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A Journey to Technical Mastery
Things are moving fast in today’s modern world. The Knowledge House (TKH) stands as a beacon for growing tech professionals, offering a blend of instruction, mentorship, and hands-on experience across different technology domains, including Cybersecurity, UX/UI Design, Web Development, Data Science, and Project Management. It’s not your cousins boot-camp. It’s my first time joining a boot-camp and it’s so good, I don’t even know if I should still call it a boot-camp. It’s a hybrid of real world professional training and something similar to what a boot-camp should be.
TKH’s program is a 12-month program structured into four phases, each three months long, ensuring a time to develop mastery. This fosters a deep understanding of theoretical concepts but also emphasizes the practical application of skills in real-world scenarios. My journey through the Cybersecurity track has helped in sharpening my existing skills and introducing me to new knowledge and practices.
With an ethos that champions accessibility and diversity, TKH is democratizing tech education, making it an inclusive community where innovation thrives. It’s not just a place to learn, but a community to grow with.
Phase 1 – THE Fundamentals
The first phase of Cyber Cohort is all about building a strong foundation. In the Cybersecurity track, we dived into the essentials of networking and cybersecurity, starting from the ground up. The curriculum was designed to ensure that we understood the core concepts that we would continue to build upon with each phase, class, and project.
Below you will see a couple of the presentations I did in Phase 1, along with the presentation for my final project for Phase 1. These presentations were the tools that I used to present my topic or project throughout the course. All source code and other project related content can be found on my Github page.
Takeaways
One of the biggest takeaways from this phase was the importance of a solid foundation. Grasping the fundamentals of networking paved the way for a deeper understanding of cybersecurity principles. The structured approach TKH took to introduce these concepts made the learning process both effective and enjoyable.
Favorite Part
Our final project for Phase 1 was a testament to the practical, hands-on approach of TKH. Building a cyber lab on our local machines using VirtualBox allowed us to apply our learning in a real-world context. I built my VBox Lab Environment with pfSense, Splunk, Kali Linux, Metasploitable2, ans Snort. This project not only solidified my understanding of the fundamentals but also gave me a sense of accomplishment and confidence in my skills.
The final phase project was the highlight of Phase 1 for me was. The challenge of building a cyber lab from scratch was both exciting. The practical demonstration of the principles we had learned was the best part.
Phase 1 Presentations
Phase 2 – The Cloud
After nailing the fundamentals in Phase 1, Phase 2 propelled us into the realm of Cloud security and AWS. Now, I already had experience with AWS from my time as an AWS instructor, helping students prepare for the AWS CCP. This phase was designed to expand our horizons and introduce us to the critical aspects of securing cloud environments. It goes to show there is always new things to learn. Staying humble allowed me to remain open to new information. I took the opportunity to dive deep on the AWS security topics in preparation for personal projects and the AWS Security Specialty.
Takeaways
The key takeaway from this phase was just how massive the need for cloud security is in today’s digital landscape. Everyday companies are biting the bullet and stepping into the cloud. As we explored AWS and its security mechanisms, and its massive market share, the importance of cloud environments in the cybersecurity domain became abundantly clear.
Favorite Part
Again, the hands-on approach of TKH was my favorite part. Our final project for Phase 2 involved creating a cloud lab environment similar to the final assignment of Phase 1, but this time in the cloud using AWS tools. This project challenged us to apply our knowledge of cloud security principles in a practical setting, reinforcing our learning and pushing us to innovate.
Building a cloud lab environment was a deep dive into the AWS infrastructure and tools. This final Phase 2 project was a group project and it was a lot of fun working alongside other motivated team members. The best feelings came from watching things click for teammates or learning a new way of doing things.
Phase 2 Presentations
Phase 3 – Capstone
For the Capstone Phase of the program we focus on the real-world application of our skills. For my groups capstone we developed a DevSecOps pipeline in AWS.
Takeaways
My Key takeaways
Favorite Part
Best part
Capstone Presentation