University of Central Florida Cyber Defense Professional Certificate by ThriveDX

You learn a lot from your instructors but asking questions is a good way to learn more then the course material. Also, whatever the recommendation is for your computer specs get something a bit better it will help you a lot! I had to buy an emergency hard-drive from filling my 1tb. And ram seems like it's on short supply when your running two vms. It just saves you a headache if you get 32gb ram and like 2tb or more of storage. I hope that helps and I wish you all the luck on your journey!! Read less

Being taught by experienced professionals that are recognized on their field and scope, that are able to translate such technicisms into human for everybody to understand was my best take out of this program. Also this Certificate helped me get a good paying job in the field. Read less

Good curriculum that gives you a brief introduction full of all the various topics cybersecurity has to cover. It may be to fast paced & overwhelming for someone brand new into the field without prior experience or knowledge, but there are helpful resources that is provided by UCF. As a novice, it was a good stepping stone into the field. One must study offline from UCF's curriculum & any other resource(s) you can to use to gain the understanding as fast as possible within before the next course change the following month on average. On another note, majority of the Instructors taught pretty well, which can be tough for those not use to Online learning.  Read less

The overall bootcamp was full of useful curriculum that will definitely help anybody dip their toes into the field of cybersecurity. However, it felt like most content was rushed as some instances we needed to spend more time on one aspect of content but due to scheduling we had to keep going and some of the labs were outdated and full of errors. I can for sure say all the professors were incredible and you have multiple opportunities to meet with people working in cybersecurity while building your resume. Overall rating, while it was nice, the price for this class is definitely not worth it. Read less

This is a good program to take specially with so many good instructors. The only down side I founded was the counselor I was assigned told me to apply to a private company called Sallie Mae for a student loan but their interest rate was extremely high so I’m still having a hard time to pay my debt. I guarantee if you put the time, effort, and dedication you will become an expert in the field through this program but I suggest you before choosing any company to pay for your tuition, to look for alternatives. Greetings!  Read less

The curriculum of the UCF Cyber Defense Professional Certificate program ranges over many interrelated topics and disciplines spanning a 10-month learning period. This may sound rigorous and worthwhile, however, in my experience, the curriculum lacked depth and the bar was set far too low for students to "succeed" in the program. While many students in my cohort graduated from the program, few, if any, were prepared to enter the workforce or even to attain industry certifications. 

A few suggestions to improve and realign this program's curriculum with expected outcomes:
A) Reduce the program curriculum's scope and resize the program duration to 3-6 months
B) Teach each subject material to a greater depth - aiming for each student to be prepared to obtain industry-standard certifications
C) Reduce the price significantly Read less

Started the boot camp and was super excited. Most of the course work was super informational. Until we had a bad teacher, he skipped over the first 3 lessons and ruined an entire section for the entire cohort. After that we were playing catch up on the information that we missed for the rest of the class. Keep on the course work and you can learn a lot. Overall it would be worth it if it was $10,000 or less not over $15,000 Read less

This boot camp is what you make of it. If you want to be successful you will put in the work. If you don't put in the work you will get nothing out of this program. For example if you don't practice the information you learn, it will be hard to pass the test and even harder to complete the final project. This program is great, it has started me down the path for a great career and I would recommend it. Read less

I took the course during the pandemic, after being laid off, as I have always been drawn to this this field. Coming from a 20 year career in Sports, I was a novice with cybersecurity. My overall experience with the program was good. The instructors were some of the best. I am still in communication with some to today. Most are connected on LinkedIN. 

The curriculum could have been different to better prepare students for real world applications, scenarios, and the consultant industry. Specifically, for the cost, the course should have been at a minimum 12-14 months. There was waaaay too much material to digest in 10 months. The Python and Linux courses were not acceptable in length. There have been very few projects in the real world that does not use Linux. In fact most of the global companies that I have done projects for called themselves a "Linux Shop". Ideally that course should have prepared students to pass the Linux Essentials exam. It did not. I believe the course could have accomplished this if it was 4-5 weeks instead of 2 weeks. Python is perfect language to learn, somewhat of a gateway to the other many languages. Being able to decipher code is an in-demand skill. I've had some projects where it was necessary to sanitize code. The Python course did not prepare students for tasking that required this fundamental skill. Ideally the Python course (2 weeks) should have been 5-6 weeks with many more cumulative coding projects. 

I felt the other 8-9 courses were about the right length and text material was sufficient based on expected outcomes. The labs could have been better designed, chosen and explained as far as outcomes (i.e., why are we doing this?). 

Additionally, if we could have all graduated with a global cert (Security+, etc.) that would have been a tremendous boost as far as landing jobs for some. Maybe a 2-3 week course just on the exam material. I took advantage of some of the exam prep meet-ups. They were just Ok. A lot of the questions on the actual exam were much harder than the practice exam questions covered in the meet-ups. 

I thought the job assistance was pretty good though. I was able to land some interviews from that. The pay for those jobs was not something to write home about tho. 

I have taken over 100 courses in the 2 years since graduating as well as multiple webinars/webcasts and cons to make up for some of the gaps and I have attained multiple global certs, all for roughly about three-fifths of the cost of the Cyber Defense Professional program. All in all it was an OK foundation for a novice and my score for the program I took would be 3.5/5. Read less

This program is truly for individuals who do not have any IT experience. All of the colors work was introductory. It does not go into detail as to the work in the day-to-day tasks that an individual may need. Overall, this program could have done a lot for the students such as paying for some of the major certifications that are out there that most companies require, they do say they offer job assistance and job placement. However, most of the jobs that are trying to hire you are small companies who are not wanting to pay more than a minimum wage, which is absolutely ridiculous after knowing we have taken out $10,000-$15,000 in student loans, most of the people in this program are full-time parents home owners and offering those jobs are a slap in the face. I would highly recommend if you don’t already have one to get some sort of computer science degree or information, technology degree on top of taking this course otherwise it is completely useless in the job market , the professors in this program have a wealth of knowledge I think that was the best part of this program was that we were able to work with real time professionals who work in the industry day-to-day, and come teach the class I believe that I’ve made some lifetime connections with some of the professors. Unfortunately, I am still looking for a job in the IT industry that is not requiring 5+ years experience  For entry-level. The job market is tough and everyone wants some sort of experience for entry-level positions which does not make any sense but here I am still working customer service because I get to have the experience and in order to get the experience that I am looking for. I have to either work a free internship  or get paid $13 an hour which is not going to work considering all of my financial responsibility overall, this program is good for someone who is living with their parents and already has an idea of where in the IT industry that they want to be if you are making a career change  This program is also for you because you would most likely already have some sort of professional degree that can help propel you forward in the job market  Read less

This bootcamp is anything short of intense. The contents of the classes are deep and well elaborated. They give the students an overview of the subject and I believe that regardless of their professional experience, anyone is able to take this course and change or improve their careers. The support from the SSM and Career Outcomes team is incredible and really helps us to direct our professional goals in the best possible way. They plan webinars and presentations that drive us towards achieving goals in the tech industry. Therefore, I recommend this bootcamp to all those who still feel undecided, just take the course, I'm sure it will be of good use. Read less

The program have some good foundation. The recruiters mislead big time. Unsatisfied. Not to mention names, but being misguided of the outcome of the program was unrealistic. 
   The foundation of learning from day one was good, the courses near the end were too short. 
    I had big hopes going I to the program. When I finished, the job I landed was not what I had expected from having a conversation with the recruiter. Read less

This course is full of all the information needed to find success and progression throughout your career. It gives all of the information needed to pass CompTIA Network+ and Security+. The instructors are interactive and very helpful throughout the entire course. Overall a very helpful experience.  Read less

For all aspiring cybersecurity students, I found this program to be challenging and pushed me to achieve things I thought were not possible.  Stick with it, work hard at it and you will come out on top with a lot of great knowledge and experience in the cybersecurity arena of IT.   Read less

Manage your expectations, it’s a great course. You won’t be bonafide NSA hacker man by the end but, you’ll be sent in the right direction towards a bright future. The job assistance program really helped me get out of chaotic schedule and into a more steady job that helped with balancing work and life.  Read less