Success is not guaranteed.
Some people therefore see cybersecurity as a "quick buck" - a high-pay and high-demand space that should be easy to get a role in, due to the three-million-person talent shortage and top-dollar reported salaries. The reality is far from that, though - it will take substantial time and energy to succeed, and many people work up towards cybersecurity instead of starting directly in cybersecurity.
This is because many companies index on hiring security professionals with a track record of delivery and many years of experience in tech - to companies, this means the workers they hire are experts that can be "trusted" with their security. This also means that there is a stronger hiring bias towards engineers with some seniority, locking out many early-career candidates. You should be very wary of anyone, or any company, indicating that with just a little studying, bootcamp, etc. that they can secure you a cybersecurity job.
This subreddit sees many skilled and thoughtful candidates who struggle to get started or move up in security, despite many articles claiming there is "zero unemployment" in cybersecurity. The truth is much less attractive - that for experienced professionals, there is near-zero unemployment - and for professionals trying to break in to security roles, unemployment is absolutely possible, as is underemployment.
I feel compelled to clarify two things on a more personal note:
- Companies needing cybersecurity professionals shouldn't be indexing on these factors. This limits the field's ability to grow and obtain new talent, which is hilarious when companies' defenses have trouble standing up to an unsupervised thirteen-year-old, nmap, and setoolkit. It's not a stretch to see this is the wrong outcome for our field, and unnecessarily tough for engineers early in their career or trying to break in when we could use more hands now.
- While the above problem isn't fixed, and probably won't be for a while, I don't write this to deter you if you're motivated to pursue cybersecurity. Excel in your classes or certifications. Participate in clubs or events. Network with your peers. Build skills and knowledge. You will get out what you put in - but it's not a quick buck.