I’m taking a step back. A few days ago I was gung-ho about getting a part-time online degree in cybersecurity. What really piqued my interest were two programs: Western Governors University and American Military University. However, I took a step back and looked at my situation. With a full-time job and two young kids, I didn’t see where I could find the extra 15-20 hours per week for study. Anyway, I will keep learning and creep my way to a cyber degree.

In the meantime, I’ll begin with the ISC(2) Certified in Cybersecurity certification. Mainly, I want to learn the broad-strokes fundamentals, and I would regret it if I didn’t take advantage of a free certification. (I know, there’s a $50USD annual maintenance fee, but I trust that there will be enough content (webinars, courses, etc.) to justify the cost.)

In a nutshell, then, my roadmap looks like this for 2024: ISC(2) CC > CompTIA A+ > Network+ > Security+

I broke down the costs for the CompTIA certs yesterday. It will cost me about $3,000CAD for the exams and a textbook or two. That’s not chump change, but hopefully it will pay off in the end.