Plenty of good suggestions in this thread. I’ll add on that I recommend you read Alyssa Miller’s “Cybersecurity Career Guide”. It will answer many of your questions and provide you a roadmap to land your first job. https://www.manning.com/books/cybersecurity-career-guide?ar=true&lpse=A

I don’t understand why journalists continue to call users with the blue check-mark “verified”. There’s no verification of anything but a credit card. Verification is a relic of the past and they need to shift their language to match reality. Maybe call them “paid” users.