Accidentally became a data analyst. Now I want to go back to cybersecurity

Hey everyone,

I think I want to pivot back to cybersecurity, but I’m not sure how to approach it. When I say “back,” it’s doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

For some background I have:
BS in IT, specializing in cybersecurity;
MS in data analytics.
Job experience: I’ve worked as a data analyst in different roles — product, marketing, and finance — for the past ~4.5 years.

During my MS, I got a job on campus as an InfoSec intern. It was somewhat random; I was looking for a source of income, and they liked me enough to offer me the position — I ended up enjoying it a lot(!)

During that time, my coworkers, who were 20+ years my senior, as well as my CISO, repeatedly told me that I had strong natural potential and a great skill set for cybersecurity if I ever decided to make the switch. They strongly encouraged me to consider it.

My role there also involved analytics, including building executive reports and dashboards. I also got some exposure to audit and GRC, although I didn’t get much hands-on SOC experience. I’m not trying to toot my own horn here, I promise.

I also really enjoyed my time getting a BS and graduated near the top of my class. However, due to some life circumstances outside of my control, I decided to go into data instead after graduating with my bachelor’s degree, and I’ve stayed in the field ever since (the job market was also getting worse at the time 2022)

Recently, in my current full time DA role, I was moved to a different org, and I’ve been dreading logging on every day. I’ve been thinking about moving into cybersecurity ever since my internship, but now that I’ve graduated and have more professional experience, the idea has become increasingly difficult to ignore. I’m just not exactly sure how to make the transition.

During my BS, I was working through a uCertify course for CySA+, and I’m considering finishing it and pursuing the CompTIA certification. I’m also wondering what kinds of roles I should target. Ideally, I’d like to leverage the experience I already have rather than start completely from the beginning.

I’d really appreciate advice from people who have made a similar transition, or from those who work in cybersecurity and have thoughts on where someone with my background might fit.