Hello, I would like to hear what you guys think I should do moving forward with my career. For context, I am a CS major and math minor at a good university, but non target school. My school does not offer a cybersecurity program, but that is the feild I want to break in to. I am alright at coding, but do not find it all in all that interesting. On the other hand, I have enjoyed the work I have done on HackTheBox and while studying for my Network+.

Currently, I have around a 3.0 GPA and I was originally planning on getting a MBA in cybersecurity through the SFS program which basically funds x years there in return for x years working for them. I realized these programs are much harder to get in to than I expected and require at least 3.2-3.5 GPA. I hear mixed opinions on MBAs in general so first off, I would like to hear your opinion on paying for a MBA out of pocket. The programs I am looking at are ~$35,000 for the entire masters.

My main question is what can I do to get ahead in the event I choose not to do my masters. I am currently in senior standing, but I am taking an extra semester because I fell behind a little bit and I added my math minor. So, I am graduating Fall 2026. I completed my Network+ from CompTia and plan to get atleast my security+ and CCNA before the summer. I have some medium size coding projects, but nothing in cyber. I applied to over 300 summer internships last summer, got 1 interview, and did well but the company was only hiring 1 intern. I am also in the chicago area, so it is somewhat concerning how difficult it is for me to get better results.

Please let me know what you guys reccomend and things I can fix/improve on or work towards.

tldr; CS major wanting to get in to cybersec. What can I do to get ahead given my situation.