From Entertainment to Cybersecurity Specialist with Lighthouse Labs

Nathan Cordeiro had a career in live entertainment before pivoting to explore his lifelong interest in security. After a careful review of cybersecurity bootcamps, Nathan landed on Lighthouse Labs, thanks to their highly reputable instructors, comprehensive curriculum, and strong Canadian presence. He passed the CompTIA Security+ exam on his first try just two days after graduating from Lighthouse Labs and landed a job as a Cyber Security Specialist at an industrial company in just three months!

What inspired you to launch a career in cybersecurity?

I’ve been interested in the security industry since I was a kid. For many years I was a production manager for live events in the entertainment industry and had a hand in the computer aspects of live entertainment. When COVID came around I knew I wanted to pivot to more stable work and my path into cybersecurity unfolded! 

There are so many cybersecurity bootcamps now — Why did you choose Lighthouse Labs?

Lighthouse Labs was one of the few bootcamps I could find in Canada with great reviews and a physical location. I noticed in my research that many bootcamps had unstable staff so I was relieved to see that Lighthouse Labs had highly experienced and reputable instructors! I also liked that Lighthouse Labs is a bootcamp with roots in Vancouver and Toronto. 

Now that you’re through the bootcamp, was Lighthouse Labs worth it for you?

It absolutely was. Attending Lighthouse Labs helped me kickstart this path that I've been interested in for a long time and it's what helped me get this cybersecurity role. I believe that the tools and knowledge I got from the bootcamp, as well as the experience and being able to put that on the resume, has all helped push my career forward!

What was the bootcamp application process like for you?

The application challenge was very easy! They want to make sure you have a basic understanding of computers, like: What is a computer? What is a file? What is hardware and software? 

Did you have to complete any pre-work before you began the cybersecurity bootcamp?

There was a 3-4 week pre-course of things to research and understand before starting the bootcamp. This created a solid, low-level scaffolding knowledge of computers and networking before we began the bootcamp.

Did you receive any funding to attend this bootcamp? 

Half of my tuition was sponsored through a skills development grant from WorkBC. During my application interview, I learned that I was able to use it at Lighthouse Labs, whose program is eligible for several local and federal grants! I applied for the grant about a month and a half before the bootcamp started. I wanted to start in February and had a check-in interview two weeks before the start date, but we had to push my start date to March to receive the grant. Luckily, Lighthouse Labs was very flexible about it! 

Walk us through a typical day in the Cybersecurity Bootcamp!

Every day started with structured courses from the instructors. This lasted for two hours every day, five days a week and they offered specific training, review of the content, and answered questions. We had access to all the training content within the web portal so we could log in any time to continue working. 

We also had one or two group projects per week where we could hang out with fellow students and answer questions or solve an interactive problem as a group!

How many hours a day did you dedicate to the bootcamp?

It ended up being so widely varied — some days I spent three hours a day on the bootcamp, other days five. Toward the end of the bootcamp when we were covering more complex topics, I spent close to 8-10 hours a day! 

What were your instructors like? Were they cyber professionals?

Yes, they were! Lighthouse Labs has amazing instructors who have real-world experience in cybersecurity, which I love! Two instructors have been experts in the networking and security realms for 25-30 years. Another instructor had very specific experience with securing applications and web applications, having worked in banking and government. We had one individual who specialized in governance and we went over that topic from his view, which was fantastic! There was also a pool of instructors and other external mentors on-demand that we could access during the workday through a booking system.

What did you learn in the Cybersecurity Bootcamp?

The Lighthouse Labs cybersecurity curriculum is comprehensive! We started with computer basics and expanded to a wide range of topics including networking, governance, forensic data recovery, pulling apart and analyzing malware, and more. The program didn’t go in-depth with every topic but it covered a wide range of topics to offer a well-rounded foundation in cybersecurity. 

Did Lighthouse Labs prepare you for any cybersecurity certifications?

Yes, they prepared us for the CompTIA Security+ certification, which I completed on the first try two days after graduating from Lighthouse Labs!

Since this was an online bootcamp, were you able to connect with your cohort?

Absolutely — our cohort had a surprisingly active Discord community! Since I already had some computer skills and a bit of knowledge about the security industry, I was able to help some of the others who had questions and didn't have time to go to the mentors. It felt like a community that encouraged people to share and connect. I’m still in touch with about eight of them!

Was everyone in your cohort making a career change like you?

Three people had some computer experience and had already done a little bit of IT or computer support work. Another five people were transitioning careers and had a good basis for their original careers. We also had people who were just looking for a new path who maybe had more of a job rather than a career and wanted to get something more foundational started. 

How did Lighthouse Labs prepare you for the job hunt? 

Lighthouse Labs’ Career Services Team is amazing! I didn’t realize at the time how valuable they were but they were on top of things. Once a week in the last four weeks, our two-hour lesson was with the Career Services Team. They helped us see:

• Good things to look at in your resume

• How to look at and read job descriptions

• How to prepare to apply for jobs

What cybersecurity roles did you feel qualified to apply for after graduating?

They encouraged us to apply to entry-level cybersecurity roles like Level 1: Security Analyst or Level 2: IT Help Desk. These roles would help us gain industry experience to move into that career path.

What job search strategies worked for you this past year?

I got a job a year ago, about five months after the bootcamp! What worked for me was utilizing the Career Services team and their resources to connect to the right people, get my resume reviewed and get real feedback, and taking that insight and applying to roles that I can confidently fulfill. I applied for everything from a general help desk all the way up to a Level 2: Security Engineer and I landed somewhere in the middle as a Security Analyst. 

How did you land your first job after graduating from Lighthouse Labs?

I got the job through a cold apply! Interestingly, I spotted the job listing pop up and applied for it immediately, then I saw it in the weekly email from the Career Services Team at Lighthouse Labs. Since I saw it before a lot of others, I landed it!

Was your new place of work interested in your Lighthouse Labs bootcamp experience or cybersecurity certification?

They didn't require any certification, but it helped! They talked about having a lack of visibility in security, so it stood out to them because I attended a cybersecurity bootcamp. I didn't have that much IT experience before that, so this experience made the difference! 

During the job search, I noticed a lot of jobs requiring a degree and wondered if they’d even look at my resume. Those who did look at my resume and researched Lighthouse Labs were extremely impressed because Lighthouse Labs has an excellent online reputation — it stood out in the resumes I submitted. 

So far, are you using what you learned at Lighthouse Labs on the job?

I've definitely used the tools I've learned at Lighthouse Labs in my job over the last year! I'm using the basic security principles, network security lessons, and more, all the way up to malware analysis. 

Are you seeing AI entering your cybersecurity job at this point? 

A lot of the companies with the products that I deal with are implementing AI helpers, but they can't handle the human review factor. We have a bit of AI implementation in our email filtering as well as a few other tools around specific events that are happening around the organization, but they don't take any actions themselves — the AI is still just learning. I foresee the security industry implementing AI tools for alerts, but we’ll always need the human review portion of the process. 

What’s the next rung on the ladder that you’re looking to get to?

I don't have a solid direction right now. I'm toying with the idea of going for more certifications, but there's a gap in the desirable certifications. Many top certifications require a specific amount of experience and I'm not quite there yet. Right now I’m focusing on building up these skills through daily practice and research until I’m ready to make that next jump.

What is your advice to incoming bootcamp students on how to make the most of the Lighthouse Labs experience? Anything you wish you knew before day one of the bootcamp?

One of the biggest things is understanding how you learn and being flexible with the time. The time commitment they give you is not necessarily how much time it will take. You need to know how much you're learning and how your skills are developing, which nobody can determine for you. It's about having a mindset where you're not going through the motions of the course to get through the course — you need to try to take everything in, learn it, and then keep learning. 

Find out more and read Lighthouse Labs reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with Lighthouse Labs.