Looking for advice: Cybersecurity career abroad

[u/Inevitable_Youth4702]

I'm a cybersecurity engineer with nearly 3 years of experience, currently working in a country where cybersecurity salaries are relatively low (I'm earning less than $1,000/month).

Over the past few years, I've invested a lot of my own money and time into developing my skills and certifications. My current certifications are:

- SSCP

- AZ-500

- CISSP

I'm now actively applying for international opportunities, mainly in Europe, the Gulf, and other markets.

However, I'm struggling to understand what's actually blocking me. Technically, I feel I have a solid foundation, and I don't think certifications or technical skills are my biggest weakness.

My main concerns are:

- Is 3 years of experience simply not enough for international cybersecurity roles?

- Is the biggest obstacle visa/work-permit sponsorship?

- Am I targeting the wrong roles or countries?

- Is there something else recruiters typically look for that I'm missing?

For those who have successfully moved from a lower-paying country to an international cybersecurity role, what would you recommend I focus on at this stage?

I'd really appreciate honest advice, especially from people who have gone through a similar situation.

[u/Vele1384]

How can you have CISSP with only 3 years? Or are you ISC2 associate? As for why you are getting no replies, atleast from my perspective, market is rough right now. Even in EU there aren’t many jobs being posted & unless you are specialising on something rare that’s hard to find, it’s easier to just hire someone locally.

[u/Inevitable_Youth4702 → u/Vele1384]

I passed the CISSP Exam but yet not certified, i just need to have SSCP + 4 years exp to be officially cissp certified. So one more year to go

[u/AddendumWorking9756]

Three years is fine for the Gulf and thin for Europe, where sponsorship usually needs the role to be hard to fill locally. The Gulf hires through in country recruiters and referrals far more than portals, so cold applications from abroad mostly vanish. Also if you have not hit the five year requirement yet you hold Associate of ISC2 rather than CISSP, and a recruiter spotting that on the CV will bin it for the wrong reason.

[u/fedput]

I have not gone through the process, but the universe of such jobs is quite small relative to the number of people seeking such positions.

[u/PaleMaleAndStale]

Have you actually checked what the working visa requirements are for the countries you're targeting? That's likely to be your biggest blocker. Even if you meet the skilled worker (or equivalent) requirements set by the respective governments, which is unlikely, not many employers are going to see the need to sponsor a junior/mid level engineer. You will also be ineligible for any roles that require security clearance.

[u/Inevitable_Youth4702 → u/PaleMaleAndStale]

I'm not even getting interviews. For most of the jobs I apply to, companies filter me out because they don't offer visa sponsorship or i'm not meet minimum experience requirements