SDSU’s Digital Skills Bootcamps are designed to help you launch your career quickly, efficiently, and comprehensively. These intensive career training programs focus on building the skills you’ll need to work in an increasingly digital world. With programs on cybersecurity, digital marketing, and other technology-based fields, you’ll learn what it takes to thrive on the cutting edge of a rapidly changing industry.
This HackerU/Thrive DX program, offered in cooperation with SDSU Global Campus, is designed to help you enter the cybersecurity workforce in under a year as a highly-qualified, entry-level professional with the in-demand experience employers are looking for.
About the Program
This 400-hour program offers a fully immersive experience with comprehensive virtual training labs that allow you to benefit from hands-on, digital simulation exercises in online classes taught by cybersecurity professionals.
Thought leaders and industry experts work together to develop state-of-the-art course materials to ensure that you always receive the most current information. Your instructors are insiders with a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise who will guide you through everything you need to know, preparing you to sit for top industry certification exams and enter an exciting, fast-paced field that is constantly evolving.
Program Structure
Introduction Course
The Bootcamp begins with a 30-hour introductory course that will help you decide if this program is the right fit for you and your career goals. You’ll gain a foundational understanding of cybersecurity by covering topics that include research, network fundamentals, Windows and Linux OS, network attacks, the cyber attack cycle, and countermeasures and defense methods.
Upon completion of the introductory course, you’ll take a culminatory assessment and meet with your instructor to help you evaluate your progress and assess your suitability for the field.
Cybersecurity Bootcamp
If continuing with the extended course, you’ll enroll in the full 380-hour Cybersecurity Bootcamp Program. The 12-course Bootcamp can be broken down into three major categories:
The Fundamentals Courses
You’ll already have a grasp of basic technological concepts from the Introductory Course, such as common operating systems, virtualization, communication over a computer network, and the cloud environment. From the first day, instructors teach content from a security perspective that is explored in-depth in each course. These essential courses provide you with a foundational understanding of cybersecurity.
- Microsoft Security
This course provides an in-depth understanding of Microsoft systems and the security concepts that ensure system protection, from the management and operation of a Microsoft domain environment (including the Windows Server 2012 OS) to the differences between newer OS versions, such as Windows Server 2016 and 2019. - Computer Networking
This course provides an in-depth understanding of fundamental networking concepts essential for cybersecurity professionals, such as those surrounding protocols, topologies, and network devices. This course prepares you to take the CompTIA Network+ exam.* - Cloud Security
The concepts taught in this course, such as the growing use of cloud platforms and how environments are managed and secured in the cloud, providing an essential understanding that paves the way for the practices and labs in the advanced courses that follow. This course prepares you for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification. - Linux Security
You will gain an understanding of the security and hardening aspects of Linux environments with specific emphasis on the Kali Linux cybersecurity distribution. You will also learn how to manage and operate a Linux environment. The curriculum taught in this course prepares you for the LPI Linux Essentials certification exam.
Cybersecurity Infrastructure
After completing the courses above, you will be prepared to start searching for entry-level jobs that will allow you to gain experience in the field, and you will be ready to apply for at least one relevant industry certification. The courses inCybersecurity Infrastructure lay the groundwork for a deeper understanding of the security measures and technologies cybersecurity professionals use every day. These courses provide essential expertise that prepares you to enter the world of cybersecurity.
- Network Security
In this course, you will learn to secure, manage, and operate network communication equipment and systems and to implement the network security tools and technologies that are key to protecting an organization. This course prepares you to take the Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate exam.* - Cyber Infrastructure & Technology
This course provides you with the knowledge and practical training you need to design and maintain secure infrastructures and technologies. Security countermeasures such as SIEM, SOAR, endpoint security, and more provide an essential understanding of how to effectively protect organizations. This course begins to cover the CompTIA Security+ and CySA+ industry certification objectives. - Introduction to Python for Security
This course provides you with an introduction to Python, the advanced programming language used by cybersecurity professionals to write scripts and automate security-related tools. The information you learn in this course also gives you a fundamental understanding of object-oriented programming.
Advanced Cybersecurity Courses
The courses until this point have established the practical knowledge, cybersecurity best practices, and the tools you need to prevent cyber attacks. To prepare you to address an attack that has already occurred, the advanced concepts in this category provide you with an understanding of different types of attacks, the attack kill chain, how to implement an attack, how to respond to an assault that is already underway, and how to mitigate it.
- Offensive Security: Ethical Hacking
To train you to discover and exploit system vulnerabilities, penetrate organizational infrastructures, hack into web interfaces, and execute and defend against a variety of cyber attacks, this course provides you with knowledge, tools, and an understanding of a hacker's perspective. This skill set will help you to be a better defender as you prepare for a future career in ethical hacking and penetration testing. - DFIR & Threat Hunting
This course, as an introduction to Digital Forensics and Incident Response, provides a foundational understanding of the dynamics of working on a Security Operations Center (SOC) team and how to handle cyber attacks in real time. The material taught in this course prepares you for the CompTIA Security+, CompTIA CySA+, and (ISC)2 SSCP** industry certification exams.* - Game Theory Strategy in Cybersecurity
As you implement Game Theory fundamentals and apply them to cybersecurity defense, you will also begin to understand how a hacker thinks. This course teaches you a creative approach to problem-solving and a method of decision-making that helps you solve cybersecurity problems on your own.
* Certification exams are not conducted as part of the program and require additional costs not included in tuition. The program meets the objectives of the certificate throughout the program. Additionally, we are offering two non-mandatory extra sessions per certificate for Network+, Linux Essentials, CyberOps and Security+ exam preparation.
** Students must have a minimum of one year of cumulative work experience in one or more of the seven domains of the SSCP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) in order to be certified.
Cybersecurity Career Services
You’ll be able to plan for your career in cybersecurity with the help of a dedicated Career Services Team. Throughout the program, you’ll participate in weekly career-building sessions that will help you successfully prepare for a job interview. You’ll also benefit from professional networking opportunities, internship placement assistance, and one-on-one consultations devoted to perfecting your LinkedIn profile and your resume.
Why Choose SDSU’s Cybersecurity Bootcamp?
- 400 In-Class Hours of Instruction
- 12 Specialized Courses
- Advanced Remote Learning Technology
- Live Lessons and Practice Labs with Industry Experts
- Test Preparation Workshops for 7 Different International Certifications
- Professional Networking Opportunities
- Career-Building Workshops
Want to Learn More?
For more information, please visit digitalskills.sdsu.edu/cybersecurity-bootcamp.