SecureSet Academy

The pros: I left the program half way through after finding a job. Scott, head of career services, offered sound advice and went above and beyond in helping me with my resume. I did have some industry experience which allowed me to leverage contacts and... Read More shoehorn my previous role into a new path. I started applying within the first few weeks of the course and hit every single event I could. In regards to this outcome, I am satisfied.
The cons: I should mention that the entire class wrote a letter to the management requesting a refund for all the wasted time between teachers outright not showing up to class and one instructor that did not care and was wholly unqualified to teach. I left right as this request went out which requested $2000 in refunds to each student. In the end, $500 credit towards testing and certs were awarded ON THE CONDITION THAT AN NDA WAS SIGNED. In private conversations with ex-classmates, it was mentioned that most of the students accepted the offer so please consider this in your evaluation of SecureSet. 

My biggest issue was with the curriculum. The lab directions and powerpoint slides were wildly out of date and had many typos. The labs required you to work within a system called "Cyber Range" which had ongoing issues making it difficult to impossible to use at times. More often than not, the first 30 to 60 minutes of lab time was directed towards deciphering the directions/ intent of the exercise. I was disappointed that the instructors did not review the labs beforehand so we worked through these troubles together during time that we, the students, had paid for. 
There was lots of turnover with instructors during the program which was due in part to the acquisition by Flatiron School. The quality of instruction overall varied heavily. There were a few teachers that were excellent (partly because they diverted from the assigned curriculum), some that were incapable instructors and a separate lot that were thrown in to teach a subject that they had no expertise in (due to the sudden turnover).
As mentioned previously, career services offered me a good deal of help on my resume which worked for me. Speaking more generally, I did not feel that the connections with employers were that solid and SecureSet was not being tapped directly for talent. The salaries for the graduates I spoke with were very low ($45k-$50k) and were mostly for analyst positions. In regards to this, it seems to make more sense to do the HUNT program which is cheaper, shorter and apparently offers a similar outcome.

The disorganization within the curriculum and management was apparent to me after the first week. I was very aggressive searching for positions in hopes that I would not waste money here (you pay-as-you-go, so if you quit half way then you only pay half). I learned a lot about systems from one excellent instructor and cannot discount that but I do feel like I was grossly cheated out of what was promised. I hope that the acquisition with Flatiron School will fix these issues since there is a huge gap in cybersecurity expertise and this experience could be a great opportunity for those with the skills.

I would wholeheartedly recommend SecureSet to anyone looking to get into the security field. SecureSet puts it all together. It's intensive... and worth it. The instructors were excellent and had extensive real world experience. They challenge you. Once... Read More you've graduated, they have a fully built out support structure to help you find a job. I've recently accepted my new position using their post graduate help, and can definitely say the experience at SecureSet was well worth the investment.

I am a recent graduate of SecureSet's HUNT cybersecurity program. I attended the PREP program July 2018, started the Hunt program in Sept 2018, and graduated in December 2018.

I absolutely loved my experience and would encourage anyone interested in this... Read More school, to move forward with your decision. You will thank yourself for investing in your future and in an industry that has tremendous growth & opportunity.

The best part about my experience at SecureSet is the guidance and help from a gem of a Career Services Manager, Scott Bowman, at the Denver campus. Not only does Scott work tirelessly to set up lunch & learns for students while in their respective programs, but he hustles to network all of the alumni and constantly is posting positions on SecureSet's internal job board, "The Wire." Scott also communicates on all bat channels including on our alumni Slack channel, LinkedIn, email and text. I have never in my life seen anyone in a role like his, work so hard to see students succeed. I have received messages from him on the weekends and late at night. He truly cares and it shows. The fact that Scott can make each and every alumni feel so supported and cared for, speaks to his passion, character and integrity. I can not say enough good things about Scott Bowman and the staff at SecureSet Academy.

If anything, I look at my time at SecureSet and have such a sense of accomplishment and am proud of myself. I had no technical background but a relentless passion for technology and continuous learning.

I tell everyone, if I can make it through SecureSet, anyone can.

I went to SecureSet with no prior “traditional” IT experience and came out with a job as an entry level Security Engineer. I wouldn’t have been able to make a jump like that without SecureSet. The best part of the whole program was the career services... Read More manager who went above and beyond at all times to make sure everyone who wanted to succeed would. The staff as a whole was pretty solid. Most of the instructors had no issue staying after class to help you with any labs, even if the lab was for a class they didn’t teach. The labs themselves had quite a few hiccups but the labs going wrong taught me more than I would’ve learned if they all went flawlessly. I entered my current role with several other people who came in with a 4 year degree and the hands in experience I got a SecureSet put my technical skills above theirs.

I attended the HUNT program just over a year ago. I am not going to give you the individual gripes that I personally have, as I do not believe that helps anyone. Instead here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
If you are a veteran, you will be decently taken... Read More care of. Especially if your GI Bill covers it in full. (However, I would STRONGLY suggest you either use your GI Bill to attend a college or just get your certifications through one of the many veteran programs available. Especially if you have a clearance of any sort.)

Career Services was decent (Though connecting you with employers only does so much when you are taught nothing useful)
Most of the staff was nice.

Cons:
The "hands on" labs are a complete lie. The 3 or 4 that existed didn’t work half the time, and when they did they would be completed in about 10 minutes.
70% of what you learn is pretty useless in the industry.

Lot's of paper-writing on topics that have little to no market-value.
100% of everything that is being taught can be learned on your own, or through other avenues in a much cheaper way.

Despite the numerous (questionable) 5-star reviews, this place has a pretty abysmal reputation in the industry. They are known for churning out multiple litters of students who lack any sort of practical knowledge and are pretty much a blank slate in terms of actual skills.

If you pay with a loan from Skillsfund (or whatever it’s called now) you will be paying about $400 a month, when the only jobs you can get pay about $19 an hour if you are lucky.

I could go on and on, but my goal with this is not to whine about my poor decisions, it is to stop people from making the same ones I did. Do not attend SecureSet. Just don’t.

I just wanted to pass along a short note of gratitude to SecureSet at large, especially Matt, Ajay and the rest of the instructors there. I’m only in my first week of working as a SOC analyst at InteliSecure but it evident to me that my SecureSet training... Read More exposed me to virtually everything that I’ve encountered in my new job thus far (GRC, networking, best practices, crypto, data protection, etc.) I feel that I know as much or more than the people who are training me. I’m asking questions that my more experienced peers don’t know the answers to in many cases. In fact, I had one guy that had been there for a year say, “Dude, you just talked completely over my head there, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” In short, the tuition expense at SecureSet was well worth it. I’m pleasantly surprised at how well prepared I am for my current job due to my time at 2228 Blake St. Thanks to all the staff there for all they did to get me through the HUNT program.

Like ALL boot camps, SecureSet is young, has its’ challenges, and has plenty of room for growth. Environments are never the same and students come from backgrounds that vary widely within the IT world. I participated in the HUNT group, spring of 2019.... Read More As a learning environment I give SecureSet a 4 Star rating based on their dedication to the mission of training Cyber professionals and for the depth of knowledge within the topics that are taught.
I give Secure-Set a 5 star rating for their career services support. Not only do they go above and beyond bringing into the campus companies that are currently hiring on a regular basis, they support you with your resume and interview skills as well. In addition, they constantly bring in evening events that allow the student to meet and interact with professionals that are in the business of cyber security.
Lastly, within the area of self-improvement I give SecureSet a 5 star rating for listening to suggestions and for working towards making the necessary adjustments to improve their instruction and lab environments. The 12 weeks were challenging to say the least and like all things in life, you get out of it what you put into it.
I recommend SecureSet to anyone looking to enter the world of cyber security. Go SecureSet Go !!

We had a saying, light hearted and somewhat true while we were attending the CORE program down in Tampa. Welcome to SecureSet, where the labs don't work and the grades don't matter (For your whose line fans). It plays at a core principal of the program,... Read More the labs don't really work. That being said, it is part of the learning process that they try and play hard, which is to teach you about self motivation and troubleshooting.

If you have worked in IT, you might know this already but nothing works 100% all the time. Taking the role of an IT technician means that you are committing yourself to a field that rewards technical proficiancy with time and perhaps even cash savings. You are the name brand of yourself and whom you represent.

That being said, if you engage this school from another career field, I have some news for you. You CAN make it, IF you put in the work necessary to learn and put in the time and effort. There is no silver bullet for a high paying role unless you have the silver tongue to go with it. If you attend this school and put in the minimal effort, it WILL be apparent when you start the interviewing process.

If you attend SecureSet fresh from another role already in IT, I have some great news! You will learn so much here, you will have the professional capability of asking deeper questions to the actively working Security professionals that are also your professors. You will be able to get a lot more out of the program than someone fresh off the street. Just like before however, it WILL require your dedication to come out on top.

Hence the title, one for one. You will get exactly what you put in. That means if you wait til the last week of class to make your resume, you will suffer. If you wait til the last week just to say you made it through, you will not see a return on this course, you have essentially wasted your money.

I walked into every security business asking for a job with an Associate of ISC2 for passing CISSP, and loads of certifications and was NOT able to get a job. I was able to understand the core concepts but none was willing to give me a chance. I worked for the last 6 months with a goal of jumping into the security industry and I have done just that with SecureSet. If you go this direction and you are committed, there is no better option. Work your butt off and godspeed.

I recently completed the CORE program at the Colorado Springs Campus. Prior to starting this course my cyber security background was very limited. First and foremost, if you decide to take part in this program know that this is not a part time endeavor,... Read More prepare yourself to put in the work.

Our cohort was primarily made up of veterans with varying levels of experience in cybersecurity. I cannot stress how instrumental the entire cohort is to your overall success. I am extremely grateful to all my team members for the help throughout the course. A typical week would consist of classes Monday through Friday 8:30 to 4:30 with a couple of hours of home study and at least half a day on Saturday to complete all course work.

If you are looking to just get a certification then this is probably not the place for you. The material that you cover, and some self-study will prepare you for the certification tests but that is not the purpose of this program. That said, after this course there is no reason you will not be ready for Sec+. I know from experience their focus on hands application of the book knowledge you gain is the preferred method. Prior to attending SecureSet I took a bootcamp for NET+ and passed the test, however when the networking classes started, I quickly understood the difference between knowing a book answer and applying that knowledge within an actual network.

In addition to the cyber knowledge gained the career counselor work tirelessly to set up opportunities to network with industry leaders, practice interviewing, and polish my resume. These opportunities undoubtedly ensured my success in finding employment post SecureSet.

The campus staff and instructors were all highly qualified and take a keen interest in your success. I had to reach out to instructors several times after hours and was never left without answers. If you are willing to put in the time and effort it will undoubtedly be matched by the efforts of the cadre.

If you are looking to gain a solid foundation for a career in cyber then you should absolutely consider this program.