Cyber Security is a broad field. It encompasses technical & non-technical career paths. The notion of "getting into" the field is pretty easy, as there are ways on both the technical and non-technical to do so. The easiest way to start, especially on the technical side is to start learning the FREE stuff first, and getting your hands on practice through online labs.
Your first job in cyber will most likily come from networking (Video). If you dont like that answer, then you can try and take some certs and apply for internships, but you are literally competing against so many other people. Learn to network and produce content so hiring managers FIND YOU!
Another answer you might not like, but it's reality: IT DOESN'T MATTER!! There I said it, since no one else will. You should chase knowledge and not certifications. You should identify where you have knowledge gaps in this industry and find certs that help you fill those gaps. That's how you get better.
No. No one can. And if they say they can - they're probably scamming you. If you believe them - you deserve to get scammed.
I think competition has been very good for all training providers, and that the glory days of some of the "old dogs" in this space are over. I think you would benifit more from pursuing other education & training options that have a better cost to personal development ratio.
There is no "better" certification. There is no magic bullet that will give you all the knowledge you need, and certaintly no magic "get me a job" certification. You should chase knowledge. Not certifications.
You should NEVER pay for a bootcamp. I think bootcamps, more often than not, just run you through a bunch of certifications with no real knowledge gain. If a bootcamp claims they can "guarantee" you a job - RUN! That is a lie. Like the cake.
Step 1: Networking. Step 2: Hands on Labs & Content Creation. Step 3: ?? Step 4: Get Job through networking, and putting yourself out there.
No. Despite some egos in this buisness, you do not need a 4-year, 6-year, or 8-year degree to be awesome in cyber security. Period. While convincing the board to enable MFA (multifactor authentication) may feel like brain surgery - it isn't.