I didn't start with a plan to work in IAM. My path ran from pizza delivery to unpaid switch-installation work, network support, security software, and eventually identity.
You don't need to predict the entire route before making a useful next move. You need a realistic starting point and a way to learn whether the direction fits.
My history looks more orderly in a short paragraph than it felt at the beginning. The part worth applying to your own career is evaluating each next step from the experience and opportunities you actually have.
A starting point is not a permanent identity
Your first IT role usually gives you a limited view of the industry. The work you see every day starts to feel like the entire field.
If your world is desktop tickets, cybersecurity may look distant. If your world is networks, identity may seem like someone else's administrative problem.
That is a visibility problem, not proof that you chose the wrong starting point.
Instead of asking which specialty you should commit to forever, ask which adjacent responsibility would expose you to work you have not understood yet. A login investigation, an application onboarding project, or a permissions review can provide that exposure.
Learn what attracts you after the label wears off
A title can sound appealing before you understand the work beneath it.
“Security engineer” might suggest advanced technical projects. In one organization, it may mean continuous operational support. In another, it may involve design, automation, and stakeholder discussions.
You need examples of actual work to decide whether the role suits you. Read responsibilities, inspect documentation, and speak with people doing the job when that opportunity is available.
For IAM, try a small project that forces a decision rather than just an installation. Decide who should receive access, demonstrate the result, and explain why an excluded user should remain blocked.
The work will tell you more than the label.
Separate transferable experience from the skills still missing
You don't have to dismiss your background or pretend it qualifies you for every identity role. Record three categories:
- Work performed: Tasks you have genuinely handled, such as approved account changes.
- Understanding: Concepts you can explain even when your professional responsibility was limited.
- Unproven capability: Work you haven't yet demonstrated, such as designing an integration or testing a lifecycle change.
A technician with account-management experience has useful context. That isn't the same as being ready to design a complex identity platform.
Choose one relevant gap to investigate next. A lab, an authorized assignment, or focused documentation study can help you test the fit without overcommitting.
This is how transferable experience and genuine skill gaps can exist together. Recognizing both gives you a more honest plan than either starting over unnecessarily or applying as though no gaps remain.
Change direction when the evidence changes
A sensible plan includes a point where you reconsider it.
Perhaps an IAM lab reveals that you enjoy troubleshooting authentication but dislike access-review coordination. Perhaps the roles available within your location constraints require experience you do not currently have.
Neither finding means the effort was wasted. You have learned something specific enough to change the plan.
What becomes expensive is continuing only because you already announced the goal, bought the course, or chose a title for your profile. Those commitments do not make the original assumption correct.
Make the next month useful even without a final answer
Pick one role to research, one practical exercise, and one conversation or application that can challenge your assumptions.
At the end of the month, decide whether to continue, narrow the target, or explore an adjacent role. You should be able to explain what changed your view.
That is the spirit behind The Six-Figure IAM Career Playbook. The $9 book helps you investigate an IAM direction, use the experience you already have, and build relevant proof. It does not require you to pretend you have the next decade mapped out.
My path became clearer as I did the work. Your next useful step can happen before the entire path is clear.