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I'm an ex-Matasanoite and completely agree with 'tptacek. If you can complete Microcorruption, you certainly don't know all you need to know, but you absolutely have the skills you need to learn anything you don't already know.

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Do you have any advice for breaking into the field? I'm nearing the completion of a CS master and want to get into security. I completed Microcorruption a half year ago and loved it. I'm also mostly through Cryptopals, but I don't know anything about what the field looks like in practice. What kind of job openings (or titles) should I be looking for?

If you've got the crypto challenges through set 5 and finished Microcorruption, there isn't a software security job that you should not consider applying for. I'd bone up on web application security just so you can have an easier time clearing interviews.

Two job titles that come to mind:

* Penetration Tester

* Security Engineer

Those should bring up quite a few results.

Thanks - I do believe I can learn anything given enough time, just didn't think there were employers who would give me that time, so I was going to go away and study by myself and practise for another year or so before applying. Maybe I have more to offer at this point than I thought.

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