Tuition-Free Skills Training by American Dream Academy

[techqueen]

A lot of ladies in this section have expressed wanting to get out of the industry. I'm currently getting a professional google certification on coursera and was sent an offer to join the American Dream program. It's a tuition-free six month program that helps you gain skills to break into a new industry. I noticed most of the options are tech/sales related fields.

(From their website)

The Professional Certificates offered by The American Dream Academy are designed to prepare you to pursue an in-demand career and require no previous experience. You are required to complete one of them. They include:

• IBM Cybersecurity Analyst
• Meta: Facebook Social Media Marketing
• Google Data Analytics
• Google IT Support
• Google Project Management
• Google UX
• Salesforce Sales Development Representative
• Salesforce Sales Operations

Here are the requirements:

• 18 or older (there is no upper limit)
• Be a resident of the United States
• Have a high school diploma or equivalent
• Be committed to continuing your education or seeking a new job following completion of the program
• English proficiency. We do not require learners to be native English speakers.

Here's a link to the program if you want to check it out https://theamericandreamacademy.org/. All the courses are through coursera and its 100% free. It simply requires that you complete the program in six months time.

[SnuffleUffleGrass]

Thank you for posting this.

[laurielegs]

I'm going to check this out! I love working with computers and tech, though I'll likely always maintain my clips and fanclubs because I enjoy that most, I really want to phase out live cam as much as possible.

[laurielegs]

Wow. OK I'm already on week two of intro to cybersecurity. I have an average score of 88% on the quizzes so far.

I have bad ADHD so I have to play the videos on 1.5 speed at least, 2x if they are a slow talker. It's a complex course, but not so difficult it hurts my head, lol. I like the fact that it isn't easy because it keeps my interest and keeps my brain from going to sleep.

My goal is to have at least a part time (possibly full time if the money is right) job in some sort of tech field, leaning toward cybersecurity. I've always been good with technology and fascinated by it but found a 4 year degree daunting and intimidating.

I can not believe this is free! I'll update here how it goes.

[WendiStarr]

I took the Google IT Support and IBM Cybersecurity Analyst last year. I didn't know there was a way to take it for free. I took it directly on Coursera. The cyber security one was fun. I think if you plan on going to a college or university, some of the courses transfer as credit. I've not secured any job in the field with the courses. It was at least something to add to my vanilla LinkedIn resume. They've only sent me 2 job listings since completing the courses and one was in Virginia, the other Washington(west coast one). I don't live in either place. Your experience may be different though. I will say that I tried to apply to a cyber security job after completing the course and got my ass handed to me by the interviewer. Learn Splunk and take a basic SQL course in addition to the cyber security course.

If you live in USA and don't already have an Associate's degree you may be able to go to your local community college for free. Go for an Associate's degree in IT. That will at least help you. I will update this when I remember what the program is called.

[laurielegs]

Thanks for the info Wendi. Seems this program is just a few months old. Once you complete the required courses they assign you a career counselor so I'll definitely be asking for a lot of advice on how to proceed.

I love the cybersecurity, am halfway through and wow it's fascinating and complex. Not easy to get all these concepts learned, and I'm sure the cybersecurity class is just a start, will likely need much more knowledge and certifications to get hired along with some on the job tech experience. Would be naive to think I can jump straight into cybersecurity after one course.

I did find out I should have started with the technical support fundamentals so I paused cybersecurity and am going to complete that first.

I've researched a bit and it looks like a good path for me is to get my foot in the door with a helpdesk position. I found a remote one I'm planning to apply for once I get the fundamentals class completed. I do loathe call center stuff but I'm willing to start there if it gets my foot in the door, and I've read a few articles and have seen youtube and reddit posts that say you can often move up after six months to a year to a better position with on the job training when a company has a specific need.

I have hated the corporate world which is what brought me to camming but the pay is so high in some of these positions that makes this something I want to work toward. Also it's comforting to know I have a steady camming/clips income to back me up in case I find I don't like it.

Edited to add -- I'm only considering remote positions but fortunately since Covid there are way more of them available now. I'm finding a lot of entry level help desk ones that are remote. Helpdesk pay isn't great but I'm looking at it like paid training. I notice a lot of IT folks say they got their start on the help desk. That's how my cousin started and he's now a technical writer and makes great $.

[techqueen]

Laurie, this is what my brother did. He got his AWS cloud developer certification and landed a job that's now paying him 100k. He started out doing help desk stuff and had no prior experience. I think you're on the right path! I'm currently interviewing for remote positions myself. It's the only way I can work in corporate. I'm getting the digital marketing & ecom google certification. It's so much fun for me.

[TiffanyRose]

I may check this out myself. How is your coursework coming along TechQueen?

[techqueen]

^It's going well. Just replied to your PM. The thing that gets me about coursera is the lack of support. I wish there was more in the way of support from teachers. The forum is confusing to me but maybe I have to just take the time to look around a bit.

[jack0177057]

I took the Google IT Support and IBM Cybersecurity Analyst last year.

Wow. OK I'm already on week two of intro to cybersecurity. I have an average score of 88% on the quizzes so far.

You can make some money independently through bug bounty programs.

Basically, if a company wants to test the security of their system or bugs in their system, rather than hire an expensive cyber security company and rely solely on one company, they open it up to the entire hacker community. If you do penetration testing and find the bug, you can be rewarded from $250 to $1 million (though the average is about $3,000). It also gives you street cred.

https://www.hackthebox.com/blog/what...bounty-hunting

https://www.darkreading.com/applicat...critical-flaws

Apple's payout: https://developer.apple.com/security-bounty/payouts/

Don't expect to become a master hacker in 6 months. You need to learn Linux and at least a little coding in Python. You also need to practice a lot. It requires creativity.

A good way to practice, at all levels, is through "capture the flag" (CTF) hacking games. You can play in teams. Maybe start a SW team?

https://www.hackthebox.com/hacker/ctf

[dinjar]

Future is one of the legendary artists in the music industry and collaborated with many high-profile artists like Miley Cirus.