Work that protects people
OffersYour work keeps money, health records, power and water safe for people who never see you.
AsksSome roles answer incidents at night or at weekends, on a rota.
A career decision before a training decision
SHOULD YOU START A CAREER IN CYBERSECURITY / INFOSEC? FIRST, DECIDE IF THE MOVE MAKES SENSE.
Find out what cyber work involves and what a move would ask of your life. Then decide whether to make it. Recon is free, and you write the answer yourself: Go, No Go or Not Yet.
Sign-up is not open on this website yet.
Before the first course
Five Parts.
Your own conclusion.
- 01Start Here
- 02Your Life As It Is
- 03The Work and the Claims
- 04Your Market
- 05Your Risks and Your Decision
Why Cyber / Infosec
Two names, one job: keeping information safe.
People often use the two words as if they meant the same thing. They overlap, and infosec covers more. Further down, each card shows what the work offers and what it asks of you in return.
- Information security
- Cybersecurity
Side by side
The big picture
Infosec
The security guard for everything an organisation knows: its people, buildings, papers, computers and even ideas.
Cyber
The specialist for the digital part: computers, networks, the cloud and the data on them.
How it protects
Infosec
Policies, risk assessments, training, locks, cameras, document shredders and computer security.
Cyber
Firewalls, software updates, alerts that someone watches, access controls and stopping attacks.
The threats
Infosec
A file taken from a desk, a flood in the server room, a mistake by a colleague, an attack.
Cyber
Malware, ransomware, fake emails that steal passwords, attackers breaking in through a network.
The information
Infosec
Paper files, conversations, trade secrets and digital data alike.
Cyber
Digital data only. If it is not on a computer or a network, it is outside the job.
What the work offers, and what it asks
Many doors in
OffersTen career domains, from hands-on technical work to risk, compliance and privacy. Not every door needs code.
AsksEntry roles ask for proof that you can do the work. The first step is often IT support or a role next to security.
Your past counts
OffersAudit, customer service, military, teaching and project work: much of it carries over.
AsksYou still have to show it in security terms, on your CV and in interviews.
Every sector needs it
OffersBanks, hospitals, factories, shops and governments all need this work, in many countries.
AsksSome roles ask for a security clearance, a citizenship or a language level you may not have yet.
You keep learning
OffersAttacks and technology keep changing, so the work rarely stands still.
AsksStudy does not end at the first role. Certifications cost money and have to be renewed.
Room to grow
OffersOver time, paths lead to specialist, leadership or advisory work.
AsksNo path is fast or certain. Nobody can promise you a job, a salary or a date.
Whether this work is worth it for you, given your whole life as it is now, is a separate question.Answer it in Recon
Safe work pays the bills.Meaningful work makes you want to get up in the morning.
If your current work pays the bills but does not feel like yours, you may be weighing a move into cybersecurity, along with the worry that switching now is naive, expensive or too late.
Research that does not end
Roadmaps and saved videos can pile up for months while the decision stays where it was. It moves when you take one clear next step.
Starting over
If you have already built a career, being a beginner again, in public, can be harder than any technical hurdle. I started over too, when I left the Romanian Navy.
Ads you cannot check
Many course ads promise a high salary within months, and you have no way to check that. I still work in security, and when I give you an opinion rather than experience, I say so.
Section 01 / The route
The whole program on one route.
Start with Recon and decide for yourself. Then build the move in Access, with as much support as you want.
Select any stage to see what happens there.
You examine the work, the market and your circumstances, and leave with a Recon Logbook to support your own decision.
Explore this stage ›You write Go, No Go or Not Yet, confirm it after at least one night, and leave with a Decision Record and your reasons.
Explore this stage ›Go →
Paid
Access starts from your Recon Logbook, or from the Entry Check if you have none. Nothing in it is locked.
Explore this stage ›Optional support for Research: Mesh and Root.
Optional support for this stage: MeshRoot
You read all ten career domains on your Career Spectrum and choose a primary and an adjacent domain, with your reasons.
Explore this stage ›Optional support for Roadmap: Mesh and Root.
Optional support for this stage: MeshRoot
You test the domain with small real experiments, then build a roadmap with milestones and a plan for each obstacle. Technical training happens elsewhere.
Explore this stage ›Optional support for Career plan: Mesh and Root.
Optional support for this stage: MeshRoot
You set up networking, your learning plan and portfolio, and leave with next steps that account for your circumstances.
Explore this stage ›Optional support for Interview: Root.
Optional support for this stage: Root
You prepare to explain your experience and portfolio, and leave with answers grounded in work you can discuss.
Explore this stage ›Optional support for Target role: Mesh and Root.
Optional support for this stage: MeshRoot
You review applications and feedback and decide your next steps toward a target role. Nobody can guarantee that you will be hired.
Explore this stage ›Stage / Recon
Decide whether to make the move
You examine the work, the market and your circumstances, and leave with a Recon Logbook to support your own decision.
Explore this stageSection 02 / Instrument Builder
Who calibrated this
Liviu Munteanu / BuilderPractitioner.
Practitioner.
Career changer.
Career coach.
I built the program, and I still work in the field.
- NowApril 2023 to nowPrivate CompanySenior Cybersecurity Engineer and Information Security Expert
- 2021 to 2024HoneywellSenior Advanced Cybersecurity Architect / Engineer
- 2020 to 2021ING RomaniaSenior Security Infrastructure Engineer, then Information Security Officer
- 2019 to 2020HoneywellNetwork Consultant
- 2016 to 2019Cegeka, SecureWorks, Oracle, Reliance ACSN (UK)Four civilian roles, one after another
- 2011 to 2016Romanian Navy HeadquartersInformation Security Officer
Hi, I’m Liviu.
For 12 years, I wore a Romanian Navy officer’s uniform. The steady money, the career ladder, the approval from others: on paper, it all looked right. But I was moving further from the life I wanted.
In October 2015, I survived the Colectiv fire in Romania. Afterwards, I began to question what I had been postponing. Being alive and living with purpose mattered more to me than a polished profile or a safe career path.
Moving into civilian cybersecurity meant making difficult choices without knowing how they would turn out. I had sleepless nights, too many options and a fear that I was not good enough.
That experience shapes the way I work.
Alongside security engineering and leadership, I help people think through career changes. I bring experience from the work and from making the move myself. You bring your circumstances and your judgment.
I can share what I’ve learned, help you examine the options, and work with you on a plan. The decision stays with you.
Certifications
16 certifications, from security management to the firewalls I work on.
Numbers from my work
Experience I bring to the work.
Hover to pause. Focus to explore with arrow keys.Background and experience
In their words
What others say about working with me.
Excerpts from recommendations by people I’ve coached, mentored and worked alongside.
The full recommendations are published on liviumunteanu.com.
“Liviu is one of those rare mentors who listens deeply before offering anything. Over a few career coaching sessions, he did something I didn't expect: rather than handing me advice, he asked the kind of questions that led me to my own answers.”
Bogdan FRPA Developer
“Liviu has a remarkable ability to explain complex concepts in a clear and practical way, and his patience and willingness to share his knowledge made a huge difference in my learning experience.”
Eduard MateiCyber security engineer la Honeywell
“Liviu has the coaching skills and methods to help the Leader inside you manifest with freedom and creativity, driven by passion and very aware of your own values and created constraints, saboteurs.”
Ana-Maria SchiporDirector of Software Engineering
“Liviu is an excellent professional. I had the pleasure of working with him in the same team at Honeywell, and I can say that his positive view on life and joy for work is contagious. Liviu leads by example.”
Oana IonescuCybersecurity Customer Success Manager
“As a colleague, Liviu was very generous with his time and expertise when it came to helping out fellow colleagues and working together on different projects.”
Codrin Alexandru BurlaSenior Network Security DevOps Engineer @ EU Comission
“Sensible, calm under pressure, extremely knowledgeable and he reacts rapidly to all situations even those outside the scope of the role he was in.”
James DysonBuilding teams, securing systems, and occasionally making sense of the chaos.
“Liviu had an excellent work ethic and was a great team player. He was patient and an excellent communicator helping up skill more junior members of the team.”
Rik IrvineOptimistic Cyber defender and hopeful drummer.
“He was an outstanding colleague, always there to help, highly skilled, and excellent at solving the IT or OT engineering issues we encountered.”
Liviu Gabriel PetcuCyber Defence OT Team Manager
These recommendations describe earlier coaching and professional work.
Section 03 / Orientation
Decide on the career before the course.
A certification tells you what to study. It cannot tell you whether a career change fits your working week, your responsibilities and the work you want to do. From Zero To Cyber gives you a structure for working through those questions.
Recon helps you decide whether to make the move. Access helps you choose a direction and plan the work. Technical training happens elsewhere.
Career decisionIn scope
Direction + planningIn scope
Tools + labsOut of scope
Exam preparationOut of scope
A decision and planning program.
Technical training happens elsewhere.
Stuck before the first course
Where should I start? Which course? Which certification? Before you spend money answering those questions, examine what the work involves and what the move would ask of you.
Read, think, then write it down.
Five Recon Parts take you through your life as it is, cyber work and common claims, your own market and your risks. You finish with a Decision Record in your own words.
The decision is yours.
Go, No Go and Not Yet are all complete Recon outcomes. You keep your reasoning and decide what comes next.
Section 04 / The program
Whether first. Then which and how.
01 / Whether
Recon
Decide whether the move into cyber work makes sense for your life.
Freeall the way through
Explore Recon What Recon gives you
- Five Parts on cybersecurity work, the job market and your own life
- No technical background needed: the work is described in plain language
- About 2 h 30, split as you like, plus one night before you confirm
- A Decision Record in your own words: Go, No Go or Not Yet
- No verdict. Recon picks no option for you
- Your Logbook is saved, so you can stop anywhere and come back
02 / Your decision
You write the reason. Go routes to Access.
No Go and Not Yet are complete endings.
03 / Direction + plan
Access
Choose a direction inside cyber and plan the route.
€497one-time
Access starts from your Recon Logbook, or from the Entry Check.
What it adds
- Career Spectrum Assessment
- Nine stages, in order
- Learning plan and portfolio design
- The Daily Bearing and a Risk Register
Community + live calls
Mesh
Access, with other Navigators doing the work alongside you.
€97/ month
Mesh requires Access and adds ongoing support.
What it adds
- Private community organized around the work
- One live group call every week
- Peer review under written norms
- Monthly self-reported checkpoint
Direct creator support
Root
Everything in Mesh, plus direct work with me.
€397/ month
Root requires Mesh. Capacity: twenty Navigators.
What it adds
- Everything in Mesh
- Two scheduled 45-minute calls a month
- A private line for questions
- Personal review of your route and search materials
Prices are shown in EUR. Tax treatment and final purchase terms will be stated before checkout opens. Purchases and memberships are not available on this website yet.
Paid / Access
Know what you’re working toward.
Access helps you choose which kind of cyber work to aim for and build toward it, in nine stages. Access starts from your Recon Logbook if you have one. Without one, it starts with the Entry Check, which takes about 80 minutes.
Access €497 one-time. Mesh €97/month. Root €397/month. Purchases are not available on this website.
- 01
Career Spectrum Assessment
All ten career domains, every time
- 02
Nine stages, one gate at a time
Your domain, route and search
- 03
The Daily Bearing
Your daily and weekly practice
- 04
Access Logbook and Risk Register
One file you keep
- 05
Two complete endings
The ending you write, with your reasons
Section 05 / FAQ
Before you commit.
Does Recon cost anything?
No. All five Parts, the optional extras, the Library and the Decision Record belong to Recon. Choosing a direction and planning how to build toward it belong to paid Access. Recon shows you this boundary before any work begins.
Read what it costs ↗Do I need a technical background?
No. Recon is written for complete beginners and for people thinking about a move from another field. You look at what the work involves before you decide.
What if my answer is No Go or Not Yet?
Both are complete endings, and neither one is a failure. No Go records a decision against the move. Not Yet records a decision to come back to it on a review date you set. Their pages in Recon show no offer.
Can I sign up on this website?
Not yet. The sign-up page is a preview. Its email field and its two boxes are disabled, and it cannot collect, save or send information.
Read sign-up preview ↗Next step
Start with Recon.
See what Recon covers and what you write at the end. You need no technical background.
Explore Recon
Sign-up is not open on this website yet.