Today I want to talk about free education for people in the service that are:

• Veterans
• Transitioning service member within 180 days of end of active service
• National Guard
• Reservist
• Military Spouses

and want a career in cybersecurity. Of course, you can find more information at Cisco's Networking Academy website for more information:

Start Your Journey to a Career in Cybersecurity

I tried it because I was studying for the CompTIA Security+ certification and I wanted to see if this can help me with my studies. I think it did help somewhat and I don't regret it taking them. So, if anyone who wants to pursue Security+, CCNA Security, or Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate certification and don't have the money or the time to go community college for a Cybersecurity 101 class, then I recommend you take this free online self-space VetPrep courses.

First let me tell you if you never taken a cybersecurity course then I recommend you register the Introduction to Cybersecurity. It’s pretty short online course that can be complete around 13 hours. Just a quick read and some quizzes.

I took it and think it was pretty easy, but there are times that I learned something. Some activities are provided and some videos are supplemented so you don't get bored of reading online material. There are 4 quizzes and one final exam.

Keep in mind that this is just an intro to cybersecurity. For something tougher, NETACAD has something for that too.

Cybersecurity Essentials, on the other hand, is tougher and you will using Cisco Packet Tracer on some activities.

It’s a bit tougher and sometimes when I took the quizzes I got like 50% to 70% scores. It’s not a walk in the park. There are 10 Packet tracer activates, 8 chapter quizzes, and 1 final exam. I have to say this online course did help me prepare for the Security+ certification. I think it took me like 20+ hours to complete this course.

So, after completing the online courses, I got a certificate. I think it was easy and sometimes challenging, but setting aside time to do this was the hard part. I would recommend any one to get this education if you rely learning on internet and don't want to spent a dime for education.

If you don't want to take Cybersecurity or you want to know more, then below are some good starting points for free education for veterans:

Cisco Offers Military Veterans Free Cybersecurity Training

Onward to Opportunity (O2O)

CyberVetsUSA

Next time I will post about getting low cost CompTIA Security+ training. Till next time.

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