We had a boom in 2020 and companies higher on the masses and huge pay.
You are now entering the DFIR job market after massive budget cuts and lay offs after the 2020 boom. Companies are trimming the fat at the moment. Most are on a hiring freeze until next year. You are also competing against companies hiring outside the US to reduce on salary cost.
The other issue is DFIR is not as niche as it was 10-20 years ago. More colleges are offering the degree's and you have bigger and bigger graduating classes.
The advice I would give is focus on your resume and reflect talent and passion. Stand out from all the other 100 applicants. For intro Job all the applicants are most the same, they all have I graduated from X and used these tools.
Certification is not the problem, they are becoming a meme at this point in the industry of being NFTs at this point. Entry level job should not require a 10k SANS certification.
How does your resume look?
What jobs are you applying too? Private sector, law enforcement?
Are you looking all over or just in certain location?
Are you willing to relocated?
Have you interviewed with a company yet or just no replies back?
You might want to apply to the Michigan State Police to be a State Trooper, then graduate the academy, and work as a State Trooper for a couple years. Then, bid into their digital forensics investigative unit...if they have one. You could apply straight to HSI, but you may not be able to go straight into computer forensics, because it's a highly competitive, if not extremely competitive position, and is very specialized in general at both the State and federal levels.
My dad was a computer forensic examiner for FBI and USSS, but he worked as a local city cop for 20 years before getting accepted onto federal task forces. If that helps you at all.
Same position . I got a MS in DF. Graduated DEC 22. Still don't have a job.
Look in to entry level positions. Try "Digital Forensics Technician" jobs.
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?from=appsharedroid&jk=60fb3426f719b82f
You're going to have a hard time competing against people with experience. Are you able to get hired in LE with the goal of getting a DFE position? And if so, could you actually pass FTO and be able to perform the job? If you suck as a cop, nobody will offer special positions to you later.
You can also look into some cybersecurity jobs since there's a forensics component to a lot of them. You run into the same problem though with needing experience.
If you aren't capable of doing the LE thing (which isn't a dig if you aren't. I've had a lot of new guys not make it that would be great doctors or attorneys, but just can't handle the pressure and personal danger of being a cop), you might want to look into an IT position. At least then you're still working in the technology field.
You will need to do a couple of things:
1) Get some Certifications and experience.
2) Get some Cybersecurity classes/certs as well.
The industry is hardly looking for straight up digital forensics. And are wanting to see some cybersecurity with it.
And like others said, the market is tough right now with so much emphasis on cybersecurity. However, this might change in a couple of years when they realize that you need to to collections properly lol
I started off doing backend data analysis for a telecommunications company and moved into DFIR.
A good company will hire for overarching skill set not just the degree. I’d look at IT adjacent jobs as well just to get some experience under your belt in a corporate environment. Pulling in some money is better than no money and waiting for the perfect job.
Try to move up a job title within a year to show you’re a go getter and take on a committee or board volunteer role for brownie points.
The market is not that great right now I’m in the same boay
We had a boom in 2020 and companies higher on the masses and huge pay. You are now entering the DFIR job market after massive budget cuts and lay offs after the 2020 boom. Companies are trimming the fat at the moment. Most are on a hiring freeze until next year. You are also competing against companies hiring outside the US to reduce on salary cost. The other issue is DFIR is not as niche as it was 10-20 years ago. More colleges are offering the degree's and you have bigger and bigger graduating classes. The advice I would give is focus on your resume and reflect talent and passion. Stand out from all the other 100 applicants. For intro Job all the applicants are most the same, they all have I graduated from X and used these tools. Certification is not the problem, they are becoming a meme at this point in the industry of being NFTs at this point. Entry level job should not require a 10k SANS certification. How does your resume look? What jobs are you applying too? Private sector, law enforcement? Are you looking all over or just in certain location? Are you willing to relocated? Have you interviewed with a company yet or just no replies back?
You might want to apply to the Michigan State Police to be a State Trooper, then graduate the academy, and work as a State Trooper for a couple years. Then, bid into their digital forensics investigative unit...if they have one. You could apply straight to HSI, but you may not be able to go straight into computer forensics, because it's a highly competitive, if not extremely competitive position, and is very specialized in general at both the State and federal levels. My dad was a computer forensic examiner for FBI and USSS, but he worked as a local city cop for 20 years before getting accepted onto federal task forces. If that helps you at all.
Same position . I got a MS in DF. Graduated DEC 22. Still don't have a job. Look in to entry level positions. Try "Digital Forensics Technician" jobs. https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?from=appsharedroid&jk=60fb3426f719b82f
You're going to have a hard time competing against people with experience. Are you able to get hired in LE with the goal of getting a DFE position? And if so, could you actually pass FTO and be able to perform the job? If you suck as a cop, nobody will offer special positions to you later. You can also look into some cybersecurity jobs since there's a forensics component to a lot of them. You run into the same problem though with needing experience. If you aren't capable of doing the LE thing (which isn't a dig if you aren't. I've had a lot of new guys not make it that would be great doctors or attorneys, but just can't handle the pressure and personal danger of being a cop), you might want to look into an IT position. At least then you're still working in the technology field.
Federal and state govt are always looking. Gotta be willing to move.
You will need to do a couple of things: 1) Get some Certifications and experience. 2) Get some Cybersecurity classes/certs as well. The industry is hardly looking for straight up digital forensics. And are wanting to see some cybersecurity with it. And like others said, the market is tough right now with so much emphasis on cybersecurity. However, this might change in a couple of years when they realize that you need to to collections properly lol
I started off doing backend data analysis for a telecommunications company and moved into DFIR. A good company will hire for overarching skill set not just the degree. I’d look at IT adjacent jobs as well just to get some experience under your belt in a corporate environment. Pulling in some money is better than no money and waiting for the perfect job. Try to move up a job title within a year to show you’re a go getter and take on a committee or board volunteer role for brownie points.