Hi everyone, I’m on a gap year and I will be starting my bachelor’s in cybersecurity in September. One of my main goals is to standout in the job market. I don't just wanna get a degree, I want to be good at what I do. I plan on focusing on cyber roles which involve a lot of coding for example cloud security, appSec, DevSecOps or pen testing. I love coding, that's why.

Here is my prep/plan:
I plan on focusing on the fundamentals and real life projects. For the fundamentals, I plan on completing the Google Cybersecurity Certificate then doing the CompTIA Security+ later. For real world project experience I plan on exploring TryHackMe, HackTheBox and building projects like deploying a Python web app on AWS + securing it (this aspect is not fully fleshed out yet).

The basic idea is to learn theory while practicing my skills.

My key questions are:

1. Is this dual-track approach a good way to prepare for the cybersecurity roles I want to target?

2. Are there better ways to combine learning fundamentals and real-world practice before university?

Any feedback, advice, or stories from your own early cybersecurity path would be greatly appreciated!

PS: For those who want context for my technical background, I have experience coding in HTML, CSS, Javascript, Java(A bit rusty) and Python. I mostly use Python and Javascript. I also did computer science in high school (A levels) so, I'm not too new to computer science.