Career advice - Is it possible to get a security job without formal education? What can compensate for the lack of it?

Question

Context: I am twenty and I am a high school dropout. I have a basic working knowledge of software development, penetration testing, vulnerability research, reverse engineering and exploit development. I also have one year of experience as an external contractor for a small IT business - contract that I got responsibly disclosing bugs in their software with them and not through a traditional interview - and a small number of uninteresting CVE numbers. I am unsurprisingly struggling searching for a job. I know of many working in infosec without a degree, but no one without a high school diploma. Is it even possible? Would a certification - such as OSCP/OSCE or even CEH (which I know to be a well known joke among professionals, but seems to be appreciated by employers) - compensate for the lack of formal education? I was said that publishing independent research and exploits can be useful, and I am already doing it, though I am not skilled enough to find the type of bugs and write the type of exploits that open the doors I am trying to get in. How can I prove my value to potential employers in the short run?

Answer 1

You can find entry level positions as an analyst with non graduate certificates, however, in order to grow professioanlly in the segment, you must have a college degree.