Evolve Security Academy

I had a really wonderful Evolve Security Academy experience. The instructors and assistant instructors were always helpful and informative, the curriculum covered all of the foundational elements of cybersecurity. The labs gave me the hands-on experience that I needed to take what I was learning and internalize it. The internship gave me the real-world experience I needed to sell myself and my infosec skills to employers. I really enjoyed my cohort and the environment Evolve Security Academy fostered. I left the program feeling prepared for a career in infosec, so kudos to everyone who is involved in the academy. Thank you for everything you do.

When I interviewed for this course, I didn't expect them to ask me anything IT related. However, they did and I realized that the course was going to be an uphill battle. I didn't know what an IP address was and the only reason I knew what RAM stood for was because of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. So pretty much, I started this course with knowing nothing at all.

However, by the end of the course, I was able to analyze PCAP files, create network designs, run an instance on AWS and create a LAMP stack from that instance, and gain root access on a black box. This might be cheesy, but I've never felt prouder of myself than gaining root access during that web application assessment. That was the exact moment where I knew that I'd be able to make in this career field.

Many of the teachers I learned from were experts in their fields. I got a good dose of networking, governance, cryptography, virtualization, threat hunting, incident response, and a bunch of red team tools. There's a bunch more that I was taught, but I think those are what stuck out most for me.

Bootcamps aren't for everyone and after the course was done, I went to other resources to enhance my skills. It will feel like trying to drink out of a firehouse, but the best part is that you'll still be able to access the modules after the class is finished.

I'm excited for my career and what it'll go. Evolve Security helped my find a passion that I didn't know was there. I'm grateful for their ongoing support and if you're considering joining a cohort, sign up for an interview and tell Jeremy sent you! Good luck on your search.

The cohort takes a very basic approach to cybersecurity. There's a lot of information covered from a very high level and it does give you a good picture and understanding for different aspects of cybersecurity. There are different areas that felt kind of forced and maybe should have been given more time and attention than other. The academy did provide a great learning environment with the AI's, instructors and what I found most helpful, other classmates. Honestly, I think if ESA can just touch up some of the curriculum focus a bit more and add a bit more to job support, it'd be a top notch place. Overall I am happy I took the bootcamp. It helps lay out a roadmap and expose you to a lot of information so you can make informed choices on a path within cyber.

The instructors and content for this boot-camp are excellent. It provides you with hands on cybersecurity experience that would be hard to get on your own or with any other boot-camp. The curriculum flows nicely and starts you out with basic security concepts but over the course of the boot-camp you get into high level security concepts/methods. The instructors did an amazing job at making sure that everyone understood the material and the labs before moving onto the next portion. The instructors that they have teaching this boot-camp are highly knowledgeable /skilled and were able to answer all my questions. This boot-camp offers both blue team and red team content which separates it from other boot-camps for Cybersecurity. The fact that it offers both blue/red team training and experience makes for more well rounded professionals when completing the course. You also get career coaching that aids in helping you find a position in the field. I want to make it clear that it is career coaching and not job placement, which means they will help you get your resume ready and give you tips/suggestion/methods for securing a job but it is not a job placement program. I would recommend this boot-camp to anyone looking to start or further their career in cybersecurity. 

Attending Evolve Security Academy bootcamp is one of the best decisions I've made in my career. I had a technical background but wanted to really focus on Cybersecurity. The 16 week program was not a piece of cake but with enough determination, patience and with the help of the knowledgeable instructors, I can proudly say that I've done it. The modules were well thought of and classes were presented in a professional manner every session. I especially like the breakroom activities that gives us opportunity to work together in small teams to analyze and solve different tasks. Career coaching is also another strength of this program. Not only are students trained technically but they also guided us on how to present ourselves in the market and prepare for job hunting. Overall, Evolve has really done a great job exposing students with knowledge of the real world scenarios and possible solution relating to Cybersecurity. If you want to train to become a Cybersecurity professional, I strongly recommend joining the Evolve Security Academy. It requires work and sacrifice, but I assure you that it's worth it.

Great cohort experience. Knowledgeable instructors and assistant instructors helped us get through the four months and really hone in on the subject matter, and we had two wonderful career coaches, too. I'm now part of a (large!) new family and beginning a new career, and know I have many people to reach out to for help or advice in cybersecurity and beyond.

Only issue was our cohort was the largest class size (they've since limited the size I believe), and this could be a problem with some topics that were harder to grasp for some, or with troubleshooting.

 PROS: tremendous overview of the cybersecurity landscape.  I’m very happy to have attended Evolve Security Academy (I opted for the remote bootcamp option), as I had an excellent experience and it was a great step to starting my IT/ cybersecurity career. While it's impossible to cover every aspect of cybersecurity in 17 weeks, the course provided a well-thought-out curriculum and a structured approach to covering the material (for example: starting with Networking => security frameworks => OSINT etc- the material built on itself). We also had great instructors who- not only conveyed the lessons in a clear, patient manner- but also tied in real-life examples that they’d encountered from their job experience. Lastly, we also had a capstone project where we conducted a full scale security assessment for a not-for-profit from start to finish. It was pretty sweet.     

  CONS: No place is perfect, but whatever concerns or issues I had while was in the cohort... were always dealt with in an immediate and helpful fashion. 

• The end of unit quizzes & competency assessments should be treated a bit more seriously- when the time came to take the final, I realized I wasn't as strong in a couple areas than I thought I had been. Looking back it was because I had missed the quiz/ competency assessment for that unit. Thankfully I buckled down and quickly strengthened the material I needed to- but I wish I had been “hounded down” to have taken it sooner.

  Besides its sterling reputation, as more and more cohorts graduate, attending Evolve becomes more and more valuable thanks to its strong budding alumni network. Would definitely recommend and if you have any specific questions or would like to hear more about my experience at Evolve, feel free to DM me on Twitter.  

Joining Evolve Security Academy is a great first step to start your Cybersecurity education. I had no prior IT experience before joining the bootcamp but the hands-on education with the security tools, the support provided by the instructor and AIs were beneficial to me grasping the knowledge. Although the bootcamp was intense, it was a great learning experience, the knowledge and information I gained from this bootcamp will put me in good stead for my future career in Cybersecurity.

I would say that prospective students should get the Comptia Security+ study guide to go through while going through this course. Really helps explain topics (in extra detail) that will come up and you'll be ready to use the exam voucher by the end of it! 

My cohort had a good size of people from all different backgrounds. Assistant Instructors were friendly and approachable. 

Martin as the career coach is really great; I have a lot of confidence that following his module will really help in professional networking and getting a job. 

Being as I was totally new to the cybersecurity field this was a really good course for me to be exposed to different areas but if you're someone who has spent some time in the field maybe it'd be better for one of their more advanced courses! 

One thing I'd warn is that it's a bit of time commitment but if you find yourself with time during quarantine then maybe it's time to try something new

 The Evolve Cyber Bootcamp was a great experience for me. A wide range of topics is covered throughout the course by instructors who have spent years in the field. My particular instructor had been a part of the U.S. Air Force and gone on to later work for the NSA. He was great about going in depth on topics and spending time in areas that students had questions even if it didn't necessarily relate directly to the curriculum. The topics covered in the course are the same ones you will consistently see on cyber security job postings. The job placement rate in my class was very high and Evolve helped to facilitate our job searches as much as possible. Many of the students in my class started in all sorts of fields that weren't cyber related and ended up with positions before or just after the end of the course. 

I couldn’t think of a better place to start my new cybersecurity career than at Evolve Security Academy! I loved the bootcamp and learning alongside my 13 cohort mates.  I’m impressed at how much the instructors have fit into their curriculum and supplemented the lectures with solid labs. As a cohort, we had the opportunity to perform an actual security assessment of a local non-profit organization and present our findings.  There’s great value in learning not just how to ethically hack an organization, but to communicate the findings to clients as well.  Evolve allowed me to do all of that.

The instructors are great, and more importantly, they are also working professionals during the day (classes are at night) so all of their instruction is rooted in practice.  Their passion for Cybersecurity is infectious - it’s clear they all love what they do.  Outside of instruction, I found their admin/admissions team to be amazing.  As one of their first GI Bill applicants, they patiently helped me navigate a complicated process to apply my education benefits. 

Note for Vets:  My bootcamp was in the summer of 2019.  At the time, I was receiving only partial BAH because the course was designated as part-time by the Illinois VA Dept.  If you intend to use the GI Bill, check with Evolve’s Admissions team if that has changed, or understand that you may also receive partial BAH. 

My main criticism is that I wish the curriculum spent more time on defensive (blue team) learning than on offensive (red team).  Security is so nuanced and specialized that it would be impossible to cover both in depth in just a single bootcamp. It’s a lot to ask for, I admit.  But, you’ll find that more jobs align with security operations, incident response, and risk management than with penetration testing, so it makes more sense to tailor the bootcamp curriculum to the industry’s overall demands.  Evolve's Advanced Pen Testing course, which I’ve taken and loved, is the better venue to dive deep into red teaming.

The job assistance also started later than I preferred. We touched on the job search, prep, and interview process a bit during the bootcamp, but those didn’t really kick off until after graduation.

Overall, I rate Evolve Security Academy a solid 9/10.  I loved the experience and the people, and if I could do it all over, I wouldn’t hesitate to start there again. Good luck!

Evolve Security Had a vast amount of information to learn from, I loved the course material as it is updated and fresh. The instructors do an amazing job at teaching the material and are very patient with students that needed help. The school is a lot of fun and very hands on. They also help with job searches in the cyber department, highly recommended to anyone that struggles with job searching after they have obtained their certification!

Pros:
-Great material
-very Knowledgeable staff
-Extra fun activities for the students to increase skills(safe pentesting)
-Getting real world experience with other company's to see what it's like.
----Most importantly----
You get the most out of the course in person which I would recommend you taking for the more hands on experience!
Cons:
-Short time span: If the Course was longer we could spend more time on the material.

But Overall Evolve Security is an amazing school if you want to increase your knowledge on cyber security and I highly recommend Evolve to anyone that is trying to advance in their career of cyber security.   I really want to thank the instructors for all the help and support they have giving me on my journey on learning the material!