In today’s digital age, cybersecurity has become a critical field with a high demand for skilled professionals. As the industry expands and offers lucrative opportunities, it’s crucial to have the right skills and knowledge to thrive in this competitive landscape. This is where Cybrary comes into play. Cybrary is an online platform that offers cybersecurity training, aiming to help individuals launch their careers in this field.
In this review, we will explore the workings of Cybrary, the courses they offer, pricing, site organization, and membership benefits.
We’ll also compare Cybrary to other similar platforms and address customer feedback and concerns. By the end, you’ll have a comprehensive understanding of Cybrary and whether it can help you advance your cybersecurity career.
Table of Contents
- What is Cybrary?
- How Does Cybrary Work? What Are the Cybersecurity Courses?
- Cybrary Courses Pricing
- Site Organization & Membership
- Other Uses for Cybrary
- Is Cybrary Accredited?
- Cybrary Vs. PluralSight
- Cybrary Vs. LinkedIn Learning
- Customer Feedback and Concerns
- A Better Alternative For Making Money Online
- Conclusion
What is Cybrary?
Cybrary was founded in 2015 and has gained recognition in the cybersecurity industry, earning numerous awards along the way.
With over 3 million users and more than 500 million views on its videos, Cybrary aims to provide online cybersecurity training and serve as a development platform for IT professionals. The platform offers workshops, interactive lab courses, and hands-on experiments to help individuals become experts in the field of cybersecurity.
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How Does Cybrary Work? What Are the Cybersecurity Courses?
Cybrary offers various career paths and a wide range of topics related to network security and penetration testing. Career Paths are comprehensive resources designed to equip individuals with the skills, experience, and perspective needed to succeed in specific fields. These programs include videos, skill development exercises, assessments, and practice tests.
To get started with Cybrary, you can create an account using your existing username, or sign in with Facebook or Google credentials. No credit card information is required.
After confirming your email address, you can explore the available courses and paths. Cybrary recommends beginner programs such as CompTIA A Network, which are ideal for those just starting out in the field and provide an opportunity to gauge their interest and choose the right direction.
The Cybrary dashboard provides information about your courses, classes, career paths, bookmarks, and suggestions. It also includes a notification inbox and a course progress indicator. While many courses are available for free, Cybrary also promotes its premium membership with eye-catching banners.
Navigating the platform can be overwhelming due to the abundance of courses. However, Cybrary offers two easy options for course selection: choosing a career path or relying on Cybrary’s individual recommendations. Each course page provides statistics such as training hours, skill level, and a brief summary. Instructors’ profiles include links to their other classes and student reviews, providing valuable insights into the course quality.
Cybrary offers video lessons, typically lasting between four and ten minutes, which focus on teaching specific skills. While you cannot download the lessons, you can utilize features like subtitles, rewind, and fast forward. Stable internet connectivity is essential for uninterrupted studying.
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Cybrary Courses Pricing
Cybrary provides a considerable number of free courses. However, for unlimited access to lecture videos, interactive online labs, skill assessments, and mock exams, you can opt for Cybrary Insider Pro. The monthly subscription for Insider Pro costs $49.50, while an annual subscription is available for $33.25.
Compared to the limited access provided by the basic package or free courses, the Insider Pro option offers a more comprehensive and valuable learning experience, making it a sensible choice for serious learners.
Site Organization & Membership
While Cybrary’s website may initially lack detail, it becomes more intuitive once you enter and verify your email address. The dashboard presents your planned coursework, due dates, tasks, reviews, and bookmarked resources in an organized format.
Lessons on Cybrary are generally well-structured, and courses are categorized based on the instructor’s affiliation with organizations such as Azure, CompTIA, VMware, or Oracle. This categorization, along with mentor and career path information, helps students navigate the available courses.
Other Uses for Cybrary
Cybrary offers credential prep services as part of its Pro membership, allowing students to prepare for certifications like CompTIA. Additionally, there are over 200 standardized skill tests available to assess and identify areas for academic growth.
Pro subscribers can benefit from a growing library of hands-on labs, capture-the-flag (CTF) challenges, assessments, and practice exams. Cybrary also organizes live workshops where students can interact with teachers and advisors, gaining valuable insights into career paths, resume building, and interview techniques.
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Is Cybrary Accredited?
Cybrary does not possess official accreditation, which is common in the realm of online education. However, they provide training for official exams, and certification can be earned by performing well in those exams. While the lack of formal recognition may be a concern for some, completing Cybrary courses can demonstrate expertise and essential qualities like motivation and independent study, which many employers value.
Cybrary Vs. PluralSight
PluralSight, another online education platform launched in 2004, offers a broader range of topics, including cybersecurity. Similar to Cybrary, they provide role-specific assessments and allow users to track their learning progress with customizable notes and quizzes. PluralSight also offers assignments that provide real-world experience to enhance resumes and LinkedIn profiles.
While both Cybrary and PluralSight offer free subscriptions, PluralSight’s paid membership for certificate-earning courses is relatively more expensive at $499 compared to Cybrary’s annual fee of $299. Cybrary provides CEUs for some courses and has an active community on Slack, while PluralSight offers a site-based forum that some users find problematic.
Cybrary Vs. LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning, with its extensive course catalog, covers a broader range of topics than Cybrary. While it offers 685 cybersecurity-related results, many of these courses serve as broad introductions rather than in-depth studies. LinkedIn Learning allows you to display course completion certificates on your LinkedIn profile and provides the flexibility to download courses to various devices for offline learning.
In terms of pricing, LinkedIn Learning offers a monthly subscription for $29.99, which is comparable to Cybrary’s Insider Pro membership. However, LinkedIn Learning has fewer implicit free alternatives, and after the free trial month ends, payment is required to continue accessing classes. Cybrary’s courses tend to be more extensive and in-depth, typically spanning several hours.
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Customer Feedback and Concerns
While Cybrary is a legitimate platform, some customers have expressed concerns regarding the quality of the lectures and curriculum.
According to their feedback, some lecturers lacked experience and insight, often reading from a script and mispronouncing technical terms. This lack of coherence and poor explanation of concepts left customers dissatisfied. These concerns have led to Cybrary receiving a 3.7 rating on Trustpilot, with some users even referring to it as a scam.
A Better Alternative For Making Money Online
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Conclusion
In conclusion, Cybrary provides an online platform for individuals interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity. While it offers a wide range of free courses and valuable resources, customer feedback suggests there are concerns regarding the quality of lectures and curriculum coherence. However, Cybrary’s Insider Pro membership offers a more comprehensive learning experience for those seeking in-depth training.
When comparing Cybrary to alternatives such as PluralSight and LinkedIn Learning, each platform has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice ultimately depends on individual preferences and requirements.
If you’re looking for a business opportunity outside the realm of traditional education, affiliate marketing through platforms like Wealthy Affiliate can provide a viable path to earning a passive income online.