2302 CYBER COMPLAINTS PETITION

Heard great thing about Fullstack before attending this cohort. The reality turned out to be different. Starting from curriculum to education kit that have been provided us horrible bad products. The VM that we used throughout the course has to be one of the worst VM I have every used. The module does not teach us what we have to do in our career simulation. I come with zero cyber security knowledge to this cohort, not sure if I have learned that much from this cohort. This entire cohort was totally wasting time for me, I took my valuable time out to attend this cohort.

Prior to discovering the opportunity that VETTEC offers to veterans, I was considering using my personal education benefits to explore a cybersecurity career path. I discovered VETTEC and its purpose as the PERFECT route to take: 1) Did not have to use personal money; 2) Does not deduct from my educational benefits; and 3) Allows for entry into a strong industry in need of talent. The purposes of the VETTEC program funded from your tax dollars unfortunately failed with this course. I chose Fullstack due to its presence in the field and glowing reviews; the class started strongly with core details being taught for the field, but quickly fell apart due to the "new" curriculum falling short of even being teachable. The instructors and mentors did all they could to keep us on course for learning proper material. However, core concepts were lost to include Windows management which a majority of leading industries use., all while instructors were left to dip into prior curriculum material to even skirt by with teaching basic material. If left to only the new curriculum and less capable instructors, I believe the entire course would have halted at that point in the curriculum. Throughout the course it has been brought up multiple times that outside websites/programs are great resources to enhance our knowledge base on the topics we discuss in class (i.e., Hack the Box, Tryhackme, etc). These resources have become very popular amongst students and used by personnel in the class often to supplement the material in this course. These are also paid environments, but Fullstack offers no options for discounts or free accounts for the duration of the course. The use of paid subscription models is taken even further with the use of those resources IN class using a free account with basic access. Additionally, it's been noted that Fullstack is newly partnered with AWS for training resources yet the AWS training options provided to students are already free resour

I want to be a proud Fullstack Academy Alumni after attending the Cybersecurity Analytics Bootcamp 2302-FSA-ET-CYB-FT! That's why I paid $17,000 up front for this carefully selected course over many Cyber bootcamp competitors. I am thankful for the $1,000 discount that I received as a Veteran as I was unable to receive VET TEC or other VA funding. Unfortunately, at this point I am seriously questioning my decision to go with Fullstack Cybersecurity Analyics Bootcamp. The instruction that I have received has been challenging, overwhelming at times, but also fun and exhilarating to learn new concepts. The sparks igniting a fire of passion for a life-long Cybersecurity profession have been delivered and received - I am now strongly leaning forward into a Cybersecurity career profession. I am currently pivoting from three years of unemployment through the Covid years and current market downturn, and I am investing in a future for my family in a whole new profession. I am very excited! Yet now I am also very frustrated and disappointed. Up until recent weeks I have been a proud supporter of Fullstack, and my family and friends are excited for me and have been praying for me as some of this journey has been really hard; but I have seen great progress, and the passion for all things Cybersecurity has been achieved! I tell everyone what awesome things that I have learned! Until recent weeks. At the end of each week, I feel totally beat down and discouraged of late; and honestly feel very insecure at the thought of the final graded project and then trying to get my first job in Cybersecurity. While my passion for Cybersecurity has been launched, my enthusiasm for Fullstack has waned. I don't want my money, time, efforts, emotions, hopes and dreams to be dashed on the ugly, rocky shores of Academic apathy and greed. As a Veteran, I am honored to be learning Cybersecurity with so many Veterans from around the world who are like-minded in this profession! It has me

Our instructors and Mentors are wonderful. However, the nature of the curriculum is truly disorganized. Lessons were full of errors, solutions didn't properly work, Vocareum machines had horrible bugs, and an entire career simulation couldn't be graded due to the lack of quality control. I, like most of the class have learned more through self study than in-class instruction. After paying $17,000 in cash for this course, (an amount more expensive than some college semesters) that is INCREDIBLY disappointing. I understand that there have been some changes within Fullstack as an organization, but that can't excuse a business providing a subpar product. At 17k per head, this class generated over 1 million dollars for Fullstack. The level of performance should reflect that level of investment. Using the customers of your product to test it's quality is totally unacceptable and has shortchanged many good people who truly need the education we should have been provided to be successful in the cybersecurity field. Personally, I don't feel any more prepared to enter the field now than I did at prior to this course.

My experience with Fullstack has been subpar from the beginning. During this cohort it often felt as though this was the first class ever being held at Fullstack or everyone was just winging it. Instructors found problems with the curriculum daily. Class activities were often confusing, poorly structured and filled with errors. The fact that so many problems were discovered during class indicated a lack of planning and preparation from the entire staff. Throughout the cohort, instructors struggled to answer basic questions about the curriculum and the class schedule. We spent at least 1/3 of total class time in breakout rooms without instructors, relying on google and confused classmates to learn the material. Clear, consistent explanations and demonstrations were rare during class. I felt like Fullstack didn't do the work of breaking down the information into digestible and easy to learn chunks. The classroom instruction would have been much more effective if instructional videos, visual aids, powerpoint slides and other similar resources were used more often. Overall, the problem wasn't just the poor curriculum, it was the fact that we wasted so much time sitting in front of our cameras every day when we would've been better off studying on our own and learning from Youtube videos. The whole experience felt like a wasted opportunity. Not worth the time or the money. Would not do it again. Would not recommend.

The instructors are not the problem of the course; this is bigger than the instructors.

The curriculum has had issues throughout much of this course. These exercises have been broken. Whether it has been missing content, or steps. The vocareum virtual machines cause issues after issues. Causing confusion to the whole class. The instructors have been great but the curriculum is very concerning. Especially when you spend this much money on a course.

I don’t even know where to begin. I along with many others I took a loan out for this course. Not to mention I have a small child and I don’t have the time or money to get a 2-4degree for cybersecurity. I choose this course bc of the time frame and the wonderful reviews I read online. I was excited to start my new career in the tech field! However after a few weeks in class things have fallen completely to the ground. The exercises are missing information and demonstrations are not much of a help either. We’re told to google information or use YouTube. Myself and along with many others are spending 8hrs a day in class and most of us hardly know what we’re doing. We spend most of our time in break out rooms and not enough time learning. The instructors try to do the best they can to educate but the modules and systems failed them as well .

The Curriculum is missing so many things that I was able to be a guest speaker and provide a lesson on OSINT.

These days no one can agree on anything, however, our entire cohort has sadly come to the conclusion that Fullstack has failed us. The inadequate curriculum and career simulations, as well as the massive amount of wasted time in breakout rooms is unacceptable. I knew that switching careers would be a major decision, so I took weeks looking through reviews before I decided on Fullstack Academy. I left my paid job to commit to this program fulltime, and even more egregiously I paid $18,000 to enroll, yet I often use additional resources to gain minimal security knowledge. When I initially obtained the loan to pay for this program, I truly believed I would have a career in a few months after graduation to pay it off; sadly, I’m three weeks from graduation and I lack the confidence in my knowledge and skills to be as successful as I believed I would be at this point. Some students in our cohort have voiced their concerns along the way and we have even completed surveys that were barely acknowledged. It was evident that Fullstack employees tried to pass the blame so now it has come to this, but I want it to be clear that this dissatisfaction is not pointed at the instructors (they have been incredible, especially given the curriculum they had to work with). Given I am one of many who made a costly decision based upon reviews, I would never recommend this program to anyone unless Fullstack makes vast changes and rectifies this situation for the current cohort.

I believe fullstack could ve done better with the tools, resources and labs comparing to other programs out there that provides us even more resources such as guarantee a job, free sec+ , low cost of tuition and better labs with no or less errors

My experience at Fullstack has been subpar and has not met my expectations. While the prework and initial modules were satisfactory, my dissatisfaction began around unit 4 of the curriculum. The course materials were vague and incomplete, leaving students to figure out how to complete exercises on their own. Furthermore, we spent an excessive amount of time in breakout rooms which, although necessary for collaboration, often felt like a waste of time. As a result, some of the end projects were reduced to completion grades, which did not adequately prepare me for the job market. Although the course costs $18,000, I found myself seeking additional resources to supplement my learning. At this point, I question whether I have gained enough knowledge and skills to confidently enter the IT industry. While I understand that Fullstack has received high ratings in the past, my personal experience has not reflected this. I regret that I cannot recommend this program to others and feel that Fullstack's focus may be primarily on VETTEC payments rather than providing a comprehensive educational experience.

The first half of the cohort was nice and well thought out and everything was working. Now after experiencing the latter there is no structure, nothing works, there are no hints or guided lessons other than "look at the demonstration" which becomes obsolete in breakout rooms and the youtube videos are posted maybe a day later. I pity the instructors for having to think on the fly to help us learn and I pity the people who had to take out loans for this "class". OH and the free AWS class that could've been 3 days jammed into 1 definitely shows that this program no longer is concerned with the quality education for its student but only want to churn out bodies to get more of a paycheck from each of these willing academics. The decision for this has been well thought out and unanimous and I hope other cohorts also have this chance to voice their dismay at this "program".