When people start making assumptions about you, then giving advice, take it with a grain of salt. Taking the known issues as you have stated them: No degree, n

When people start making assumptions about you, then giving advice, take it with a grain of salt. Taking the known issues as you have stated them: No degree, no direct experience in the specialty that you want to pursue, this is how I would proceed: 1) Focus on jobs at small to medium sized companies. They will be less likely to rely on some hiring script, and likely to give more weight to an interview. 2) Make a spread sheet of all jobs on monster.com & similar services that involve security and start applying for them. 3) Make a spread sheet of all the companies that you can find where you would prefer to work, regardless if they are hiring, and apply there as well. 4) Once these two resources are compiled start your weekly applications... Week X: 5) Blast 20 companies with your application, prioritizing the companies by which ones you like the best. Make sure to customize the cover letter for each job. 6) Follow up on the previous weeks 20 applications with a short friendly email. 7) Spend some time during the week building something that show cases your knowledge in security. I hope I've said something that you believe will be beneficial and actionable. Good luck!