Just to give an outsider perspective to anyone reading this. I live in the Seattle Metro, have worked for Microsoft, and now work at a unicorn. I have a list of skill and experience that any ops department would drool over. Amazon is is one of the companies I won’t even apply to unless I’m desperate for a job (and even then I’m not planning to stay).
And I know I’m not the only one.
It’s not. Simple reality is your going to end up in help desk (you might end up in a SNOC or related but ultimately I’d advise help desk just so you learn some real world ops). Security, like it’s engineering counterparts is not something you can do with zero experience in the industry. The two hardest job interviews you will ever have in the general it industry are getting into help desk, and getting out of help desk.