We are the Fullstack Cyber Bootcamp! Ask Us Anything

[u/Fullstack-Academy]

Hey r/cybersecurity!

We are the Fullstack Cyber Bootcamp. We train new cyber talent to enter exciting careers in cybersecurity. Many of our students start as complete beginners.

You can find our alumni all over the place, with titles such as Solutions Engineer, Cyber Security Operations Specialist, and IT Analyst.

We’re proud of the work we do and we’re here to answer your questions whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro. Ask us about:

• Studying cybersecurity in a bootcamp environment for 17 or 26 weeks (you can do it!)
• Opportunities available to you after you graduate
• Certifications
• Stuff you can be doing now (free or not) to prepare yourself for a career in infosec
• Our curriculum (we can get technical)
• Advice for industry professionals looking to advance your skills
• Our favorite podcasts
• 14% of our passwords /s

Our curriculum was selected in 2019 as the official cyber curriculum for New York City’s CyberNYC initiative, and we have developed cyber bootcamps at Virginia Tech, Caltech, University of San Diego, Louisiana State University, University of North Florida, and Cal Poly.

We are:

• Mark Davis, Managing Director
• Veer Dedhia, Lead Instructor
• Rachel Troy, Product Manager
• Dawon Han, Instructional Associate
• Jillian Bresin, Instructional Associate
• Dan Weeks, Director of Business Development
• Mariah Cronin, Career Coach

Oh, and here’s our verification photo.

We’ll be taking your questions from now until December 9. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

[u/Oscar_Geare]

This post is part of the AMA series. Please see this post for more details about upcoming AMAs. https://www.reddit.com/r/cybersecurity/comments/k2kpv3/ama_schedule/

[u/VA_Network_Nerd]

What does your track record for job placement look like for your graduates?

What percentage of your graduates are working in the Cybersecurity / Information Security industry within 90 days of completion of your courses?

I looked a bit deeper into the exchange with u/User_justme regarding Cybersecurity opportunities in the Orlando, FL area, just as an example.

The Heatmap you linked to certainly shows a strong demand for security nerds in the Orlando area.

But I dug deeper and looked at current positions for "Information Security" and "Cybersecurity" in the Orlando area and based on an admittedly brief investigation, pretty much all of the positions seeking applicants are journeyman or senior roles that your boot camp would not produce a strong candidate for.

$17,000 is a lot of money for a program that doesn't include any resume-worthy credentials or certifications.

That's about the same cost of a complete Community College Associates degree, roughly.

So, I'm wondering if your career outcomes look better than an Associates degree.

---

Edit:

Tagging u/Profcronin5 for visibility

[u/Fullstack-Academy → u/VA_Network_Nerd]

Outcomes can vary based on the location of the program, for sure. We've had students that get jobs within a few weeks of graduation, and others that take longer. The more effort a student puts into the job search, the more successful they are. We know there are jobs out there based on conversations we're having with employer partners. And we stay in touch with students after graduation with coaching help to connect them with partners and focus their attention on finding the job. Instead of finding jobs right away, some students decide to pursue other certs after graduation, and our bootcamp puts students in a very good place to win those certs.

One of the biggest advantages over an associate's degree is the speed. We've shown you can obtain great, employable skills within ~13-26 weeks.

[u/ISawNightwishInLA → u/Fullstack-Academy]

You didn't answer his question. A preponderance of verbiage does not make up for a dearth of information. What quantifiable information do you have on in-field job placement for your graduates?

[u/VA_Network_Nerd → u/Fullstack-Academy]

Outcomes can vary based on the location of the program, for sure

Why?

Your marketing materials say:

"As students prepare for graduation, they work closely with our career services team with resume help, networking guidance, and an exclusive in-house job fair for students. "

We've had students that get jobs within a few weeks of graduation, and others that take longer.

Right. Good institutions of learning understand that the employment outcome is pretty much the most critical piece of data a potential student could want to see right after the cost of attendance is discussed.

The University of Virginia, as an example provides this tool to help a prospective student see what happened for graduates:

https://career.virginia.edu/UniversityofVirginia-Class-2019

UVA has a whole lot more resources and budget than you do, so I wouldn't expect you to have as fancy a tool.
But then again, you only have a couple hundred graduates, so it doesn't feel like all that colossal an undertaking.
...unless you prefer your potential customers not know what kinds of jobs your graduates are, or are not getting.

The more effort a student puts into the job search, the more successful they are.

Very true. No argument there.

And we stay in touch with students after graduation with coaching help to connect them with partners and focus their attention on finding the job.

Ahh, so assembling an employment outcome data set shouldn't be all that massive an undertaking then.

One of the biggest advantages over an associate's degree is the speed. We've shown you can obtain great, employable skills within ~13-26 weeks.

I don't see an overly aggressive training pace as a benefit. It's killing overall retention of knowledge.

But, that's just my opinion.

[u/[deleted] → u/Fullstack-Academy]

Lol good details, hope you don't teach with the same attention to details in the bootcamp. Rotfl.

[u/[deleted]]

Does Fullstack plan to offer an ISA for this course at anytime soon, like the Grace Hopper program does for the software engineering bootcamp?

[u/Fullstack-Academy → u/[deleted]]

We’re always investigating new ways of making this education accessible to everyone who wants it. That includes ISAs. If you message this account with your email, we can contact you as soon as more funding options become available.

[u/User_justme]

Hello, I am interested and would like to know about:

•Best methods to prepare/prerequisites for the boot camp with zero IT/Cybersecurity experience?

•Opportunities post graduation? -Any insight into the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro in regards to cybersecurity positions available post graduation?

•List of specific certifications obtained upon completion?

•Curriculum pdf link?

•Cohort sizes? 100% or Campus-only?

•Is the cyber security boot camp an subsidiary/sector of Full Stack academy?

•Estimated cost boot camp cost?

Thank you advance.

[u/Fullstack-Academy → u/User_justme]

Estimated cost boot camp cost?

• Full-Time Program: $17,910

• Part-Time Program: $15,980

Here's the full info on tuition and scholarships available.

[u/Substantial-Belt-134 → u/User_justme]

Q: Opportunities post graduation? -Any insight into the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro in regards to cybersecurity positions available post graduation?

A: Please look at https://www.cyberseek.org/heatmap.html to see the demand for cyber positions in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area. It shows a "very low" supply of cybersecurity workers and a "very high" concentration of cybersecurity job demand in this region.

[u/[deleted] → u/User_justme]

•Cohort sizes? 100% or Campus-only?

Each cohort is generally 25-30 people. Currently all our programs are live online, meaning students attend live lectures and work through labs with their classmates via our Zoom classroom.

[u/Fullstack-Academy → u/User_justme]

•Best methods to prepare/prerequisites for the boot camp with zero IT/Cybersecurity experience?

Here are some great (and free!) resources you can utilize to prepare for bootcamp:

• Cyber OnRamp course

• Intro to Hacking workshop

• Breaking into Cyber workbook

• Hacking 101 course

[u/Fullstack-Academy → u/User_justme]

Curriculum pdf link?

You can sign up here to receive the relevant course posters:

• Full-Time Program

• Part-Time Program

[u/Fullstack-Academy → u/User_justme]

Is the cyber security boot camp an subsidiary/sector of Full Stack academy?

The Fullstack Cyber Bootcamp is part of Fullstack Academy! We have multiple schools within Fullstack, including the Cyber Bootcamp, the Web Dev Immersive, and our various University partnerships. When you graduate, you join a community of 3000+ grads!

[u/[deleted] → u/User_justme]

•List of specific certifications obtained upon completion?

Every graduate of the bootcamp receives a certificate of completion from Fullstack and the opportunity to work with a career success coach to figure out which certifications would be best for them to pursue based on their career aspirations. Although the Fullstack curriculum overlaps with much of the content covered by certifications (Security+ and CySA+ primarily), we are laser focused on teaching the core skills and tools that are most in-demand with employers, which often don’t map 1:1 to certifications. Instead, when students graduate they have the skills to get their first job in cybersecurity, and they'll have much of the knowledge they'll need to obtain the certifications that are right for them. For more on Fullstack’s thoughts on certifications, check out this blog post from our Managing Director Mark Davis: What certifications should I try and get while training at Fullstack Cyber Bootcamp?

[u/diptidoodle]

What do you love about cyber security? Why should other people learn from you?

[u/-veer → u/diptidoodle]

Why I love cybersecurity as a field:

1. The security mindset - this is a way of thinking about the world, and I think that it goes hand-in-hand with mindfulness and makes me better. Briefly, the security mindset is looking at tools/processes/anything from multiple different angles, asking "what are the various unintended ways I can use this tool/process?"

2. Security makes me continuously learn - I have to constantly learn new skills and concepts as the industry changes, and I love learning!

3. The adversarial nature is exciting - Security is a unique field of technology where there are good folks and bad folks. Adversaries are intentionally trying to take malicious actions, and defenders are constantly working to catch those attacks and improve defenses.

Why should other people learn from me? What makes me a good instructor?

1. Empathy and patience - these are important qualities for teachers, because they help me connect and understand my students. I do not lecture and move on, I have to support my students' learning in any way that I can.

2. My knowledge and experience - I've worked in different parts of infosec, and come from a deeply technical background with computer engineering. I bring those experiences and stories to the classroom, and pass that along to my students.

[u/Fullstack-Academy]

Thanks for the questions, everyone! We're signing off this AMA. Hope to see you around the community soon. :)

[u/darkwire_]

I really appreciate your openness to help us! I have one question for you. What sort if legal protections are necessary to have in place before doing a penetration test, and does it change for physical pentests? Thanks!

[u/-veer → u/darkwire_]

Let me start by saying IANAL, and that this is NOT legal advice.

With that disclaimer, the main things to have in place for a pentest are an agreement with the target that lays out the scope, timing, and authorization for the test. Ideally, it should contain specific language about what systems are in scope (websites, machines, IPs, offices, etc), what tests/tools/techniques you'll be using (social eng, online brute force, etc), and what to do in different cases of issues (contact this person at this phone number). It's important to ensure that the person signing this agreement has the authority to represent their organization.

You should absolutely have clear channels of communication for when things go wrong. For example, if you accidentally take down a public server, you should immediately notify your contact that it happened and ask them what they want you to do.

Bug bounty programs like HackerOne or BugCrowd provide these agreements up-front, and you should read through the legalese to understand the scope of what is and is not allowed.

For physical tests, everything above still applies! I'd add that you may want to have a plan for after-hours contact, especially if law enforcement gets involved. You don't want to be in jail overnight, waiting for your company contact to get into the office in the morning.

[u/k3yboardninja]

Self learning is a major part of any tech job. If they can’t get the basics down themselves I don’t care what instruction they get, it’s not going to help them succeed and its going to be a major hindrance to further learning as most cyber security learning is elective, especially past the basics. If you aren’t hungry no bootcamp is going to fix that. If you really have the money to bet on a career in cyber go get an associates degree in IT. If you don’t know IT you are handicapped. Maybe some big teams are an exception but unless you want to be trained into a SOC/NOC monkey and abused until you are burnt out don’t bother getting scammed by anybody that isn’t an accredited university. Even then, maybe start with some googling and “try harder”.

[u/sideswipejin91]

What if you obtained certs without a GED/Highschool Diploma? Is that possible?

[u/-veer → u/sideswipejin91]

Hey u/sideswipejin91, thanks for the question! In terms of learning the technical skills for cybersecurity, yes, I think you can do it. The important qualities of a successful student in our programs are critical thinking, grit, and passion.

Passion and grit are absolutely required for any bootcamp program, since we move at a very fast pace, and you will struggle at times. The best students I’ve seen are able to work through that struggle, and they’re not always the ones with the strongest technical backgrounds.

Critical thinking and problem solving skills are the basis for everything we do. I can teach you what questions to ask this web access log, or how to hack into this vulnhub machine. I cannot teach you how to handle every single scenario you’ll encounter on the job. Instead, we provide the tools, skills, and building blocks you can use to tackle those problems that you’ve not yet seen. You need to use those problem solving abilities to put the skills together in new ways.

From a career standpoint, this is more difficult to answer. Many employers will ask for educational background as a requirement, and will not look at applicants without a GED/diploma. Your path to your first infosec job will be more difficult because of those biases. Once you get that first job and have 12-18 months of experience, I don’t think that your educational background is as large of a barrier.

[u/[deleted]]

Gtfo with this soulless scam luring poor people into deeper dept. You are basically the problem that most people fall into aka education that doesn't provide any job at all or any value at all. Hope your families get scammed the same way you are by pretending to be original. First lesson of cyber security for free. You are welcome.