The Cybersecurity Career You Can Break Into From Help Desk (IAM Director Interview)

They keep talking about SOC analysts and pen testers. Nobody talks about IAM — and that's exactly why you should.   Steve London has been hiring, building, and leading Identity & Access Management teams for years. In this conversation, he pulls back the curtain on the one cybersecurity discipline that's gone from overlooked to absolutely critical — and explains exactly how to get in, even if you have zero IAM experience today.   👤 Guest: Steve London — Director of IAM | Cybersecurity Leader | Industry Veteran   Steve has hired IAM professionals across enterprise environments in healthcare and financial services. He's seen thousands of resumes, run hundreds of interviews, and built IAM programs from the ground up. He's the kind of person you rarely get access to — and he held nothing back.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-london-cissp/   💡 What You'll Learn in This Episode: - What IAM engineers actually do day-to-day (it's not what most people think) - Why "identity is the new perimeter" and what that really means for your career - The honest career ladder: analyst → engineer → architect → director → consultant - SailPoint vs Savant vs CyberArk vs Okta — which platform to focus on in 2026 - What Steve actually looks for on a resume (hint: it's not your CISSP) - The two interview questions he uses to stress-test every candidate - How AI is disrupting IAM — deepfakes, ghost employees, and agent access risks - Why a PhD on your resume might actually be hurting your chances - What it takes to go from manager to director in cybersecurity   🧠 Key Discussion Points: ✅ IAM is broader than ever — it now pulls in security ops, risk management, and architecture skills ✅ Most IAM professionals fell into the field from somewhere else — AD admins, trainers, SOC analysts ✅ Attitude + aptitude beats certifications. Steve hires for willingness to learn above all else ✅ The #1 breach vector is still credential compromise through phishing — IAM is the last line of defense ✅ AI tools like autonomous agents are creating entirely new IAM risks organizations aren't ready for ✅ SailPoint and Savant are currently neck-and-neck as the dominant platforms — know both ✅ The consulting path in IAM is underrated and highly lucrative for specialists Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.