I'm in week 6 of Per Scholas, watching my classmates stress about the CompTIA Security+ exam. I see it in their faces during class. The questions they ask tell me everything — not about what they don't know, but about how worried they are that they don't know enough.

I passed Security+ in December 2024. Self-taught. First try. And I remember thinking, okay, I'm in. Time to get a job in cybersecurity.

That's not what happened.

I applied everywhere. Hundreds of applications. I got a few interviews. And I completely fell apart in every single one. I knew enough to pass the test. I did not know enough to answer the questions they were actually asking. There's a difference, and I found out the hard way.

So I figured I needed more. I applied to CyberSkills2Work and got accepted into the Cyber4Heroes program at Metro State University. Advanced Cybersecurity Architect level. I went from studying Security+ in December to studying for SecurityX, CEH, ECIH, and CISM — all at once, in a program with people who had been working in the field for years.

I sat in those sessions and had no idea what half my classmates were talking about. I mean that literally. They would drop acronyms and reference tools like they were tying their shoes, and I was still figuring out how the pieces fit together. I had some background in digital forensics from law enforcement. I knew my way around a computer better than most people. But that's different from knowing the field.

I failed the CEH on my first attempt. Missed passing by 10 points. Same with the ECIH. I was upset. Not just disappointed — actually upset. I had studied hard. I thought I was ready. Apparently I wasn't.

I also rushed to take Network+ about a month after Security+, and I missed that by 8 points.

Meanwhile, I kept applying to entry-level roles and internships. The responses I got back all said roughly the same thing: sorry, we went with someone who was a better fit. You hear that enough times and it starts to get to you.

But I kept going. Every course I could get into. Every chance to shadow someone or sit in on something. I passed CEH and ECIH on the second try. I earned my CISM, CySA+, SecurityX, CCNA, and several others. I finished Cyber4Heroes. I'm now six weeks into Per Scholas, wrapping up a 12-week mentorship as a mentee through the Blacks in Cybersecurity Mentorship Program.

Part of what keeps me going is the thing that drew me to this field in the first place. Cybersecurity never stops changing. New threats, new tools, new techniques — the ground is always moving. Some people would find that exhausting. I find it impossible to get bored. There is always something to learn, and I genuinely enjoy that. It's one of the reasons I can absorb a setback and keep studying. The field keeps pulling me forward.

I still have imposter syndrome. I want to be clear about that. It doesn't just disappear. But I'm starting to see the gap between where I started and where I am now, and that gap is real.

What I notice most this week is that people are asking me for help. My classmates — the same ones I can see stressing about Security+ — are coming to me with questions. A year ago I was the one in over my head with no one around to ask. Now I'm the person who can answer.

I wish I'd had that when I was starting out. But being on this side of it is its own kind of motivation.

To my Per Scholas classmates: you're going to feel lost sometimes. So did I. So does everyone. The feeling isn't a sign that you're in the wrong field. It's just what learning actually feels like when you're pushing past what you already know.

Keep going.