A Veteran Success Story with Michael Williams

My name is Michael Williams and I am a United States Army veteran.

I was a 91 Foxtrot, which involves small arms and artillery repair. After leaving the army, I went to Penn State University where I got my bachelor's degree in theater. I worked professionally as a scenic carpenter and an occasional actor.

When the COVID pandemic started, a lot of things began to change for me.

I started losing a huge chunk of my income because theaters were getting shut down. I looked into doing a cybersecurity bootcamp and it felt that it would be a better fit, as I saw cybersecurity as a nice blend of getting to do something logical and creative at the same time.

I discovered Divergence Academy through the VET TEC program.

What really made them stand out was how good their staff was at reaching out to people. They gave me pre-course materials to help prep, which was especially helpful since I was coming into cybersecurity with no IT experience.

I felt drawn to the cybersecurity pentester program because of its expert-led instruction.

The instructors weren't just university professors--they were all industry professionals too. They put a heavy emphasis on doing practical labs instead of just teaching.

My time at Divergence was very interesting and challenging.

What helped was that we were broken up into small groups, where we would work on our labs together. Everyone in the group was helping each other out.

One of the things we got to do was build an entire network logically through GNS3 from the ground up. In the pentesting section, we had an entire network to work through to find vulnerabilities--SQL injection, gaining root access, and pivoting through the network.

After the scenario, we got to write up the assessment just like in an actual pentesting company.

Some of the skills I learned in the military translated over into cybersecurity.

Troubleshooting weapons issues used a methodology to break down problems and find root causes--the exact same principles apply to real-world IT problems.

Life after the cybersecurity bootcamp has gone pretty well.

I was able to find employment relatively quick. This experience and this course changed everything for me. They helped me transition into a completely different field within a six-month period. Their bootcamp was truly life-changing.

My biggest advice: take your pre-course work very seriously.

It's okay to do your first certification exam and not pass it. What's important is getting comfortable with the process. One of the big things that diverted stress was their alumni program--even after you're done with training, Divergence is still there helping with job placement, resume prep, and interview coaching.