Don't Make THIS Mistake When Breaking Into Cybersecurity! (It Will Cost You!)

[@ToddMurphyhealthy4life]

Yes. I'm a US Army veteran. I went to bootcamp that shot us through A+, Network+, and Security+, in less than three 3 months. Not even 3 weeks per subject. No break, or hands on labs at any point. It cost the government $13,000 for my 3 month course.😲 I feel like it was a total waste of time. I just started your GRC Analyst Master Class on Saturday. The little Net+ and Sec+, that I previously learned, is helping me to go through your course with great understanding. But not $13,000 worth. 😔 I'll probably only get the Security+, Certification next month. I'm only focused on it. And your GRC ANALYST training. It's great. That you. Best $29.99 I ever spent. I will continue into NIST or PCI, right after this. 😊💪🏾👌🏾

[@SimplyCyber]

"Best $29.99 I ever spent" - made my day man. Great, useful content at a fair price that actually can have practical use. That was the goal. Bummer on the $13000 waste. Happy you're here. I do advise getting sec+. I wouldnt get net+, but I would learn the content in it. IT Networking concepts are important to understand. Cheers

[@ToddMurphyhealthy4life]

@Gugliano it was called ACI Learning. Not really good. I'm doing Gerald Auger's training now. I love it. I'll be doing Qualys training starting in July. Hope to start a new career in August or September.

[@galloe]

​​​​​@@ToddMurphyhealthy4lifeDamn, really? It's one of the ones he mentions in this video, basically used to be called IT Pro TV. So you took the courses that are taught by Ronnie Wong, Wes Bryan, Zach Memos, Daniel Lowry, etc? I actually like their training, even though there's no hands on stuff, but that's what the A+, Net+, and Security+ exams are, just multiple choice, true or false, and performance-based questions. I haven't tried other exams, but their courses along with Professor Messer's online course helped me pass the A+.

[@Nicrophelia]

Great value here for anyone thinking about bootcamps, and for everyone else too! Asking people who have completed it what they got out of it will definitely help you avoid throwing you money away!

[@terezekeller5139]

I saw this video and I’m about to go through a program at my community college. This program actually takes 3 months for net+ and 3 months for sec+. They are included in the course and the community college I gave me a little scholarship to pay for the program. I’m a mail man in NC married with two kids and I soooooo want a change. I’m definitely going to check out your GRC master class and free resources!!!!

[@SimplyCyber]

Awesome. Get after it. Join us for the morning briefings too. You’ll love it.

[@HisFarmer]

Gerald TruthSayer. As a GRC professional in a large enterprise I can tell you that both certifications and technical skillsets are advantageous to getting and staying hired in industry. More important than those are an always learning mindset. When hiring, we want to know that you are going to dig in and improve yourself, the group, and the security posture. If you are starting from scratch with no IT technical knowledge, you may benefit from a holistic program. However, most people just need to know the technical specifics unique to the cyber / IT industry, which can be learned from cheaper sources, and need to pass certifications to get in the door. Everyone learns differently. 1 week bootcamps help me learn for certifications... reading books and long training courses aren't helpful to me. Find what works for you and is most efficient ( time & money).

[@lesbora]

Thanks Gerald, now I see why I've been struggling with some of the paid courses online. Loads of unrelatable information with no actionable scope

[@gerardquimbo]

Thanks for this! I really appreciate this as someone who's looking to make a change from cooking for the past 23+ years to the cybersecurity field it's nice to have some idea how to transition into a new career.

[@benbanfield8051]

I did the Nexus Bootcamp associated with the University of Michigan. It was nothing like the boot camps you are describing, other than being expensive. It was one year long, taught by multiple industry professionals, with 12 hours of in-class instruction each week for the whole year, compounded with hands-on labs that cemented the concepts that were being taught. There were no certifications that were promised, and there was a professional career counselor who helped craft resumes and also helped with job applications and interviewing skills. I was hired by a company that they recommend that I apply to and was able to get my start in Cybersecurity. Would recommend them 10 out of 10.

[@SimplyCyber]

Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing this feedback. As I mentioned in the video, not all bootcamps are like the ones i describe, but because there are so many scammy ones the good ones are hard to find. Appreciate the feedback, and anyone reading this should consider looking at this nexus bootcamp and getting one more additional graduates perspective, but 10 out of 10, industry professional instructor led, 1 year all sound like the right criteria for an excellent program.

[@seveneightnine750]

Yes, I would like more information on the NIST and the DoD compliance, just found you, Love your energy! Thank you!

[@SimplyCyber]

How are NIST and DoD #cybersecurity compliance related?

[@subro.sengupta]

Great capsule size video. Pretty concise. It delivers the message and lands it just right. Good stuff Gerry! Just a little constructive feedback if I may - The hardcoded subtitles were kinda off sometimes which was a little a distracting for me personally as I couldn't turn it off. So maybe that's something you would want to look into. But otherwise the video is really great.

[@PFCStroud1]

Great video! I finished a bootcamp in November. It was the right choice for me because I used the VetTec program (my gi bill expired in February), and my wife and I were in a position I could take 3 months off work. I would honestly say in general though , paying out of pocket it is definitely not worth it. The best part about the bootcamp I went through was the Career Coach and all her help with resumes and interview prep etc. But getting into a good community like simply cyber and putting in the work yourself, you could probably do much more for much cheaper. The class pacing and instruction was extremely subpar.

[@KyPratt]

Just finished a bootcamp. While I did learn a lot, I did leave underwhelmed and overwhelmed. Our course didn't focus on passing security+ but did advise that was the certification to take. I felt it wasn't rigorous enough or practical, and definitely moved too fast. Luckily I found BHIS during and started taking courses from them while in the bootcamp. That is actually how I heard of you, from John Strand. Looking forward to hopping in the resources you provided and working my way to a job. Thank you!

[@SimplyCyber]

Wow. Heard about me from John Strand. Thats awesome!! John is an inspiration to myself and many in the field. His 3 classes over at Antisyphon are all wonderful.

[@galloe]

I bought six courses from TCM Security, including your GRC course, and will be starting in a few months. I'm currently studying for the (ISC)² Certified in Cybersecurity and the SANS Foundation GFACT, both of which I'm doing for free.

[@dustinhxc]

Wonderful video! I enrolled in college. Dropped out and was going to do a bootcamp. Cancelled that idea and have been going hard at self study and networking! So happy with my decision! Can go at your own pace to fully absorb any topic you desire! So many resources out there, it’s amazing!

[@SimplyCyber]

love that you adjusted to make sure you were doing what was best for you instead of slogging it out.

[@beinacodgamer]

Where do you even start?

[@stefanforest7582]

Great video!!

[@kylemorain1466]

Loving the content!

[@rhettsingleton805]

This was 100% my experience in 2020 when I started my cybersecurity journey. I did a 6 month boot camp that went through a new certification every 3 weeks. The online “class” was 6-10 PM, Monday through Friday. The program cost me a years worth of my GI Bill benefits and didn’t cover the cost of any of the certification exams.

[@dorisschott-neuse8541]

Great video, Gerry!

[@DB-kl6we]

I'm almost at the end of a bootcamp with the University of Denver. It is a great way to get your feet wet into this field, the labs provide real time learning experience with pentesting, VM's, etc. The speed of the class is like is at times hard to keep up with, which negates the point of an instructor. Even wasting precious time learning obsolete material. IT IS NOT WORTH THE PRICE. MAYBE $5K, BUT NOT $12K. You can't get a job based on a boot camp pass/fail "graduation certification." I've engaged myself, met with fellow students in person, worked on homework and projects with others, and put in effort. Hindsight is 20/20. They sucker people in, push for the instructors to keep up pace. This is a cash grab.

[@charlesoneil664]

How do you feel about going to getting a degree from college course? Do you feel it adds value and is worth it?

[@SimplyCyber]

Do you need a college degree to work in #cybersecurity ? #career

[@jesseC0806]

Sadly, I’ve concluded my bootcamp with nothing but conceptual knowledge and no direction. 8 months of information overload and rigorous work just to get a slap on the back.

[@MISTYEYED.]

I’m here Gerry!!!

[@JohnP-pp4kv]

You're early!

[@ZombENT400]

10k for cyber security Sec + and I couldn’t even finish. $1500 per month and they only briefly when over GRC

[@bfit4life319]

I’m currently in NJIT bootcamp for 17k have you heard about there program and if so what’s your opinion.

[@adigitalsmith]

Just so glad to have found rangeforce years after getting A+ comptia amongst others really want you to keep u spending on c.e.u in a captialistic society what can u expect lol i loved completing rengeforce to first give me a taste & thanks fpr posting other free ones i really needed to continue onwards

[@SimplyCyber]

Rangeforce is good. if you liked the soc angle, def check out the soc analyst experience playlist i put out a few weeks back. step by step on how to build your own lab.

[@lesbora]

Can I be referred to a GRC or Cybersecurity Analyst newbie community? I'd appreciate that

[@SimplyCyber]

Come to simply cyber discord to start. There are several but I know simply cyber one is good to start (inclusive) for grc and You can expand from there. Discord.gg/SimplyCyber

[@beechang9784]

Anyone here enrolled in WGU? If so, what do you think about it’s cybersecurity program?

[@dzitzels]

I looked at WGU as one of about 7 colleges/universities I researched before deciding to attend University of Utah. The problem that I had with WGU is that they are too certification-based. I have had colleagues get their BSIT degrees from WGU and get about 8 certs at the same time. It is really difficult to maintain that many certs all at once. In fact, the question I ask is: When all of your certs expire, do you still have a degree? The strict answer is yes however, if all of your gained knowledge is mostly around those certs, are employers going to look at you the same way when they expire? Or will they look at you as essentially expired knowlege? Having a few certs that are key to your desired job function is great if you can maintain them but basing your whole educational experience around a bunch of certs that will eventually expire or be very expensive and difficult to maintain seems overly risky in my opinion.

[@slip6699]

if you already have the three comptia certs and need a degree, then wgu is good. It you are strarting from scratch with little knowwledge, goto a local college.

[@sippingontaboo717]

Love you bro...

[@valdimer11]

Damn, I really wish I would've seen this earlier. I got roped into one of those cybersecurity bootcamps. The recruiter lied out the front gate for it as well. I didn't find out until a week later and you are only allowed to drop out after a week. So now, I'm stuck. I've signed up for cheaper or free courses online to supplement my education and I have to say my "side classes" are way more informative and useful that this boot camp itself. One would assume a boot camp given by a reputable University would be a no brainer. But its not. 12k and I get one voucher for a certification of my choosing. That's it! Plus the classes themselves are not built with the intent of allowing you to even pass a cert. Am I leaning stuff? Yes. But so far, I'm learning more and faster by finding supplementary courses. One example I have to share as well. In the LFCS certification supplementary course I'm taking they placed extra emphasis on using Linux man pages and --help pages. In the bootcamp? Nothing. They told you the commands and that's it. No practice using them or navigating them efficiently or nothing. This is literally fundamental to learn not only how to use bash shell in general, but to learn how to be efficient at it!

[@SimplyCyber]

dang. that sucks to hear and to know you were basically exploited / lied to to avoid dropping. Happy to hear you are getting knowlegde you need and doing supplemental stuff. THERE IS SO MUCH FREE RESOURCES ITS CRAZY! best wishes

[@valdimer11]

@@SimplyCyber Yes. I decided I needed a career change, and they made it out to sound like I could go right out and get up to 5 different certifications after 6 months. On its nose that did seem like a little much though, but I figured hey, even if I could get 2 certs I'd be well on my way through my roadmap. One thing these damn places like to emphasize is how much you need to rely on Google and outside sources for your information. Additionally, so far, they only teach everything within the context of the syllabus. So for instance, when talking about assigning user permissions, their goto command is adduser -aG. When I asked about gpasswd they simply replied "thats not in the coursework". And I'm like yeah, I get that but what's the difference if both commands seem to get the same result??? Right, but what's the difference

[@galloe]

Wow man, I'm sorry this happened to you. One of the best decisions I made recently was deciding to enroll in community college classes at the age of 39. One of them was Information Security Fundamentals and the other UNIX/Linux Fundamentals. With the little knowledge I had in the Linux command line I also joined the school's cybersecurity club, which was awesome because I was able to participate in the National Cyber League CTF and learned a LOT as I went. When you mentioned about reading the man pages, that's actually one of the things that my professor stressed during our class, always read the man pages, as well as turning to Google when stuck. The benefits in being a student is that you also get to participate in things for free you would normally have to pay for out of pocket if you weren't a student. I was able to get (ISC)²'s CC course for free, I think that program might be open to women, veterans, and underrepresented communities for free, it's called One Million Certified in Cybersecurity, as well as the SANS SEC275 course and the GFACT exam for free.

[@tigergumby]

This is great!

[@efemboygg]

wondering what it'll be. but will miss premiere cause at sans neurodiversity summit today

[@lahiouelhocine5724]

I just wanna tell you ur awesome thnx u for this information

[@SimplyCyber]

Thanks so much! Always nice to hear kind words. have a great day. 😊

[@DelCarloAdventures]

Don’t you need the basic certifications to be looked at with companies like A+, Network+ Security +

[@SimplyCyber]

Do you need #cybersecurity #certification to get looked at for a job?

[@nandibhebhe859]

Where can we find your GRC master class

[@silentProz]

By far the most effective $30 investment in your career!

[@SimplyCyber]

GRC Analyst Master Class simplycyber.teachable.com

[@DustedTurtle054]

As soon as a boot camp quoted me over twice the price of WGU and all you got was the Sec+ and a certificate saying you finished their boot camp, that’s when I realized they’re a scam 😂

[@valdimer11]

Too bad mine lied to me. Until I couldn't back out

[@assumptanwugo2184]

I am so glad I enrolled in your Master class. It can be overwhelming with all the boot camp out there fighting for my money without any clear path.

[@SimplyCyber]

Hope you enjoyed it. Cheers!

[@ShahabSheikhzadeh]

Although it's implied, I feel like it's a little disingenuous to slam bootcamps while subtly pushing your own courses and brand. Many of these bootcamps are creating material in a variety of ways from the ground up. They also provide support and staffing for a solid 6 months after the program ends and generally help people get jobs. *shrug* Just some thoughts. Still, great content and tying it together is a pain.

[@SimplyCyber]

Thanks for the comment and perspective. I did try to call attention to not all boot camps are scams and tips to validate the quality of a boot camp. I made the video because I feel problematic bootcamps aren’t a few bad apples but a widespread issue. If the program legit places students into jobs after completion that’s the biggest value it’s a fair criticism and appreciate you sharing.

[@kaseybargas5496]

Ran right over from the live

[@qu48]

Here

[@manfrombritain6816]

of course these things are a waste of time. cybersec is possibly the broadest AND deepest subject out there... you can only get any good with intense amounts of study and practice. nobody would expect someone to become a doctor after a "bootcamp"... the idea is laughable

[@SimplyCyber]

Agreed, but bootcamp marketing suggests otherwise.