first job, I hope one day I can come work for you, the mentor & master!!

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

Thank you very much! Good luck to you on your journey!

[@PatrickMcCoyJr]

I'd love to see a video series with this with all your team members. It's always awesome to see how others reach different jobs using different methods.

[@dantemathews3807]

I second this! I think it could be beneficial to see all the different backgrounds and how their path helped them to get where they are today!

[@miscellaneouszone]

In my hacking journey, I have read books, watch tutorials and subscribed to courses until I came across TCM security, everything changed. You made my life easier and since I am now an expert thanks to you. 🎉. Keep inspiring and helping out the masses. I personally owe you a big thank you, cheers.

[@ontoshere]

I like hearing the journey of the guy who helped mine a lot. Through your courses I was able to translate my existing skillset, including software engineering, into hacking methodology and secured an offer being able to pass a hands on assessment and technical. So thank you! Obviously this is where the learning will really ramp up but you're doing awesome work, I'll be checking out your new bug bounty course soon.

[@lampmanjosh]

Thank you for this video sir. I’m currently working a job I am good at, but don’t particularly like as a Network Implementation Engineer for an ISP. Between family, and craziness at work it’s hard to find the time to work on these skills. Kinda feeling stuck. But, think I’m going to start making time before the kids school routines, and work. Gotta start following my passions, and buckle down and get the PJPT. Appreciate you as always, Heath.

[@AlfredNobel-u1u]

I bought for the OSCP and failed my first exam because I ended up hard-stuck on the Active Directory foothold for 20 full hours and I still have to this day absolutely no idea of what should have been done in order to get that foothold. All i know is that I was definitely way too stressed up to conveniently do the OSCP. All my notes and preparations were all suddenly lost and I went on the internet like a madman in order to find different ways to enumerate. I still unfortunately do not feel ready to take back the exam, my goal right now is to continue doing HackTheBox machines until medium machines feel way too easy. I got no idea if this is the right thing to do, but you inspired me on my journey and you definitely helped me to start my career.

[@FaLkraydz]

It happened to me during BTL1 (Blue Team Level 1 - which is a waaaayyyy simpler exam when it's compared to OSCP), What saved me was that I had a second attempt, I used couple months later and passed. I barely study extra for the exam, what changed? I wasn't burnt out anymore. I was in a really bad place on my first attempt. Now I'll be pivoting to the offensive side.

[@InwardGaze]

I have no IT experience but I've gained the foundation with CC, Google's Cybersecurity certification, and just passed Security+ yesterday. Thankful for your advice. Looking for my first job, not sure if my first would be in red team but that's what I want. Thanks for your clear insight.

[@floresss06]

hey can i ask what CC is

[@InwardGaze]

@@floresss06 Certified in Cybersecurity by ISC2!

[@jordanjohnson8150]

Honestly, you're a big reason for why I am in cybersecurity now. I caught one of your videos years ago, it piqued my interest, made the shift, and have now been working in cybersecurity for almost four years. 😃

[@deansmith5007]

It's amazing, as a pentester myself, I had pretty much the exact same upbringing through the career journey as you. Thanks for sharing :)

[@JosephBerru]

Mr. Adams, thank you for sharing your experience and highlighting your pros/cons as you transitioned from one job assignment to another. I especially appreciated your approach in advising your viewers and subscribers to be aware NEVER to allow anyone to advise you how to set your path and journey whether you're a Network Engineer or a Hacker / Pentester. With all your video presentations, it’s clear to me you’re very passionate, very knowledgeable, and have a fantastic teaching style!!! I served in both the military and in Law Enforcement and started my journey at age 57 pursuing Cybersecurity with the goal and expectations, much like yourself, and believe in my future I will one day land a junior Pentester job assignment. Thank you all the additional info. Stay safe always! Joe

[@foureyes91dn]

Definitely one of the most insightful "how I became..." videos. Thanks! One thing I wish these videos would include is, timeframe. Every journey is different and everyone progresses at different speeds but I think it would be very interesting to know how long this journey took you, it is the fatal flaw in quick digestible content such as this that it in a way glosses over how many hours, days and years it takes to succeed.

[@l_u_c_k_y_7]

I'm 40 years old, I've always loved cyber security, but I thought I was too old, too stupid...that's why I'm doing a job I don't like. Thanks for this video it helped me make some decisions.

[@zlobert9877]

I feel like this at 25 hahah,we must start now and start learning hard!

[@kevinhoy6838]

Love the video! I have a very similar story. I started in IT later in my life, after years of running night clubs, and few years later I passed the PNPT. The most amazing time in my career!! Learned so much from your KZbin video and Udemy and eventually your own platform. A lot of my success comes from being able to talk to people and break down what "all this IT stuff" means to non tech folks. Thank you for everything you do!!

[@vanfrancisco4573]

Thanks for sharing man. I also have a one heck of a rollercoaster journey so far. I started as a QA Automation Intern at a fintech company in my last year of college. After graduation, got a security analyst job to a certain antivirus company, was trained and let go 1 month later because I couldn't learn fast enough in the final evaluation. Now, taking your PEH course (mid capstone part) for PJPT. The hardest thing for me about being a aspiring pentester is saying "I don't know.". Once you say it to an interview, you are out in the list of consideration for the job.

[@cheddars2]

I'm currently studying for my BSc in university for ethical hacking, and yet I still come back to your videos when I'm not working on labs from time to time to make sure i'm broadening my skillset. Wonderful journey, seems I'm doing it without certs because we have a wonderful school for computing and IT here.

[@cyberluk3]

Heath, you are definitely the best and an inspiration, and it is weird to say but after 10 years I still watch your tutorials all over the internet. I remember back in the days when you had green hair in Twich :)

[@haksauc3]

Heath. Hey man. I’m a monthly subscriber to academy. I’ve completed ur peh, wpe, lpe, I still need to do the external. Prior to March, I hadn’t really even messed with computers, but have always been tech savvy. I’ve been a welder for 20+ years. I’ve really fell in love with EH. I spend 3-5 hrs after work 7 days a week, studying and learning and hacking. How will I know when I’m ready?

[@GunnarGuitarist]

Hey man, you’ll never be completely ready. Good luck on your path! 🍀

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

If you're looking to take the PNPT exam, make sure you don't skip the OSINT course. We typically tell people that from the 51 hours of video course material you can expect to spend around 150-200 hours in total completing the courses while following along, building out virtual machines, and taking notes. Even with all of that said, it's hard to say or know when someone is ready for something like this. You do have a free retake. Good luck to you!

[@AdHdEntertainmentLLC]

Wow I wish I was as dedicated as you. I have been horrible with applying time even as a lifetime pass owner. Congrats on your success.

[@AdHdEntertainmentLLC]

I'm always happy to listen to this story no matter how many times because it's still inspiring. I'm stuck in a job that doesn't utilize me at all but I make gr8 $ and have a family but ultimately I'm studying on the TCM Academy (not as much as I would Like) but having a B.S. Degree thought the govt agency I work for would be easy to transition from my current position but having 15 years of Federal service that $ is good I'm just not happy.

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

You can do it! Seriously, you can! We wish you nothing but the best!

[@AdHdEntertainmentLLC]

@@TCMSecurityAcademy I plan too. Just have to overcome my ADHD & BI-POLAR disorders that drain my energy at the day job.

[@toddzillaswrist]

@@AdHdEntertainmentLLC - Start by using some of those $ you make to get on some good magnesium supps, preferably L-Threonate, get some L-Carnitine, some Cysteine, and look at some other nootropic concentration supps. These things really helped me and I was able to transition full time to pentesting and SOC within my company.

[@vampiro4236]

I'm a programmer right now (have been for about 7 years), but I've had to deal with so many unnecessary security incidents the last few years that I'm steamrolling into moving to cybersecurity now. I'm kind of interested to see where my programming knowledge is going to come into play and how I can utilize it. Should be a trip.

[@kallbacks9677]

Having a strong programming background will go a very long way in your cyber security journey

[@vampiro4236]

@@kallbacks9677 That's great to hear! Thanks for letting me know :D

[@Linux333]

You’re a legend!!! Thank you . Can you include what you used to study for the A+?

[@WAFEYYQQ]

Awesome background and context of the way you mapped your whole journey this is super inspiring and u actual convince me to actually look at my organizations security and showcase my learned skills and to ask questions like improving security or system integrity and the one of staff awareness for being hackable .

[@lexais_]

"Make your path your path." well said Heath💯

[@fernandoc8876]

How relevant it is for a Network Security Engineer to transition to blue team first like SOC for example before moving into red team/Pentesting, or would it make more sense going straight into it without having blue team or soc exp First?

[@qwhekuswords1523]

You have really been helpful to me as I have started my journey Your teachings are awesome and your videos about the day of an ethical hacker has given me more insight Thank you so much for your contents

[@mason35715]

Appreciate you content as always. I started my career path thought help desk with a degree in Computer Networking and a trade in the Cisco Networking Academy. I started my hacking journey in Udemy, learning Linux through Kali Linux and different instructors from the U.K U.S and India. My opinion alone, I think the CEH is worth it, it offers a good foundation of hacking fundamentals with over 250 lab environments. You hack with Linux Windows and Android. If you take the CEH Masters you have 20 hacking objective's to complete within 6 hours. It's not the hardest exam but by no means it's not the easiest. This is for the year of 2023 this must have been implemented. I'm not sure what happened way back when but they must have did a major upgrade. Keep up the amazing work and thank you as always bro.

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

Thank you for sharing your feedback and experience! Good luck to you!

[@taralibot]

Thank you for sharing Heath!

[@AbdusSalam8718]

Excellent speech sir

[@ajudeb705]

Great video Heath, Was been waiting to know about your journey and it was amazing I must say. Will help many beginners out there like me. By the I learning from you PEH and it is great and the AD part is outstanding, best out there👍👍👍Super Beginner friendly and well taught 👌👌

[@DeyDoNN]

Thank you for everything!!!

[@metatron9iton]

Thank you Sir!

[@0xftz7w99o]

How long did it take you in total to get your A+, Net+, and Sec+ ? Or for anyone who has done this, what would be a good guesstimation if one has a full time job? I'm also not new to tech, I currently work as a software engineer.

[@cybergyan-c9n]

Hello, I am from India and making a little bit content in cyber security in our local language to wathcing some of your and all legend. Thanks for that.

[@k_usuan]

Awesome content. Bravo heath.

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@muyivushafiq8389]

Hey, this is informative. Thanks!

[@Officialhafsasalman]

And the award to the best mentor on KZbin goes to The cyber mentor

[@adamgrochowski8413]

Great video

[@MaryBarnard-f5q]

you didnt leave the link to the blog you mentioned :´(

[@raidumurli]

Bro i really like ur advise. Ur unbiased bro really I think CEH not best

[@Josepp4Martinezpp4]

My regards, brother! Is it possible to recover some photos that I had sent via messenger on a Facebook account that I deleted at the beginning of the year. The person I sent them to was automatically deleted from their inbox when my account was deleted?

[@balapraneeth9708]

Super inspirational journey ❤. Hoping to meet you soon again :)

[@MohanadQ]

Thanks

[@ahmeadalhamdani6566]

Hey heath! Thanks for the awesome video as always, I hope you see this and consider responding. I am active duty and I work as help desk in the army. I became passionate about cyber security and was able to get A+, Sec+, Cloud+, Pentest+, PJPT and working on PNPT. That being said I don’t have an opportunities at my current job to learn anything in regard to cyber so I self study on my own. Where do you recommend someone in my position go from here ? Any certs or study material after the pnpt you recommend ?

[@grant2572]

OSCP then apply in the civilian world once you decide to get out of the Army. If you have an MOS that has granted you a Secret or better yet a TS SCI....then you're golden.

[@lukasekulic9714]

Im really lazy person most of the time bcs i was very fast learner and was always the Best in school, but i watched networkchuck ccna course and im currently watching your 15h cyber course and im having a great time, ofc i have solid IT background and i know programming (C and C#) already, so i will focus more on Linux, im at Uny so i dont have time to work but i hope i will be able to learn to hack, anyway you have great courses and you re really good at teaching, keep good work man :)

[@Rl-zv4dh]

What didn't you like about accounting?

[@atikurahman]

do i need to have a higher degree to get a job in this field? I am college student and I am really enthusiastic to get into this field.

[@youssefsfar-c6d]

thank youuu

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

No problem 😊

[@fodder8062]

this is makin things feel like they're moving so fast. I just started watching ur 15 hours vids yesterday, and this might be a far fetch, but it would be cool to start with ctf soon as well. the first bit of the networking recap especially made things clear up for me after i tried(and most likely successfully failed) my first attempt at my computer networks uni test. thanks for the info and keep up the good work.👍

[@HennyHenny-x4z]

Can you learn ethical hacking using MacBook Air m2?

[@alexrabola]

You the best ❤❤

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

NO, you.

[@TaPhelps]

I need help resetting the password on my Facebook, I don't have the phone number or email address anymore. Someone please help me!

[@TaPhelps]

Let me know if you can help me please

[@ryd3v]

I remember you from HackTheBox days, and when you left there, I am so very proud of your success, it's been inspiring for me.

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

Thank you very much!

[@ryd3v]

@@TCMSecurityAcademy you're very welcome friend 🍻

[@CyphrSec]

First! Liked already, good content. Always!

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

Much appreciated!

[@ahmedsifaw247]

شكرا

[@EliteBuildingCompany]

Hello, can anyone answer me this question please. Is it okay to switch my main OS to linux from windows, and then just run a windows VM machine if needed, or is there any reason some one just learning the industry might need to stay on windows' awesome OS. Thanks as always for the vids.

[@x7ysk]

The licence that came with the pre-installed Windows on your PC/Laptop will not work for the VM. So you need a new licence.

[@EliteBuildingCompany]

@@x7ysk I was just concerned i might at some point need tools that only work on windows as i'm pretty new and don't really know what might be upcoming, but is that the only issue i might face, other than that everything is fine on linux? Thanks for the reply btw.

[@AmirAli-cg8kp]

Best Bro

[@digitalforensicsalam4009]

Sir tj null oscp list to solving understand explain method lab upload video

[@axelsantiago2838]

people say they hackers but never hacked a real website it's always test websites like .....

[@alexrabola]

U so good

[@MISTYEYED.]

#teamreplay

[@biocode2856]

White hat is a ethical hacker

[@makemeprominent]

I really like the honesty and clarity. Please keep this kind of content coming

[@nathanbolen7624]

lol yes i remember Prodigy

[@0ijm3409fiwrekj]

tldr: most certs are shit and a couple may get you an interview like Sec+ or OSCP, but practical on the job projects and certs he provides are what impress those interviewing you

[@CruzzGaming007]

Sir 400$ also for Indian people is very high its around almost 34000 ₹ and it is also full month of salary of a average employer in our country so please can you drop your course prices?

[@marediths4]

Draw our path in this field 💡 you're right 🎶🎶🎶🎶✅💲

[@abdulkhan-by4bp]

❤

[@AmirAli-cg8kp]

I Want a course of bug Bounty and pen testing please.

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

academy.tcm-sec.com we have those courses!

[@RandomEnchantment]

The way Heath is so in focus and the room is out of focus makes me think hes in front of a green screen.

[@TCMSecurityAcademy]

No green screen. Just the aperture!

[@biocode2856]

PDF 🎮 day😂😊i❤it

[@adamgrochowski8413]

Old people group here lol

[@ifyrste]

Hello there, TCM. I'm planning to buy a one-year subscription to the site. Any payment coupon code will be appreciated.