Can a cybersecurity mentor or coach really help you break into or grow your career?

In this episode, we break down the difference between mentorship and coaching, why investing in guidance matters, and what a structured 6-month mentorship journey looks like.

We also share real success stories from our mentees—and why going it alone might be slowing you down.

Plus, we’re running a limited-time offer: Get our coaching Plus Plan ($119/month) for the price of the Starter Plan ($69/month) for six months—available to the first 10 sign-ups. Sign-up link provided below.

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Connect with us and leave us feedback:

● Cybersecurity Mentors Podcast Swag: https://the-cybersecurity-mentors-pod.myspreadshop.com

● Mentorship - Sign up for a FREE session: https://www.cyberprofessionalservices.com/scheduling-free-consultation

● Sign up for our Newsletter: https://sendfox.com/lp/m2vx85

● Join us on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/g4yRKjnD78

● Follow our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cybersecurity-mentors-podcast

● Check out our YouTube channel for more content: https://www.youtube.com/@CybersecurityMentorsPodcast

● TCM Affiliate Link: https://certifications.tcm-sec.com/?ref=198

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Episode Resources:

● Mentorship and Coaching Promotional Sign Up #FIRST10

Link: https://www.cyberprofessionalservices.com/first-10

● CPS Mentorship/Coaching Pricing Plans

Link: https://www.cyberprofessionalservices.com/pricing

Send us fan mail via text

In Part 3 of our Mastering Cybersecurity series, we explore why learning how to hack isn’t just for red teamers — it’s a critical skill for defenders, too. Understanding offensive tactics can sharpen your defensive abilities, improve threat detection, and help you shift from reactive to proactive security.

Plus, having both offensive and defensive skills makes you more marketable in today’s cybersecurity job market, especially for roles that value versatility and hands-on experience.

We’ll also share practical ways to start learning these skills safely using your own home lab — no red team experience required.

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Connect with us and leave us feedback:

● Cybersecurity Mentors Podcast Swag: https://the-cybersecurity-mentors-pod.myspreadshop.com

● Mentorship - Sign up for a FREE session: https://www.cyberprofessionalservices.com/scheduling-free-consultation

● Sign up for our Newsletter: https://sendfox.com/lp/m2vx85

● Join us on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/g4yRKjnD78

● Follow our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cybersecurity-mentors-podcast

● Check out our YouTube channel for more content: https://www.youtube.com/@CybersecurityMentorsPodcast

● TCM Affiliate Link: https://certifications.tcm-sec.com/?ref=198

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Episode Resources:

Recommended Certifications

PEH – Practical Ethical Hacking

Why recommend it:
Covers the full pentesting pipeline—network scanning, exploitation, privilege escalation, and more—with hands-on tools and labs.

Enroll here: https://certifications.tcm-sec.com/practical-ethical-hacking/?ref=198

PNPT – Practical Network Penetration Tester

Why recommend it:
TCM’s flagship certification simulates a real-world pentest engagement—from external recon to internal exploitation—and includes a full report and video walkthrough.

Enroll here: https://certifications.tcm-sec.com/pnpt/?ref=198

Hands-On Practice Platforms

TryHackMe – Offensive Path
Learn offensive security with guided, hands-on labs.
Link: https://tryhackme.com/

Hack The Box
Pentesting labs and real-world CTF challenges for all skill levels.
Link: https://www.hackthebox.com/

Tools to Explore

Kali Linux
A Linux distro made for penetration testing.
Link: https://www.kali.org/

Metasploit Framework
A powerful framework for exploitation and post-exploitation.
Link: https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/

Nmap
Powerful network scanning tool
Link: https://nmap.org

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In this episode, we chat with Carson Sallis, Senior Offensive Security Engineer and Vulnerability Researcher at NVIDIA. Carson walks us through a day in the life of a pentester and shares actionable advice for anyone looking to break into offensive security. He also gives a live demo of fuzzing with AFL (American Fuzzy Lop) and explains how tools like this are used in real-world vulnerability research.
Whether you're just starting out or looking to sharpen your red team skills, this episode is full of insights you won’t want to miss.

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Episode Resources:

GitHub: https://github.com/cybersecmentors/season_3_ep_6

Guest: Carson Sallis

Follow Carson and connect for updates, demos, and career insights.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carson-sallis/

Fuzzing Tools & Resources

· AFL (American Fuzzy Lop)
The fuzzing tool featured in Carson's demo.
Link: https://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/afl/

· AFL++
An advanced fork of AFL with modern features.
Link: https://github.com/AFLplusplus/AFLplusplus

· Fuzzing: Brute Force Vulnerability Discovery (Book)
A foundational guide for learning fuzzing.
Link: https://nostarch.com/fuzzing

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Connect with us and leave us feedback:

1. Cybersecurity Mentors Podcast Swag: https://the-cybersecurity-mentors-pod.myspreadshop.com
2. Mentorship - Sign up for a FREE session: https://www.cyberprofessionalservices.com/scheduling-free-consultation
3. Sign up for our Newsletter: https://sendfox.com/lp/m2vx85
4. Join us on Discord: https://discord.com/invite/g4yRKjnD78
5. Follow our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cybersecurity-mentors-podcast
6. Check out our YouTube channel for more content: https://www.youtube.com/@CybersecurityMentorsPodcast
7. TCM Affiliate Link: https://certifications.tcm-sec.com/?ref=1

Send us fan mail via text