Feeling Lost and Seeking Advice..

Dracorian — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 15:02:56 +0000

Okay, so let me start with who I am. Im almost 18 and I have been interested in computer science for a very long time (started in primary school). Lately I have been feeling pretty stuck, because I don't really know what to do or where to go. I was thinking of maybe starting a cybersecurity career since that is pretty interesting and a job that is in demand as there appears more cyber threats, so the need for security becomes larger, but I honestly don't know how to do anything.
It's not like I cannot do anything at all. I understand most things like protocols, ports, some security definitions, I am not really good at coding I have to admit that. I can code a bit in python, but I have never really progressed to a better level and I am not really consistent with it. I know that is definitely not enough. I know that cybersecurity is a really highly competitive field and you need a lot of experience. I really do not know whether I should continue chasing that path, since I even considered some other jobs like a network manager, repairs and maintenance or network/fiber optic installation, because I do have some more experience in that and I would be pretty much more comfortable with that. Cybersecurity is a fascinating thing to me and being a pentester, SOC Analyst or an Incident Responder would definitely be a dream come true for me, but that dream is really difficult to achieve for me and I feel like it is almost not possible for me. I have tried many tutorials, watched a lot of roadmaps, "how I would start cybersecurity in 2026" and many other videos. Nothing really helped that much. Im kind of stressed out since I have to get a job eventually I can't just stay with my parents and let them do all the work.
I was thinking about going to college, although there's another problem of course, because I don't know what major I would choose. I picked 2 of them which would be a computer science engineer and a cybersecurity engineer. The cybersecurity engineer would be something really amazing for me, but as I said it is really hard and I do not know whether I would be able to handle it, because I expect people that go to that major to be able to code, know a lot of fundamentals, have such dedication that just destroys the competition and I would not stand a chance against those people, it would just be a nightmare for me. My friend encouraged me to go into that major, because "They are supposed to teach you that stuff right?" "You don't need to know everything", but I honestly don't know. I know a 13 year old that already made a ton of his own scripts, made himself a tool like a flipper zero and is genuinely more advanced than me and that just hurt me so deeply. It made me feel far behind, that I wasted a lot of years learning absolutely nothing, that maybe this is not a thing for me after all. The previous 2 years were really a dark period for me. I struggled with my grades, did not want to do anything really, I was feeling hopeless and like nothing in life matters. Luckily I got out of that period with a help of my friend, but now I realize that this period really set me behind, which I sometimes blame myself for.
Now this is the part when I ask you guys for help. What should I do? Do I continue to try the cybersecurity path, be consistent, learn the skills and keep going, or should I maybe switch to some other sector like the network management, repairs, installation etc. I will really appreciate any comments, because this is a serious issue that I have been struggling with for several weeks or months even? The current IT job market also adds fuel to the fire, I see a lot of people talking about whether an IT job is still worth it, will AI replace you and all that stuff. I don't believe that AI will replace me and instead it will become a tool, but getting a job with my current experience would certainly be a difficult task. Once again I am asking for your help guys and if You are reading this I hope you have an amazing day! Thank You for reading.

DEV Community: Dracorian

Feeling Lost and Seeking Advice..