Not in security but I did do some research a while back on this exact question.
Certs will land you entry level work if you have no skills. Instead of grinding out leetcode for employers to take a chance on you, you grind out a cert or two. OSCP is good and from what I hear very practical.
You could also learn how to reverse by yourself. This would be an alternative route in. But you would need an incredible amount of patience and time. Basically get gud but this is easier said than done since most people will give up once they realize what this actually entails. The reversers I knew were atypical people. The payoff if you manage to run this gauntlet is enormous.
Here is a book to get started: https://www.amazon.ca/Practical-Binary-Analysis-Instrumentation-Disassembly/dp/1593279124/ref=asc_df_1593279124/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292950432170&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17738180312356589410&hvpone=&...
Here is a course:
You don't even need IDA since you can start with just a hex editor by reversing small toy C programs that you have written yourself.
Do your own research on what is best to spend your limited time on. You have to account for real life too since it's full of distractions and obligations that fuck with attaining your goals.
I'm in the same boat as you. I have a decent understanding of stack buffer overflows and of x86 assembly. I'm still practicing x64, and then trying to learn ARM assembly since my damn M1 mac is ARM based :(. Here are some resources I have, https://github.com/rootkit-io/malware-and-exploitdev-resources, and also https://guyinatuxedo.github.io/index.html. The book Practical Binary Analysis is good too, for understanding ELF. https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Binary-Analysis-Instrumentation-Disassembly/dp/1593279124/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=1WY8K0SPVDULO&keywords=practical+binary+analysis&qid=1648971691&sprefix=practical+binary+%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-1 . I hope these help