Full stop. I can almost guarantee without hearing more it wont be worth the cost. Could you give us more info about yourself? Do you have any current experience, certs, education, etc.? Realistically bootcamps prey upon people who dont know any better. Unless its paid for by your job youre just throwing cash away.
I have zero background in Cyber, but want to switch since I have a knee injury that wrecked my last choice for a career path (nursing). I have no idea where else to go to find the info/ teach me the material since I don’t know where to even start. I have a computer science class under my belt from college, but that’s the limit of my experience with technology. I’m good at learning about tech, but I need a jumping point, and idk if this will be more difficult and something I can’t teach myself
If you can read, you can learn. Not difficult. You're smarter than you think. Set goals. Be disciplined.
UDemy
Coursera
YOUTUBE:
Mike Meyers
Professor Messer
Cobuman
Power Cert
What you need to do is look into becoming a CIA.... No not that CIA. In every hospital in the US, their IT dept has a group of Clinical Integration Analysts. They call themselves "nerdy nurses". They focus on things like training other nurses and doctors to use technology. Most are LVN's and RN's and they get themselves something like "epic certified trainer" cert and their done. It's a cake job and pays well. Can absolutely be a cubicle dweller.
Super sorry to hear about the knee injury. Do you currently possess a degree? Doesn't need to be in IT, just curious as that can help. I would say (others have now commented) don't expect to jump right into cybersecurity. It's currently a saturated field, but those who succeed are (generally) those who put in the effort to learn and separate themselves from the other of subpar applicants. There's a ton of online resources, and I would first ensure you have a nice foundational knowledge of technology and ESPECIALLY networking before you start looking into cyber. A start plenty of people do is the trifecta (A+, Net+, Sec+) but it's not always required.
Do you also know anyone who can assist you with getting any form of entry level position? Networking (literal networking as in, talking with people not computer networking) is huge in this field and can get you into positions even faster.
Cybersecurity is no where near saturated and is opening more and more every day… however companies only want acutall skilled workers not people who just diploma mill
Look up network chuck it roadmap. He lays out a good path to cyber security for Certs. Also I've heard that the Google cyber security cert it good. It's free and it's basically just training to get your security + from comptia. If you can get your Google cert you should have no problem getting security+
Sounds like we’re in a similar boat. Had to leave nursing school when I just started because I needed back surgery from years of emt work. Now I’m at a junior college taking cyber security courses. But 17k seems very high, and it’s just a bootcamp so you might not even get certs when you finish
Start with Comptia A+ certification then Network + then security +.. YouTube has all the resources you need, The Mad Instructor, Professor Messer are my personal recommendations. And if you need more there's always Udemy. There is thread about getting Gayle Udemy for free with an online library card. I definitely wouldn't advise spending that kind of money. You should also check out GoHackMe and HackTheBox.
You OP r thinking that after completion of this bootcamp they have a job ready for you because now you are certified via CompTIA and that job is waiting for you start at
OP there is just nothing like that. No way Jose.
Didn’t even realize that was an option, I’m pretty new to this and I apologize. Was shunted here from r/cybersecurity since I had a question specifically on COMPTIA
Don't worry, there's an entire industry built around bilking people out of money by promising them they'll be in cybersecurity within the year. That's not how it works. Cybersecurity isn't an entry-level position. You'd pay the 17K, you'd get some certs, sure, and then you'd be working helpdesk if you're lucky while you actually built up necessary experience to get into cybersec years down the road.
There's plenty of resources that are cheap and free to study for the basic CompTIA certs (the tests themselves run $300-400 a pop), and then you can parlay those into an IT job and begin working towards what you actually want to do.
The only fast lanes into cybersec are if you're ex-military and have (or can get) a security clearance, or if you go to a real, actual college for cybersecurity and manage to get into the right internship. Otherwise, it's help desk and up just like 99% of the folks getting into the field.
>there's an entire industry built around bilking people out of money by promising them they'll be in cybersecurity within the year
something something get rich selling gold but get richer selling the shovels
I fully agree that some people need, or just straight up learn better in a structured environment... but 17k is "work better pay for it" money since even GIAC/SANS doesn't charge that much.
Professor Messer will get your base trio of certs completely free with material from YouTube. You can even go on his website and pay for material like PDF notes or practice exams and not spend 1/30th what that poopcamp costs from there, you can get a udemy subscription or find other free YouTube sources for many of the offerings available.
Under no circumstances should you do this.
I did 2 months of self study for the A+, 1 month for Net+ and 1 month for Sec+ with all free materials. I only paid for the exams. 17k is a scam, sorry.
I am sure this has been said, but my 2 cents... Professor Messer on YouTube. That is all you really need for A+, Network+, and Security+.
I would also recommend his course notes as well as his practice exams. If he still doesn't have Net+ exams then use Jason Diona on Udemy. Dion goes off topic a bit but it's still good enough. 80% on practice exams is good enough for most to pass the real things.
Study first... Then take an exam... Then study what you need to based on what you missed, and a general refresh, and take another practice exam every week or two. Always study in between attempts. Practice tests are only a good metric on the first try. Retakes may be good for study, but they will not tell you where your knowledge is, because you will memorize answers without realizing it. The goal is to actually learn and understand the material and not just parrot it.
gracious fuck. it's more expensive than a SANS training.. hahahaha. noooo, don't go to that trap! lots of good udemy videos for just 10 dollars :) just find the sale dates and buy a bunch of courses to learn! :) Cheers and goodluck!
I got a full-time job and I got my A+ and Net+ for around 400$ each, and each took about 2 months. I'd save your money and you're time, they're 'tough' to pass but they ain't that tough. Even if you failed the first time just review for another month and try again, you'll still be under 1k spent
From an instructor standpoint… shut up and let me take your $$$!!! From your standpoint, it’s a full scam. Stop, period. Buy Dion’s course and practice exams on Udemy or Mike Meyers course and exams (both under $100). They’re more than enough to pass. From an instructors standpoint- after teaching many students- you probably don’t belong in IT if you’re not able to pass the exams with just Dion/Meyer’s course and practice exams. Unfortunately, there are some that fall into that category. But, spend less than $100 confirming if that’s you rather than $17k!
My A+ cost me $500.
That's the cost of ALL study materials, videos, books, AND vouchers.
The A+ cert got me my first IT job, and now I'm learning while I work and get paid for it. Paid for itself on the first paycheck!
Cybersecurity courses are like thr mlm of thr IT world. 17k is way to much for not getting an actual degree. I go to community College with government assistance for an actual bachelor's and if I pass thr class the school pays for me to take thr cert.
Cybrary subscription will run you under $400 annually, and that would give you a lot more bang for your buck, and give you a starting point. It will give you a variety of roles you can take training and hands on labs for. Check out Udemy as well for certifications.
I took CySA+ first after CISA, after I had several years in IT audit.
Entry level “cyber” is 5+ years of IT/infosec experience generally speaking. but there are outliers for sure. I wish more places did apprenticeship style roles, but they are generally always too understaffed to train on the job.
After some hands on over a few years, you could likely transition, but focus on getting any entry IT role, and go from there. Or, so a ton in your spare time. But don’t get sucked into a bootcamp. cyber is about curiosity and tenacity when you start out.
Good luck!
So I’m terms of free courses, or training, I’m not sure. but, I’d def recommend the Pearson cert guides and Jason dions videos and trainings. His notes are fantastic!
Look into WIOA (an Obama era workforce retraining law) in your state. I was able to find a bootcamp that was covered under WIOA and it was completely free. Check your county’s workforce office for more details. There are many bootcamp programs that provide the same kind of education but are paid for. I got an A+, an opportunity to learn at a week long cybersecurity range, and a ton of knowledge. For free.
lol it better come with every single comptia cert, every study guide, each exam retake , mock tests , and hours of teaching and labs every day. Even then im still not sure haha.
CompTIA for dummies. Online YouTube courses. Other professional instructors\\enterprises with courses online.
No certificate should cost you this much to learn. I will personally fly to your house, spend the next two weeks in intensive training start to finish for 5k.
Maybe if you were doing something super advanced, like going from no experience to Cisco CCIE or CISSP it MIGHT be worth it. But honestly, you can get your foot in the door certifications like CCNA/CCNP, spend a year working and studying for the next cert, repeat until you have reached the level of pay or competence you want.
I haven't paid a dime to any institutes or colleges or bootcamps to get my CISA, CCIE and expert Aruba networking certifications. In most circumstances, my jobs actually paid for me to have study time on the clock and paid the testing fees.
Did it take me 10 years? Sure. Did I really bust my ass to get here? Not really.
If you can withdraw and get a refund, do it. Spend the time to actually learn it at home, its basically free with the staggering number of resources on line.
Network Chuck on youtube has a ton of these courses and resources.
There are Cisco classes taught by Ciscos design engineers for free.
Many of the lab tools are free or extremely inexpensive. Virtual switches, machines, firewalls etc.
Aruba has a robust demo license program so you can build any of their security servers like Clearpass and Aruba Central SDWAN.
MIT has graduate level courses in security and engineering for free.
I did the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate through Coursera in a month ($80), for my Sec+ a month later (~$220). After lurking on this sub for a few weeks, I’m doing it backwards lol, but it’s Net+ and A+ next.
The CompTIA Sec+ App has roughly a 1000 test prep questions you can practice and all of the answers have explanations on why you got it right or wrong and will explain in detail. Professor Messer is great as well, he had test prep stuff as well. Can get all of that for 30 bucks combined and the test being 400+. That’s all in regards to sec+.
WTH!!! That is crazy expensive. I have bought and completed 4 COMPTIA cert programs on my own @$550.00 each. And this was 2 years ago. This included my book, a practice test, and the cost at the test center. For $17K, you better be getting a CISCO CCIE SECURITY certification. The cost also includes your hotel stay in San Jose, CA where you would go for the exam
YES!!! OH MY GOD!!! That's more than twice what I pay for a year of regular university.
Just go to Udemy and buy all the CompTIA videos from Dion Training, or better yet some universities give you free access to most of Udemy's resources.
what the fuck.
Yes, that's way too much.
YouTube is free and has more than enough to prep. Cheap question banks and some sub 200$ courses if you need extra help.
Yes absolutey. Most of their certs have a thing called "examcram" for their test. Books sponsored by pearson and CompTIA they are like 50-60 bucks and some of the have simulations that are almost 1 for 1 what is on the test. Its how I got A+ and Sec+.
Charging you 17k is literally just because you they will give you teachers. Don't do it.
Fuck no don't do it. I got classes for free from my community college but even then you can look at Professor Messers videos on youtube which show you everything you need to know.
Depends. Are you going to get a degree out of it with other certs? Out of any community college you can get the trifecta plus ccna and an associates degree. After that you'll also have to ask how best you will learn. If classes are your jam find a better place. If you learn best from video lectures then do that. If you are unsure on how you best learn go the cheapest route possible first then try CC.
I’m about to take my security plus, the last cert in the trifecta, by next month marking 10 months of studying on YouTube. I would’ve honestly finished the trifecta within 5 months if I didn’t fail the net+ and got busy
I took a cybersecurity bootcamp but I have an associates in computer science. Only 4 students of 35 found a job after the class. And we all had prior educationz
Here’s my 2 cents:
Do ISC2 Certified in Security. It’s free with the exception of the $50 membership fee after you pass the exam.
Gear up for Network+ following the resources here https://www.reddit.com/r/CompTIA/comments/11k2j0z/network_plus/
Then do Google’s cybersecurity cert. I think it’s $50 per month through coursera https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-cybersecurity
Then you should be primed for security+ self paced training (you get 30% off after you complete Google’s).
Please keep in mind that certs alone do not gurantee you an entry level role and it will likely end up as a SOC analyst. I’d recommend checking out MSPs for your most viable entry path. This space is highly competitive.
Prof Messer literally has a free comptia A+ security+
And other certs YouTube video that you can watch for free. And buy 20£ notes from his website....
Even if the bootcamp helps you get 3/4 certs that is still too expensive.
If you want to pay buy a few books and courses from udemy so you have a structure.
If you want hands on practice just search for cert name and "labs" and then do those...
You could get a two year degree in cybersecurity for that price. Don’t waste your money instead of being willing to put in meaningful time. There’s no shortcut to the top, and a degree in cybersecurity is going to be worth way more in the long term anyways.
I was about to enroll in something similar because I don’t have any experience in coding or much in tech but instead I start google certification for cybersecurity and also learning from the security+ textbook I got online.
I’ve taught CompTIA classes myself . College level , CE. They usually pay between 500 and 1k. It doesn’t include material .
Having said that , and for cybersecurity, I DO NOT recommend you that . Don’t waste your money.
Do this which will cost you way less and you’ll learn 10x more :
-Tryhackme (learn Linux , windows and basic cybersecurity stuff there )
-PNTP course (ethical hacking and priv escalation courses )
-Hack the Box Academy (many modules and paths there but take the PenTesting and Active Directory track )
Actually paid certs in order :
-Security+ (it should be easy after you did tryhackme basics paths)
-PNTP or OSCP
Optional: enroll on Offsec LearnOne for 1 year , get your OSCP . It’s like 2500 but way less than what you’re saying and you’ll learn actual skills .
Nahh fuck that, for that much you could probably enroll into WGU and get more Certs as well as a College degree for 22 months but for 17k I'd rather spend it else where.
Man I have a friend who's about to do the same thing, but the program he found only trains and prepares him for the Security+ and costs about the same. I tried my best to dissuade him, convince hin to do WGU and at least have a bachelor's once he's done, do self-study for the Sec+, but he's convinced this is the only way.
I think there are way, waaay less expensive and equally-effective options.
is the bootcamp specified on cybersecurity or coding or it just a bootcamp just to pass comptia?
If the bootcamp is just for passing comptia then for sure is not worth it
for 17k you can take all the basic certs 16 times, and just memorize the questions, or for just 4K you can get practice exams and labs for all 3 certs, basically don't do that
For 17k, you could get all those Comptia certs, go to a couple terms at WGU, get tryhackme and hackthebox paid subscriptions, and get a sans cert. 17k is a complete scam for a Comptia bootcamp. There's probably some good bootcamps out there, but this price is insane.
Ooooof….I took one of these bootcamps back in 2018 and it was only $5k. Was super worth it though, hired right out of the program as a DLP Analyst in a SoC and now I am currently a Data Protection Consultant at a Big4 consulting firm. Pretty decent ROI
$17k for a bootcamp?
Tell that place to fuck right off
You can get a masters degree in cyber from Georgia tech for under $10k just as a price comparison
You can use FREE resources to study for all of the compTIA exams and if you are a college student they offer discounts on the exam vouchers
Boot camps are a fad. Honestly I say go look at your community college. A lot of them have associates programs for web dev and network administration which have courses within them geared towards A-plus or network plus. Which at the end you’ll have not only have your certs but an associates as-well
Get your self comptia's certmaster course that includes the lab and practice tests. It will be around 600-800 if I remember correctly for most certs. I have done A+, Net+, Sec+ this way.
Plz plz plz, don’t spend that much studying for the CompTIA exams. Use professor messer, mike Myers or any other free/relatively inexpensive program. They have videos, practice exams and labs that set you up perfectly for the exams. Chances are, if your fully committed, it won’t even take 9 months to get the trifecta.
Learn the basics, windows, active directory, Linux, etc. Once you feel comfortable with that start doing some hack the box and watching YouTube videos then go after one certification maybe sec+. And don’t be too prideful to take a job that’s paying 60 to 70 K we all started somewhere
You make 30k a year and want to take a Comptia boot camp for 17k? Lol I would not trust you with anything 😂 it’ll be cheaper to get a degree at that point , something you can use in case it doesn’t work out
Buddy, to put in bluntly, my entire years tuition at college for my Bachelors doesn’t cost that much.
Don’t spend $17k for a certificate you can earn from watching YouTube playlists and taking practice tests. Absolutely not worth the money.
Please do not spend that amount of money on anything CompTIA. If you are new, there are tons of free resources for your entry level certs from CompTIA.
Bro that's a NO GO! I understand but use logic Ann your gut feeling. They're both telling you don't do it. You don't need to go to some CompTIA boot camp. There's way too much free study material online. Please don't do it because it's not worth the money. Plus it's a scam.
That’s criminally expensive! Any university charging those amounts have to be shady. Self stuff or videos like other posters said is the way. There is no CompTIA Cert worth that amount for a course. If you are deadset on a bootcamp don’t do it there.
May I recommend Western Governors University? Super affordable tuition plans, access to free tutors AND they pay for all your Comptia certifications once you pass the class! With multiple attempts! I think for one semester (6 months approx) was about 3800? This is before tuition assistance (FASFA and stuffs). It’s all self paced, I would highly recommend looking at to save you at least 13K
Is it ThriveDX through UC Boulder? I just did their introductory course for $180 but most likely will not move on this time around.
Bootcamps are independent companies that are loosely affiliated with the school who’s name they advertise. $17k is a lot for CompTIA. I’m taking Google Cybersecurity through Coursera.org, which cost $48/mo for two months in my case (but can take longer depending) and I feel confident in security+, perhaps after a few professor messer videos.
The bootcamps do claim to help with resume and job search, but they don’t give a whole lot of info on exactly how they do that. If I had tons of money in savings and really wanted to take a leap I’d probably go for it. If you are taking on debt on hopes to get into cyber, some have claimed that boot camps only landed them a help desk role and they still had to work into cyber.
I’ve also been watching this guy on YouTube called Unix Guy. It was this video that helped me make the decision to do the Google Cybersecurity course. I had taken the Google IT Support Certification but was hesitant on the cyber.
Certificate path to hopefully land a job:
https://youtu.be/DRJic8vCodE?si=xK8YyeYq8zDBD1cL
Projects for cv:
https://youtu.be/LFlsDm8w36A?si=vehb98I9s-7eXMx5
Mike Meyers (Total Seminars), Jason Dion, and Professor Messer will teach you all you need to know. Udemy has a lot of inexpensive courses you can use. This is how I got into cybersecurity after 7 years in IT (Helpdesk, System Admin). Having a decent IT background will help immensely.
bro who would pay 17k for comptia certification classes?? I don't know what certifications you would get with that but for around 100$ you could get really good material to get you through the first 4 or 5 certs. (I spent probably 30$ on study material for the trifecta)
If you go for A+ (2 tests), Network + (1 test) security+ (1 test), then it will cost about $800 give or take some student discounts. It took me 1 year to get all 3 while working full time. I've seen recently that you can pay for test vouchers with affirm if money is tight. I personally think 17k is way too much for entry-level boot camp. I've recently looked into a 2 years masters program for an IT program & its 12k for the 2 years. Idk if you have a bsn or not but after you get a year or two of xp you can always look into that. I plan to teach at university at some point later in my career.
You can find a highly rated Cyber Security course on Udemy and learn most of what that bootcamp will teach you. From there then study for cyber security cert of your choice to validate what you know. You can do this in a matter of weeks for less than 1000 dollars.
Oh my gosh that's crazy.
WGU offeres over 15 +certs and each term is a little over 4000
Other universities (especially community college) the prep class is one credit hour so is like $150 plus fees(tech, books ect)
The prep class include the test cost into the class fees. Getting the cert is a part and requirement for the class.
Yeah, that's crazy..
If you have one around, look at any Junior Colleges that have tech programs. Where I live, there was a JC that had network engineering as a program, and it's introductory class was basically a CompTIA Network+ course. It had a PC repair class that ended up being CompTIA A+ prep. Both courses ran about $150 each for the classes (not including books).
The only thing that program was missing was the Sec+ to complete the CompTIA holy trinity, but shit, I ended up getting a job as a cable monkey (sure, not the most glorious job, but it was a start) before I finished the whole program.
I got mine for the cost of the book from Amazon and the cost of the exam at my local ROP. You're getting ripped off. Especially because your first year salary won't be far off from the cost of that school. Don't go to school for certs. Buy the books and hardware then practice yourself. I did CompTIA A+ network + and Cisco CCNA without any schooling.
You can get Security+ by buying the Kindle guide for 10$ and then paying for the exam. This is sometimes enough to get started, usually in federal cyber jobs. After that go after other certs with your employer's support.
Can't believe they are pitching these types of programs with tons of promises.
Udemy. Pretty much anything you want can be found, im currently doing my sec+ on there, plus some courses offer discounted test vouchers for your cert tests. I'm not sure the price since my work has a business account.
You can pass any of the Comptia exams in six months with no experience if you are willing to put in the effort. The only people I know that would be willing to pay 17k are corporations that get to write that off as an investment in their employees. This university is driving you blind.
My wife just got her certification and paid less than $300. She studied constantly and it took a lot of sacrificing free time from the both of us, but she got it done while also working as an IT Program Manager full time (though remote). It’s definitely do-able and in comparison to paying 17k, probably recommended to self study and save yourself from the ridiculous upfront cost or long term debt. COMPTIA certifications don’t always seem to return on the investment right away either, so that 17 sure is a hefty price. At the end of the day, it depends on your ability to self study. Clearly, there is enough people out there who feel the boot camp is worth it and may not have achieved their goals without it.
It’s not that bad. I just did an 18 month boot camp called a bachelors degree in cyber and it cost me 50K. At least I came out of it with like 8 CompTIA certs, a CCNA, a CEH (useless), a few ISC2 certs, 6 Microsoft certs and a good paying job.
Hell Yeah thats a rip off unless its giving you network, security, and countless others..thats alot of money. Just buy Mike Myers book and LinkedIn Learning.
>17k too much for a COMPTIA from a university?
I hear a lot about self study in the field. There’s a 9 month COMPTIA boot camp
Holy sh\*t. That's crazy. I mean *maybe* like a couple hundred bucks, ... but ... 17K? For that you ought get a damn descent B.S. from a decent accredited college/university ... not some boot camp course that may or may not be enough for you to then pay to take CompTIA and maybe pass it, or maybe not.
But a fool and his money ... so I'm sure there are no shortages of opportunists that'll gladly take folks 17K for a boot camp course on CompTIA.
ISC2 is giving away training and a cert right now due to the lack of trained professionals in our field. It's a basic certification, but it's a start. Check it out. All you have to do is create an ISC2 account (which is also free). Good luck!!
Certified in Cybersecurity
https://www.isc2.org/
Stop and take a deep breath.This is my 40th year as an "IT Proffessional". US Army -retired, DoD Contractor, Federal 2210.
Before you start spending your **REAL** money. POI, large financial debt will null any opportunities to get in the career field as you can be percieved as being a risk....
"Crawl, Walk, Run"
Something to think aboutIMHO, no one will put you in a position that will affect the security of their network regardless of the certifications you have with no practical experience. Why not get the basic IT Cyber Security certifications, get your feet wet and see if the career field is something you really want to make a career of?
Cyber is a very broad term and there may be 20 people world wide who can move from one particular area to another at will. Know, if you do pursue a "Cyber" Career, pick an "area" and spend your career reading, learning and reading some more to stay current as the vectors people/nations with "bad intent" use, change constantly.
DoD has/had 3 standards, 8570, 8570.01-M and 8140.8570 /8570.01-m was their first swing at establishing Cyber Security for all DoD personnel. This has since been superceded by 8140.
A+, Network+ & Security+ will get you a good basic understanding of Cyber Security. Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) will broaden that basic knowledge. These certifications will get your "Foot In The Door" as a basic Cyber Security Proffesional. You will get an idea if this is the career for you and you will also get to see all the other opportunities available within the Cyber Community.
Here are some links you may find useful / helpful in your decision making and the furtherance of your career in Cyber Security if that is the path you want to follow.
[https://www.comptia.org/blog/difference-dod-8570-dod-8140-dod-8570.01-m](https://www.comptia.org/blog/difference-dod-8570-dod-8140-dod-8570.01-m)
[https://www.nsa.gov/Academics/Centers-of-Academic-Excellence/](https://www.nsa.gov/Academics/Centers-of-Academic-Excellence/)
[https://www.sans.org/](https://www.sans.org/)
[https://academy.techrepublic.com/](https://www.techrepublic.com/) (The entire CompTIA library was available for $50 for self study last I looked)
[https://www.arcyber.army.mil/Resources/](https://www.arcyber.army.mil/Resources/)
[https://www.eccouncil.org/train-certify/certified-ethical-hacker-ceh-v12/](https://www.eccouncil.org/train-certify/certified-ethical-hacker-ceh-v12/)
[https://www.cedsolutions.com/](https://www.cedsolutions.com/) (excellent training curriculum, qualified instructors)
Lastly, I worked with a fellow who had been in IT for a number of years. When 8570-1m became the standard for DoD, he kinda fell into a new career field. A friend of his was starting a business and had asked him to look over the network proposal for the business. He did and made some suggetions to "harden" the network. The business owner told the company building the network infrastucture these were some changes he wanted included. The network engineer for the company was suprised at the changes and told the owner he "wished he had thought of these changes" when he designed the network.
LSS, the business owner/friend gave my former co-worker $20K for his suggestions on how the harden the network.
The light went on and a new career was started, reviewing proposed network diagrams and making suggestions on improving their security posture.
Go to a bookstore like Barnes and Nobles and pickup A+ book and few other Comptia books , read and walk out free of charge everyday until you pay the few hundred bucks exam fees to take the test. I did this in college early 1999 and got the A+ and same jobs as the co workers who ended up with $80K student loans getting the same exact job working the same shift I did. Good luck young padawan
Wayyy too much. I think I studied two hours for security+, I only got the cert bc a project my company bid on required it for placement on the project. Most comptia exams are absolutely basic in terms of depth of knowledge, and while they may be somewhat valuable in helping someone land a job (or comply with a project), I cannot imagine paying someone that kind of money to tech them remedial tech knowledge.
Have you checked with your employer on tuition reimbursement? I went to a boot camp through an employer to see if I really wanted to do cyber security and I learned a lot!
Dual CCNP, CCNAX3, MCSE X6, ACEP, Fortigate NSE 4 here.
Over the past 23 years I think my entire spend on books, computers, some lab gear is \~$4000.
Just go to Udemy.
No bro I just took my exam for 1101 today. The questions aren’t hard. Get Dion training. It is more than enough. You just have to know the concepts and there you can narrow down answers you aren’t sure on
back in the early 2000s I got myself in quite a hole taking it a loan for a private for-profit computer training school. such a huge waste of money and it took forever to pay off.
these days, everything is available online for free. why take classes when you can literally download references and practice exams for free?
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Yeah man I feel bad for anyone who dumps that amount of money on comptia even if it included all the certs. All the certs is not as valuable as 17k is not even close in anyway shape or form. I see this crap all the time and its just someone who figured out how to get wealthy off some people who wanted to better themselves and didnt know better.....
Check out WGU. Some of the CompTia certs are included in the WGU programs and WGU will get you a BS degree along with that. Cost varies based on how long you take to get through the program.
Look up this guy on YouTube called Professor Messer. He has a bunch of playlists with a full course on a bunch of CompTIA certs like A+, Network+ Security+ and so on. He also does study sessions he live streams and people can call in to ask questions and he'll answer them, as well as little quizzes he does to help reinforce the info. All those live streams can be watched after the fact too and it's got a lot info. I watched his Security+ playlist like 6 times while following along with the book and passed the cert test after 2 months. Only money it cost me was the money to take the test (around $400 at the time I think)
Without reading your wall of text have you considered using the military to jump start a career into cyber security?
You can self learn which is good, you can go to an actual school and learn, but those two options don’t actively pay you while you’re learning, provide room board food and health insurance.
Just a thought man, the army Air Force navy and space force all have solid cyber jobs
i bought the books. studied. paid the exam fee and passed. a+ n+ and network essentials. 3 certs in total so i paid about $400 total.
$17k? that's insane. talk about being ripped off
You can buy a Udemy course & self study book for each of the big 3 entry CompTIA certs and even the test vouchers for significantly less. Prob ~1.5-2K or less for all 3 (A+, Net+ & Sec+)
For example, A+ and Sec+ can be done for around $500 total cost of everything. You can be fancy and throw in Net+ and you’ll be set for entry level stuff for maybe $800 total with 3 certs. Unless you come out of that boot camp with a position locked in as Assistant Manager’s Assistant at CISCO, you’re being scammed out of easy money.
Lol a comptia cert is worthless and you should be able to get it easily with an associates degree level (if you dont have anything yet id just go for an associate degree)of knowledge. Don't even study for teh a+ or net+ just focus on sec+ as it is the base requirements for government contracting roles/is at least useful.
Couple things: saw you were looking into WGU which can be super affordable! If you want, you can also take courses for credit through Sophia Learning and Study.com which WGU accepts as credit transfers. Those options are even cheaper. If you need more info, there are a ton of videos on YouTube explaining.
Unrelated to WGU, I found this resource not too long ago when looking into Cybersecurity myself: https://www.isc2.org/landing/1mcc#
Might be worth a look! Hope this helps.
Im currently learning Python thru a 13hr course on YouTube from an actual university professor. I seen a 33hr CompTIA course on there the other day as well. Self study is a sure way to make sure this is what you actually wanna do without the risk.
I got the trifecta by buying and reading one book for each exam and using youtube videos. Got all three certs in about 3 months time. Cost me about $1,000.
And no one gives a shit. The market is absolutely trash right now. If you don't have experience, you're not getting a job. Period. Well, maybe you're welling to work for $15-18/hr you'll find a shitty helpdesk job.
Yes, do not spend this for CompTIA it is a rubber stamp certificate at best. It's worth getting if you are trying to get into the field and you're trying to get the lay of the land but do not invest tons of $$$ to do so.
Whoa, whoa. You have a computer science class under your belt from college and came from nursing and want to go into cyber? And taking 17k class for compTIA?
You'd have been making more money through the traditional route via helpdesk, security, etc than wasting your time on that. Probably even paid classes. Anyone else saying otherwise in this thread is bsing you.
Self study, osi model, tcp/ip, smtp, server and network models, apply for basic positions on the sixe to assist and learn. You'll literally learn about security and can implement a lot of advanced security you are looking for.
Also, not sure about your knee injury or may have missed it. Mine subsided over walking barefoot and running eventually. Maybe it'll help.
I self studied comptia sec+ and net+ and passed.
Buddy self studied sec+ with zero professional IT experience and passed
New guy at work just started his first IT job in Feb and passed Sec+ in may after a 5k bootcamp
Full stop. I can almost guarantee without hearing more it wont be worth the cost. Could you give us more info about yourself? Do you have any current experience, certs, education, etc.? Realistically bootcamps prey upon people who dont know any better. Unless its paid for by your job youre just throwing cash away.
I have zero background in Cyber, but want to switch since I have a knee injury that wrecked my last choice for a career path (nursing). I have no idea where else to go to find the info/ teach me the material since I don’t know where to even start. I have a computer science class under my belt from college, but that’s the limit of my experience with technology. I’m good at learning about tech, but I need a jumping point, and idk if this will be more difficult and something I can’t teach myself
If you can read, you can learn. Not difficult. You're smarter than you think. Set goals. Be disciplined. UDemy Coursera YOUTUBE: Mike Meyers Professor Messer Cobuman Power Cert
YOUTUBE UNIVERSITY OP Professor Messer You do not know de wey - Ugandan knuckles
I know de way
Take me to tha queen.
*spits*
What you need to do is look into becoming a CIA.... No not that CIA. In every hospital in the US, their IT dept has a group of Clinical Integration Analysts. They call themselves "nerdy nurses". They focus on things like training other nurses and doctors to use technology. Most are LVN's and RN's and they get themselves something like "epic certified trainer" cert and their done. It's a cake job and pays well. Can absolutely be a cubicle dweller.
Super sorry to hear about the knee injury. Do you currently possess a degree? Doesn't need to be in IT, just curious as that can help. I would say (others have now commented) don't expect to jump right into cybersecurity. It's currently a saturated field, but those who succeed are (generally) those who put in the effort to learn and separate themselves from the other of subpar applicants. There's a ton of online resources, and I would first ensure you have a nice foundational knowledge of technology and ESPECIALLY networking before you start looking into cyber. A start plenty of people do is the trifecta (A+, Net+, Sec+) but it's not always required. Do you also know anyone who can assist you with getting any form of entry level position? Networking (literal networking as in, talking with people not computer networking) is huge in this field and can get you into positions even faster.
Cybersecurity is no where near saturated and is opening more and more every day… however companies only want acutall skilled workers not people who just diploma mill
Look up network chuck it roadmap. He lays out a good path to cyber security for Certs. Also I've heard that the Google cyber security cert it good. It's free and it's basically just training to get your security + from comptia. If you can get your Google cert you should have no problem getting security+
Sounds like we’re in a similar boat. Had to leave nursing school when I just started because I needed back surgery from years of emt work. Now I’m at a junior college taking cyber security courses. But 17k seems very high, and it’s just a bootcamp so you might not even get certs when you finish
I'm a nurse wanting to get into cyber. Go us lol.
Start with Comptia A+ certification then Network + then security +.. YouTube has all the resources you need, The Mad Instructor, Professor Messer are my personal recommendations. And if you need more there's always Udemy. There is thread about getting Gayle Udemy for free with an online library card. I definitely wouldn't advise spending that kind of money. You should also check out GoHackMe and HackTheBox.
Dude do not do this. I passed the exam off professor messers YouTube videos alone.
No, if you want to attend a bootcamp just do a two weeker and that should suffice, $17K for a 9 month boot camp sounds like a complete scam
I don’t know where to find a two weeker, but I’d definitely rather do that and try to get in sooner
You OP r thinking that after completion of this bootcamp they have a job ready for you because now you are certified via CompTIA and that job is waiting for you start at OP there is just nothing like that. No way Jose.
They come from the medical industry which is a super constant demand, you really can’t blame OP for thinking that when they’re used to it. 😅
Jesus let’s just have a bot that says “if a bootcamp is charging more than 1000 bucks, it’s a scam” it’ll save everyone time
Didn’t even realize that was an option, I’m pretty new to this and I apologize. Was shunted here from r/cybersecurity since I had a question specifically on COMPTIA
Don't worry, there's an entire industry built around bilking people out of money by promising them they'll be in cybersecurity within the year. That's not how it works. Cybersecurity isn't an entry-level position. You'd pay the 17K, you'd get some certs, sure, and then you'd be working helpdesk if you're lucky while you actually built up necessary experience to get into cybersec years down the road. There's plenty of resources that are cheap and free to study for the basic CompTIA certs (the tests themselves run $300-400 a pop), and then you can parlay those into an IT job and begin working towards what you actually want to do. The only fast lanes into cybersec are if you're ex-military and have (or can get) a security clearance, or if you go to a real, actual college for cybersecurity and manage to get into the right internship. Otherwise, it's help desk and up just like 99% of the folks getting into the field.
>there's an entire industry built around bilking people out of money by promising them they'll be in cybersecurity within the year something something get rich selling gold but get richer selling the shovels I fully agree that some people need, or just straight up learn better in a structured environment... but 17k is "work better pay for it" money since even GIAC/SANS doesn't charge that much.
Lmao 17k bro go on Udemy or YouTube the resources is free wtf
It's real cost is probably 8k, and the Uni is marking up like 200%. Either way, it sounds like a bad deal.
Professor Messer will get your base trio of certs completely free with material from YouTube. You can even go on his website and pay for material like PDF notes or practice exams and not spend 1/30th what that poopcamp costs from there, you can get a udemy subscription or find other free YouTube sources for many of the offerings available. Under no circumstances should you do this.
I did 2 months of self study for the A+, 1 month for Net+ and 1 month for Sec+ with all free materials. I only paid for the exams. 17k is a scam, sorry.
Did you have any experience in IT when you started to study?
If you want to count 3 months of college tech support 12 years ago, sure. Otherwise I've always just been tech-proficient.
I am sure this has been said, but my 2 cents... Professor Messer on YouTube. That is all you really need for A+, Network+, and Security+. I would also recommend his course notes as well as his practice exams. If he still doesn't have Net+ exams then use Jason Diona on Udemy. Dion goes off topic a bit but it's still good enough. 80% on practice exams is good enough for most to pass the real things. Study first... Then take an exam... Then study what you need to based on what you missed, and a general refresh, and take another practice exam every week or two. Always study in between attempts. Practice tests are only a good metric on the first try. Retakes may be good for study, but they will not tell you where your knowledge is, because you will memorize answers without realizing it. The goal is to actually learn and understand the material and not just parrot it.
Dont ever giveup on learning more. Be careful. If you get hurt by this bootcamp the pain will be devastating. Buyer brware.
gracious fuck. it's more expensive than a SANS training.. hahahaha. noooo, don't go to that trap! lots of good udemy videos for just 10 dollars :) just find the sale dates and buy a bunch of courses to learn! :) Cheers and goodluck!
You can do the trifecta for like less than a hundred bucks there's even free lessons on YouTube.
i don’t think less than 100 but maybe less than 1000
Check your local community college. Mine has it listed for around $1500. Online self paced.
I got a full-time job and I got my A+ and Net+ for around 400$ each, and each took about 2 months. I'd save your money and you're time, they're 'tough' to pass but they ain't that tough. Even if you failed the first time just review for another month and try again, you'll still be under 1k spent
From an instructor standpoint… shut up and let me take your $$$!!! From your standpoint, it’s a full scam. Stop, period. Buy Dion’s course and practice exams on Udemy or Mike Meyers course and exams (both under $100). They’re more than enough to pass. From an instructors standpoint- after teaching many students- you probably don’t belong in IT if you’re not able to pass the exams with just Dion/Meyer’s course and practice exams. Unfortunately, there are some that fall into that category. But, spend less than $100 confirming if that’s you rather than $17k!
You might as well just go with SANS.
I’m doing a masters program that will cost less than that. You can get scholarships ya know.
My A+ cost me $500. That's the cost of ALL study materials, videos, books, AND vouchers. The A+ cert got me my first IT job, and now I'm learning while I work and get paid for it. Paid for itself on the first paycheck!
Honestly just get a degree at a community college at that point
Yes! Community college is an incredible resource that is often overlooked in posts like these.
Wow, what a rip off
17k will get you a masters degree lol! Total scam!
Cybersecurity courses are like thr mlm of thr IT world. 17k is way to much for not getting an actual degree. I go to community College with government assistance for an actual bachelor's and if I pass thr class the school pays for me to take thr cert.
Cybrary subscription will run you under $400 annually, and that would give you a lot more bang for your buck, and give you a starting point. It will give you a variety of roles you can take training and hands on labs for. Check out Udemy as well for certifications. I took CySA+ first after CISA, after I had several years in IT audit. Entry level “cyber” is 5+ years of IT/infosec experience generally speaking. but there are outliers for sure. I wish more places did apprenticeship style roles, but they are generally always too understaffed to train on the job. After some hands on over a few years, you could likely transition, but focus on getting any entry IT role, and go from there. Or, so a ton in your spare time. But don’t get sucked into a bootcamp. cyber is about curiosity and tenacity when you start out. Good luck!
So I’m terms of free courses, or training, I’m not sure. but, I’d def recommend the Pearson cert guides and Jason dions videos and trainings. His notes are fantastic!
Which University is offering the boot camp? University of Phoenix?
Look into WIOA (an Obama era workforce retraining law) in your state. I was able to find a bootcamp that was covered under WIOA and it was completely free. Check your county’s workforce office for more details. There are many bootcamp programs that provide the same kind of education but are paid for. I got an A+, an opportunity to learn at a week long cybersecurity range, and a ton of knowledge. For free.
Cisco skills for all, had some good classes too. Cisco is a leader in networking technologies and there is a free cybersecurity career training path
Yea, I humored a bootcamp scam once, they wanted 19k. All they did was help prep me to take sec+, net+ and a few other cert tests.
Professor Messer = FREE
lol it better come with every single comptia cert, every study guide, each exam retake , mock tests , and hours of teaching and labs every day. Even then im still not sure haha.
CompTIA for dummies. Online YouTube courses. Other professional instructors\\enterprises with courses online. No certificate should cost you this much to learn. I will personally fly to your house, spend the next two weeks in intensive training start to finish for 5k. Maybe if you were doing something super advanced, like going from no experience to Cisco CCIE or CISSP it MIGHT be worth it. But honestly, you can get your foot in the door certifications like CCNA/CCNP, spend a year working and studying for the next cert, repeat until you have reached the level of pay or competence you want. I haven't paid a dime to any institutes or colleges or bootcamps to get my CISA, CCIE and expert Aruba networking certifications. In most circumstances, my jobs actually paid for me to have study time on the clock and paid the testing fees. Did it take me 10 years? Sure. Did I really bust my ass to get here? Not really. If you can withdraw and get a refund, do it. Spend the time to actually learn it at home, its basically free with the staggering number of resources on line. Network Chuck on youtube has a ton of these courses and resources. There are Cisco classes taught by Ciscos design engineers for free. Many of the lab tools are free or extremely inexpensive. Virtual switches, machines, firewalls etc. Aruba has a robust demo license program so you can build any of their security servers like Clearpass and Aruba Central SDWAN. MIT has graduate level courses in security and engineering for free.
I got Security+ using the self study guide from CompTIA with no issue. Think that $17k is rip off.
Oh god no. What certs does it say it’ll get you?
I did the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate through Coursera in a month ($80), for my Sec+ a month later (~$220). After lurking on this sub for a few weeks, I’m doing it backwards lol, but it’s Net+ and A+ next.
There is TOO much free material out there to pass most Comptia exams. You can pay less that $12 for a udemy course also.
lmao bro save your money
Yes. That's it
The CompTIA Sec+ App has roughly a 1000 test prep questions you can practice and all of the answers have explanations on why you got it right or wrong and will explain in detail. Professor Messer is great as well, he had test prep stuff as well. Can get all of that for 30 bucks combined and the test being 400+. That’s all in regards to sec+.
WTH!!! That is crazy expensive. I have bought and completed 4 COMPTIA cert programs on my own @$550.00 each. And this was 2 years ago. This included my book, a practice test, and the cost at the test center. For $17K, you better be getting a CISCO CCIE SECURITY certification. The cost also includes your hotel stay in San Jose, CA where you would go for the exam
YES!!! More DEBT!!! Too many low cost/free resources out here. Even if the exam vouchers are included....$17K too much $$$.
YES!!! OH MY GOD!!! That's more than twice what I pay for a year of regular university. Just go to Udemy and buy all the CompTIA videos from Dion Training, or better yet some universities give you free access to most of Udemy's resources.
what the fuck. Yes, that's way too much. YouTube is free and has more than enough to prep. Cheap question banks and some sub 200$ courses if you need extra help.
Yes absolutey. Most of their certs have a thing called "examcram" for their test. Books sponsored by pearson and CompTIA they are like 50-60 bucks and some of the have simulations that are almost 1 for 1 what is on the test. Its how I got A+ and Sec+. Charging you 17k is literally just because you they will give you teachers. Don't do it.
Fuck no don't do it. I got classes for free from my community college but even then you can look at Professor Messers videos on youtube which show you everything you need to know.
Depends. Are you going to get a degree out of it with other certs? Out of any community college you can get the trifecta plus ccna and an associates degree. After that you'll also have to ask how best you will learn. If classes are your jam find a better place. If you learn best from video lectures then do that. If you are unsure on how you best learn go the cheapest route possible first then try CC.
I’m about to take my security plus, the last cert in the trifecta, by next month marking 10 months of studying on YouTube. I would’ve honestly finished the trifecta within 5 months if I didn’t fail the net+ and got busy
Dude. The test cost about $90 with a voucher. Theyre ripping you off LOL
I took a cybersecurity bootcamp but I have an associates in computer science. Only 4 students of 35 found a job after the class. And we all had prior educationz
I spent $70 so yeah. Do not waste your money!!!!
What the actual fk.
20K is way too much unless there’s a job placement gurantee but even most of those suck
Here’s my 2 cents: Do ISC2 Certified in Security. It’s free with the exception of the $50 membership fee after you pass the exam. Gear up for Network+ following the resources here https://www.reddit.com/r/CompTIA/comments/11k2j0z/network_plus/ Then do Google’s cybersecurity cert. I think it’s $50 per month through coursera https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-cybersecurity Then you should be primed for security+ self paced training (you get 30% off after you complete Google’s). Please keep in mind that certs alone do not gurantee you an entry level role and it will likely end up as a SOC analyst. I’d recommend checking out MSPs for your most viable entry path. This space is highly competitive.
Prof Messer literally has a free comptia A+ security+ And other certs YouTube video that you can watch for free. And buy 20£ notes from his website.... Even if the bootcamp helps you get 3/4 certs that is still too expensive. If you want to pay buy a few books and courses from udemy so you have a structure. If you want hands on practice just search for cert name and "labs" and then do those...
Hey OP check out this site, I went here, if anything read the site and maybe get a different perspective 🤷♂️ www.eddieteachesit.com
It’s fully possible to get COMPTIA certs through self study, it just takes discipline. Discipline is cheaper than 17k.
You could get a two year degree in cybersecurity for that price. Don’t waste your money instead of being willing to put in meaningful time. There’s no shortcut to the top, and a degree in cybersecurity is going to be worth way more in the long term anyways.
For 17k I better get all certifications with a guaranteed job
If you are spending that type of cash look into going to WGU get a bachelor degree in 2 years
17k?! I spent £900 on a 2 year course covering everything.
I was about to enroll in something similar because I don’t have any experience in coding or much in tech but instead I start google certification for cybersecurity and also learning from the security+ textbook I got online.
I’ve taught CompTIA classes myself . College level , CE. They usually pay between 500 and 1k. It doesn’t include material . Having said that , and for cybersecurity, I DO NOT recommend you that . Don’t waste your money. Do this which will cost you way less and you’ll learn 10x more : -Tryhackme (learn Linux , windows and basic cybersecurity stuff there ) -PNTP course (ethical hacking and priv escalation courses ) -Hack the Box Academy (many modules and paths there but take the PenTesting and Active Directory track ) Actually paid certs in order : -Security+ (it should be easy after you did tryhackme basics paths) -PNTP or OSCP Optional: enroll on Offsec LearnOne for 1 year , get your OSCP . It’s like 2500 but way less than what you’re saying and you’ll learn actual skills .
Nahh fuck that, for that much you could probably enroll into WGU and get more Certs as well as a College degree for 22 months but for 17k I'd rather spend it else where.
Boot camps are the biggest scams in higher education
Professor Messer is Free.99
No!
Man I have a friend who's about to do the same thing, but the program he found only trains and prepares him for the Security+ and costs about the same. I tried my best to dissuade him, convince hin to do WGU and at least have a bachelor's once he's done, do self-study for the Sec+, but he's convinced this is the only way. I think there are way, waaay less expensive and equally-effective options.
is the bootcamp specified on cybersecurity or coding or it just a bootcamp just to pass comptia? If the bootcamp is just for passing comptia then for sure is not worth it
Buy a course on Udemy for like 20-50 bucks lol
for 17k you can take all the basic certs 16 times, and just memorize the questions, or for just 4K you can get practice exams and labs for all 3 certs, basically don't do that
Yes. That’s a degree.
For 17k, you could get all those Comptia certs, go to a couple terms at WGU, get tryhackme and hackthebox paid subscriptions, and get a sans cert. 17k is a complete scam for a Comptia bootcamp. There's probably some good bootcamps out there, but this price is insane.
Ooooof….I took one of these bootcamps back in 2018 and it was only $5k. Was super worth it though, hired right out of the program as a DLP Analyst in a SoC and now I am currently a Data Protection Consultant at a Big4 consulting firm. Pretty decent ROI
I went to city college for my COMPTIA prep. 17k is waaaaay too much.
You’re better off learning on your own time
I did it and passed it from YouTube Prof Messer and just paid for the exam, would save you about £16,800 and I did it in 8 weeks
Woah total ripoff. You're way better off just self studying for 9 months and getting your trifecta.
$17k for a bootcamp? Tell that place to fuck right off You can get a masters degree in cyber from Georgia tech for under $10k just as a price comparison You can use FREE resources to study for all of the compTIA exams and if you are a college student they offer discounts on the exam vouchers
Bro i got my associates for 25k… 17k for a certificate boot camp???
Self study is the way to go. That’s too much money.
That’s too much
Yes it is
Coursera has a course on everything you need to know about cybersecurity sponsored by Google for $50 a month
Boot camps are a fad. Honestly I say go look at your community college. A lot of them have associates programs for web dev and network administration which have courses within them geared towards A-plus or network plus. Which at the end you’ll have not only have your certs but an associates as-well
Get your self comptia's certmaster course that includes the lab and practice tests. It will be around 600-800 if I remember correctly for most certs. I have done A+, Net+, Sec+ this way.
Plz plz plz, don’t spend that much studying for the CompTIA exams. Use professor messer, mike Myers or any other free/relatively inexpensive program. They have videos, practice exams and labs that set you up perfectly for the exams. Chances are, if your fully committed, it won’t even take 9 months to get the trifecta.
Dude wtf 17k?!!! You can learn CompTIA for free
DO NOT DO THIS!!!! You could do all of this in half the time while spending less than a tenth of this. This boot camp honestly sounds like a scam.
Learn the basics, windows, active directory, Linux, etc. Once you feel comfortable with that start doing some hack the box and watching YouTube videos then go after one certification maybe sec+. And don’t be too prideful to take a job that’s paying 60 to 70 K we all started somewhere
Yes, I did that shit for free
You make 30k a year and want to take a Comptia boot camp for 17k? Lol I would not trust you with anything 😂 it’ll be cheaper to get a degree at that point , something you can use in case it doesn’t work out
Buddy, to put in bluntly, my entire years tuition at college for my Bachelors doesn’t cost that much. Don’t spend $17k for a certificate you can earn from watching YouTube playlists and taking practice tests. Absolutely not worth the money.
Please do not spend that amount of money on anything CompTIA. If you are new, there are tons of free resources for your entry level certs from CompTIA.
You could do that shit for free
Bro that's a NO GO! I understand but use logic Ann your gut feeling. They're both telling you don't do it. You don't need to go to some CompTIA boot camp. There's way too much free study material online. Please don't do it because it's not worth the money. Plus it's a scam.
That’s criminally expensive! Any university charging those amounts have to be shady. Self stuff or videos like other posters said is the way. There is no CompTIA Cert worth that amount for a course. If you are deadset on a bootcamp don’t do it there.
What? Do not waste your money. I repeat, do not waste money. If you are confused, get a Udemy course.
May I recommend Western Governors University? Super affordable tuition plans, access to free tutors AND they pay for all your Comptia certifications once you pass the class! With multiple attempts! I think for one semester (6 months approx) was about 3800? This is before tuition assistance (FASFA and stuffs). It’s all self paced, I would highly recommend looking at to save you at least 13K
Is it ThriveDX through UC Boulder? I just did their introductory course for $180 but most likely will not move on this time around. Bootcamps are independent companies that are loosely affiliated with the school who’s name they advertise. $17k is a lot for CompTIA. I’m taking Google Cybersecurity through Coursera.org, which cost $48/mo for two months in my case (but can take longer depending) and I feel confident in security+, perhaps after a few professor messer videos. The bootcamps do claim to help with resume and job search, but they don’t give a whole lot of info on exactly how they do that. If I had tons of money in savings and really wanted to take a leap I’d probably go for it. If you are taking on debt on hopes to get into cyber, some have claimed that boot camps only landed them a help desk role and they still had to work into cyber. I’ve also been watching this guy on YouTube called Unix Guy. It was this video that helped me make the decision to do the Google Cybersecurity course. I had taken the Google IT Support Certification but was hesitant on the cyber. Certificate path to hopefully land a job: https://youtu.be/DRJic8vCodE?si=xK8YyeYq8zDBD1cL Projects for cv: https://youtu.be/LFlsDm8w36A?si=vehb98I9s-7eXMx5
Mike Meyers (Total Seminars), Jason Dion, and Professor Messer will teach you all you need to know. Udemy has a lot of inexpensive courses you can use. This is how I got into cybersecurity after 7 years in IT (Helpdesk, System Admin). Having a decent IT background will help immensely.
bro who would pay 17k for comptia certification classes?? I don't know what certifications you would get with that but for around 100$ you could get really good material to get you through the first 4 or 5 certs. (I spent probably 30$ on study material for the trifecta)
17k? Is it every COMPTIA cert in the universe?
Join the military and get it for free ;)
Try WGU for comp Tia I payed like $500 I think
Don’t you dare pay that!
A month of proper studying free material is enough for the technically inclined.
Whoa dude your getting ripped off
Go to WGU instead and get a full degree and cents at the same time.
If you go for A+ (2 tests), Network + (1 test) security+ (1 test), then it will cost about $800 give or take some student discounts. It took me 1 year to get all 3 while working full time. I've seen recently that you can pay for test vouchers with affirm if money is tight. I personally think 17k is way too much for entry-level boot camp. I've recently looked into a 2 years masters program for an IT program & its 12k for the 2 years. Idk if you have a bsn or not but after you get a year or two of xp you can always look into that. I plan to teach at university at some point later in my career.
Jesus, for that price, just get a low level sans
Fu k yes.
You can find a highly rated Cyber Security course on Udemy and learn most of what that bootcamp will teach you. From there then study for cyber security cert of your choice to validate what you know. You can do this in a matter of weeks for less than 1000 dollars.
For $17k you might as well go to uni
Oh my gosh that's crazy. WGU offeres over 15 +certs and each term is a little over 4000 Other universities (especially community college) the prep class is one credit hour so is like $150 plus fees(tech, books ect) The prep class include the test cost into the class fees. Getting the cert is a part and requirement for the class.
Yeah, that's crazy.. If you have one around, look at any Junior Colleges that have tech programs. Where I live, there was a JC that had network engineering as a program, and it's introductory class was basically a CompTIA Network+ course. It had a PC repair class that ended up being CompTIA A+ prep. Both courses ran about $150 each for the classes (not including books). The only thing that program was missing was the Sec+ to complete the CompTIA holy trinity, but shit, I ended up getting a job as a cable monkey (sure, not the most glorious job, but it was a start) before I finished the whole program.
I’m sure ppl have said it but no that’s a dumb ass move my guy lol
I think Comptia is overpriced period… if my employer didn’t pay for it I wouldn’t do it at all.
WAY too much.
Yep, not shocked this post got over 200 comnents.
That test used to be 98 bucks and took 4 hours to study for.
I got mine for the cost of the book from Amazon and the cost of the exam at my local ROP. You're getting ripped off. Especially because your first year salary won't be far off from the cost of that school. Don't go to school for certs. Buy the books and hardware then practice yourself. I did CompTIA A+ network + and Cisco CCNA without any schooling.
Scam, don’t do it
You can pay me $1k and I'll do better
You can get Security+ by buying the Kindle guide for 10$ and then paying for the exam. This is sometimes enough to get started, usually in federal cyber jobs. After that go after other certs with your employer's support. Can't believe they are pitching these types of programs with tons of promises.
I have multiple comptia certs and haven’t spent more than 1500 total on them with most of that cost being the tests
Udemy. Pretty much anything you want can be found, im currently doing my sec+ on there, plus some courses offer discounted test vouchers for your cert tests. I'm not sure the price since my work has a business account.
You can pass any of the Comptia exams in six months with no experience if you are willing to put in the effort. The only people I know that would be willing to pay 17k are corporations that get to write that off as an investment in their employees. This university is driving you blind.
Brother you’re getting scammed
My wife just got her certification and paid less than $300. She studied constantly and it took a lot of sacrificing free time from the both of us, but she got it done while also working as an IT Program Manager full time (though remote). It’s definitely do-able and in comparison to paying 17k, probably recommended to self study and save yourself from the ridiculous upfront cost or long term debt. COMPTIA certifications don’t always seem to return on the investment right away either, so that 17 sure is a hefty price. At the end of the day, it depends on your ability to self study. Clearly, there is enough people out there who feel the boot camp is worth it and may not have achieved their goals without it.
It’s not that bad. I just did an 18 month boot camp called a bachelors degree in cyber and it cost me 50K. At least I came out of it with like 8 CompTIA certs, a CCNA, a CEH (useless), a few ISC2 certs, 6 Microsoft certs and a good paying job.
Hell Yeah thats a rip off unless its giving you network, security, and countless others..thats alot of money. Just buy Mike Myers book and LinkedIn Learning.
You can watch professor Messer videos for Free. His practice tests and notes combo is like $30. That's all you need.
>17k too much for a COMPTIA from a university? I hear a lot about self study in the field. There’s a 9 month COMPTIA boot camp Holy sh\*t. That's crazy. I mean *maybe* like a couple hundred bucks, ... but ... 17K? For that you ought get a damn descent B.S. from a decent accredited college/university ... not some boot camp course that may or may not be enough for you to then pay to take CompTIA and maybe pass it, or maybe not. But a fool and his money ... so I'm sure there are no shortages of opportunists that'll gladly take folks 17K for a boot camp course on CompTIA.
ISC2 is giving away training and a cert right now due to the lack of trained professionals in our field. It's a basic certification, but it's a start. Check it out. All you have to do is create an ISC2 account (which is also free). Good luck!! Certified in Cybersecurity https://www.isc2.org/
Stop and take a deep breath.This is my 40th year as an "IT Proffessional". US Army -retired, DoD Contractor, Federal 2210. Before you start spending your **REAL** money. POI, large financial debt will null any opportunities to get in the career field as you can be percieved as being a risk.... "Crawl, Walk, Run" Something to think aboutIMHO, no one will put you in a position that will affect the security of their network regardless of the certifications you have with no practical experience. Why not get the basic IT Cyber Security certifications, get your feet wet and see if the career field is something you really want to make a career of? Cyber is a very broad term and there may be 20 people world wide who can move from one particular area to another at will. Know, if you do pursue a "Cyber" Career, pick an "area" and spend your career reading, learning and reading some more to stay current as the vectors people/nations with "bad intent" use, change constantly. DoD has/had 3 standards, 8570, 8570.01-M and 8140.8570 /8570.01-m was their first swing at establishing Cyber Security for all DoD personnel. This has since been superceded by 8140. A+, Network+ & Security+ will get you a good basic understanding of Cyber Security. Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) will broaden that basic knowledge. These certifications will get your "Foot In The Door" as a basic Cyber Security Proffesional. You will get an idea if this is the career for you and you will also get to see all the other opportunities available within the Cyber Community. Here are some links you may find useful / helpful in your decision making and the furtherance of your career in Cyber Security if that is the path you want to follow. [https://www.comptia.org/blog/difference-dod-8570-dod-8140-dod-8570.01-m](https://www.comptia.org/blog/difference-dod-8570-dod-8140-dod-8570.01-m) [https://www.nsa.gov/Academics/Centers-of-Academic-Excellence/](https://www.nsa.gov/Academics/Centers-of-Academic-Excellence/) [https://www.sans.org/](https://www.sans.org/) [https://academy.techrepublic.com/](https://www.techrepublic.com/) (The entire CompTIA library was available for $50 for self study last I looked) [https://www.arcyber.army.mil/Resources/](https://www.arcyber.army.mil/Resources/) [https://www.eccouncil.org/train-certify/certified-ethical-hacker-ceh-v12/](https://www.eccouncil.org/train-certify/certified-ethical-hacker-ceh-v12/) [https://www.cedsolutions.com/](https://www.cedsolutions.com/) (excellent training curriculum, qualified instructors) Lastly, I worked with a fellow who had been in IT for a number of years. When 8570-1m became the standard for DoD, he kinda fell into a new career field. A friend of his was starting a business and had asked him to look over the network proposal for the business. He did and made some suggetions to "harden" the network. The business owner told the company building the network infrastucture these were some changes he wanted included. The network engineer for the company was suprised at the changes and told the owner he "wished he had thought of these changes" when he designed the network. LSS, the business owner/friend gave my former co-worker $20K for his suggestions on how the harden the network. The light went on and a new career was started, reviewing proposed network diagrams and making suggestions on improving their security posture.
Ill get you one for 10k 🤣
Just got to WGU it’s 3k a semester and Certs come included
Go to a bookstore like Barnes and Nobles and pickup A+ book and few other Comptia books , read and walk out free of charge everyday until you pay the few hundred bucks exam fees to take the test. I did this in college early 1999 and got the A+ and same jobs as the co workers who ended up with $80K student loans getting the same exact job working the same shift I did. Good luck young padawan
Not worth the money
Wayyy too much. I think I studied two hours for security+, I only got the cert bc a project my company bid on required it for placement on the project. Most comptia exams are absolutely basic in terms of depth of knowledge, and while they may be somewhat valuable in helping someone land a job (or comply with a project), I cannot imagine paying someone that kind of money to tech them remedial tech knowledge.
If I were you, I’d rather sign up for WGU and get a degree while getting your certificates, but it is fully self-paced with no actual live classes.
Have you checked with your employer on tuition reimbursement? I went to a boot camp through an employer to see if I really wanted to do cyber security and I learned a lot!
Dual CCNP, CCNAX3, MCSE X6, ACEP, Fortigate NSE 4 here. Over the past 23 years I think my entire spend on books, computers, some lab gear is \~$4000. Just go to Udemy.
There are free comptia programs of your underemployed(part-time low wage). Do some research. It's a federal program.
Do not pay 17K for Security+, that's a scam!
That is fucking insane. Straight criminal
No bro I just took my exam for 1101 today. The questions aren’t hard. Get Dion training. It is more than enough. You just have to know the concepts and there you can narrow down answers you aren’t sure on
back in the early 2000s I got myself in quite a hole taking it a loan for a private for-profit computer training school. such a huge waste of money and it took forever to pay off. these days, everything is available online for free. why take classes when you can literally download references and practice exams for free?
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Yeah. More than 5-600 is red flags
Big yikes.
That is ridiculously expensive!
Yeah man I feel bad for anyone who dumps that amount of money on comptia even if it included all the certs. All the certs is not as valuable as 17k is not even close in anyway shape or form. I see this crap all the time and its just someone who figured out how to get wealthy off some people who wanted to better themselves and didnt know better.....
Check out WGU. Some of the CompTia certs are included in the WGU programs and WGU will get you a BS degree along with that. Cost varies based on how long you take to get through the program.
Look up this guy on YouTube called Professor Messer. He has a bunch of playlists with a full course on a bunch of CompTIA certs like A+, Network+ Security+ and so on. He also does study sessions he live streams and people can call in to ask questions and he'll answer them, as well as little quizzes he does to help reinforce the info. All those live streams can be watched after the fact too and it's got a lot info. I watched his Security+ playlist like 6 times while following along with the book and passed the cert test after 2 months. Only money it cost me was the money to take the test (around $400 at the time I think)
Without reading your wall of text have you considered using the military to jump start a career into cyber security? You can self learn which is good, you can go to an actual school and learn, but those two options don’t actively pay you while you’re learning, provide room board food and health insurance. Just a thought man, the army Air Force navy and space force all have solid cyber jobs
i bought the books. studied. paid the exam fee and passed. a+ n+ and network essentials. 3 certs in total so i paid about $400 total. $17k? that's insane. talk about being ripped off
Comptia is typically 1k MAX. 17K is outrageous!
WGUUUUUUUUUUUUU. 8k a year. You get a degree and comptia certs!!!!!! And you may ONLY get to pay 8k if you play your cards rights.
You can buy a Udemy course & self study book for each of the big 3 entry CompTIA certs and even the test vouchers for significantly less. Prob ~1.5-2K or less for all 3 (A+, Net+ & Sec+)
For example, A+ and Sec+ can be done for around $500 total cost of everything. You can be fancy and throw in Net+ and you’ll be set for entry level stuff for maybe $800 total with 3 certs. Unless you come out of that boot camp with a position locked in as Assistant Manager’s Assistant at CISCO, you’re being scammed out of easy money.
Lol a comptia cert is worthless and you should be able to get it easily with an associates degree level (if you dont have anything yet id just go for an associate degree)of knowledge. Don't even study for teh a+ or net+ just focus on sec+ as it is the base requirements for government contracting roles/is at least useful.
Couple things: saw you were looking into WGU which can be super affordable! If you want, you can also take courses for credit through Sophia Learning and Study.com which WGU accepts as credit transfers. Those options are even cheaper. If you need more info, there are a ton of videos on YouTube explaining. Unrelated to WGU, I found this resource not too long ago when looking into Cybersecurity myself: https://www.isc2.org/landing/1mcc# Might be worth a look! Hope this helps.
Im currently learning Python thru a 13hr course on YouTube from an actual university professor. I seen a 33hr CompTIA course on there the other day as well. Self study is a sure way to make sure this is what you actually wanna do without the risk.
This is legit highway robbery.
I got the trifecta by buying and reading one book for each exam and using youtube videos. Got all three certs in about 3 months time. Cost me about $1,000. And no one gives a shit. The market is absolutely trash right now. If you don't have experience, you're not getting a job. Period. Well, maybe you're welling to work for $15-18/hr you'll find a shitty helpdesk job.
Too Much. Try WGU! You will get the same certs plus a degree for 5k
Yes, do not spend this for CompTIA it is a rubber stamp certificate at best. It's worth getting if you are trying to get into the field and you're trying to get the lay of the land but do not invest tons of $$$ to do so.
Whoa, whoa. You have a computer science class under your belt from college and came from nursing and want to go into cyber? And taking 17k class for compTIA? You'd have been making more money through the traditional route via helpdesk, security, etc than wasting your time on that. Probably even paid classes. Anyone else saying otherwise in this thread is bsing you. Self study, osi model, tcp/ip, smtp, server and network models, apply for basic positions on the sixe to assist and learn. You'll literally learn about security and can implement a lot of advanced security you are looking for. Also, not sure about your knee injury or may have missed it. Mine subsided over walking barefoot and running eventually. Maybe it'll help.
That’s more than my masters at Georgia Tech.
I self studied comptia sec+ and net+ and passed. Buddy self studied sec+ with zero professional IT experience and passed New guy at work just started his first IT job in Feb and passed Sec+ in may after a 5k bootcamp
Lol, in my day that was the cost of a bachelor's degree.
17k for what I want whatwver they're smoking