Combining live and group instruction, hands-on apprenticeships, real on-the-job training and employer matching to create a powerful curriculum designed for you.
Execute on-the-job, hands-on, industry tasks making you valuable to companies on Day 1.
Learn how to work as a contributing member of a high-paced, elite cyber team.
Hone your cyber security skills with expert guidance in an on-the-job environment.
Train daily to understand and fight real cyber threats from advanced attackers.
We offer different schedules to fit your needs.
Duration: 6 months (optional apprenticeship with training)
Fundamentals that every cybersecurity professional needs
Week
Work within your team to build your own computer networks and defend them from live-fire attacks by instructors. Identify and prioritize critical vulnerabilities in networks and systems and then petition the board to negotiate more cybersecurity budget. Brief real company CEOs on the latest threats targeting their company using the same tools you will use on the job.
Week
Track advanced threat actors through your company’s network and build defenses to stop them. Then, put on your hacker hat to break into companies and hack websites. Hack and defend networks with your team during live-fire events.
Week
Investigate an attack on a vaccine research facility with your team and collect and analyze evidence to present in a mock court of law. Analyze and reverse engineer malware attacking Fortune 500 companies and work in your incident response team to build detection engineering to stop today’s accelerated cyber-attacks.
Select your career path
SOC (Security Operations Center) engineer career path trains you from a tier 1 SOC analyst level through an incident responder. You will be part of a team that is responsible for monitoring company networks and systems around the clock to defend against threats and will work to identify and respond to incidents.
Week
Continue building on your skills in network traffic analysis to hunt threats and use the same tools you will use on the job. Analyze traffic in your cloud infrastructure and work in a team to defend your infrastructure. Perform Dark Web monitoring and triage SIEM tool alerts with ticketing systems you will use on the job.
Week
Work in your team to identify Indicators of compromise (IOCs) and write Yara detection rules to detect IOCs of threat actors targeting your company. Write scripts to automate detection and analysis, remove malware from company systems, and continue building your threat hunting skills.
Week
Work in your incident response team to investigate alerts escalated by the SOC tier 2 team and respond to live-fire incidents. Build IR playbooks and hunt advanced threats. Identify attack pathways to your company’s critical assets and build defenses against live-fire attacks from instructors. Analyze and reverse engineer advanced malware samples and perform forensic investigations.
Duration:at your own pace (optional apprenticeship with training).
Fundamentals that every cybersecurity professional needs
Week
Work within your team to build your own computer networks and defend them from live-fire attacks by instructors. Identify and prioritize critical vulnerabilities in networks and systems and then petition the board to negotiate more cybersecurity budget. Brief real company CEOs on the latest threats targeting their company using the same tools you will use on the job.
Week
Track advanced threat actors through your company’s network and build defenses to stop them. Then, put on your hacker hat to break into companies and hack websites. Hack and defend networks with your team during live-fire events.
Week
Investigate an attack on a vaccine research facility with your team and collect and analyze evidence to present in a mock court of law. Analyze and reverse engineer malware attacking Fortune 500 companies and work in your incident response team to build detection engineering to stop today’s accelerated cyber-attacks.
Select your career path
SOC (Security Operations Center) engineer career path trains you from a tier 1 SOC analyst level through an incident responder. You will be part of a team that is responsible for monitoring company networks and systems around the clock to defend against threats and will work to identify and respond to incidents.
Month
Continue building on your skills in network traffic analysis to hunt threats and use the same tools you will use on the job. Analyze traffic in your cloud infrastructure and work in a team to defend your infrastructure. Perform Dark Web monitoring and triage SIEM tool alerts with ticketing systems you will use on the job.
Month
Work in your team to identify Indicators of compromise (IOCs) and write Yara detection rules to detect IOCs of threat actors targeting your company. Write scripts to automate detection and analysis, remove malware from company systems, and continue building your threat hunting skills.
Month
Work in your incident response team to investigate alerts escalated by the SOC tier 2 team and respond to live-fire incidents. Build IR playbooks and hunt advanced threats. Identify attack pathways to your company’s critical assets and build defenses against live-fire attacks from instructors. Analyze and reverse engineer advanced malware samples and perform forensic investigations.
Review and prepare for your days objectives.
Participate in an instructor-led team session to understand what you’re doing and why it matters as you protect your business network from hackers, perform a forensic investigation or hunt for threats.
Learn how to problem solve in self-driven learning and project setup, based on projects allocated by your instructor.
Rest and refuel for an hour.
Immerse yourself in a live cyber range as you hone your hands-on skills while hacking into a company to steal data, evading a defense team in real-time or defending your company’s network from a state-sponsored attack.
Refine and put the finishing touches on any projects you’re working on that showcase your skills to potential employers.
Collaborate with and support your peers as you work with your team and instructor on task completion and integration.
Sync up with your team to prepare for your days activities and objectives.
Participate in realistic, team-based on-the-job challenge such as defending against red team (hacking) compromise.
Meet with your team to discuss your first challenge - sharing what you learned and the challenges you faced as you prepare to progress to the next stage of the challenge.
Rest and refuel for an hour.
Continue with your team challenge by responding to the attackers as they propogate to a financial data center and virtual reality servers.
Advance to the next stage of your team challenge by working through recovery options from a ransomware attack and reporting your results to the board.
Recap the challenge your team faced today, sharing what went well and what could be improved through each stage.
Once selected, and depending on the apprenticeship, you will have the opportunity to:
ScheduleMonth 1-3: 100% academy training
Month 4-6: Training combined with on-the-job work
Month 7-12: 100% on-the-job work
LocationTraining is remote
On-the-job work may be remote or on-site
Consideration ProcessYou have the options to be considered at any time during the academy application process or during your study, depending on availability.
Each apprenticeship requires testing and/or interviewing with the company offering the apprenticeship
We begin the process of identifying potential career matches early in the program to help ensure our students and employers alike receive the best mutual fit. From Day One, you'll work through a company-approved curriculum, build your portfolio, with align yourself to open job positions and prepare you for your upcoming apprenticeship.
In the final quarter, you'll receive micro-certifications that align with specific industry roles. The micro-certifications are what we call "Flight Time" and provide training on the systems required to hit a ground running once you begin your career. System Flight Time includes time with malware, controls and systems directly relevant to your future career.
| Unit | Length | Cost |
| Credential | 3 courses | $2,250 |
| Full certification | 8 credentials | $18,000 |
| Position | Cyber Career (average) | Programming Career (average) |
|
Average US Entry-level Salary
Source:Glassdoor |
USD 70,000 | USD 56,000 |
At RapidAscent, we are striving to create an education that is affordable and attainable for everyone. There are 3 payment options: up-front, installments or deferred.
You can select to pay your full tuition upfront before beginning your cohort.
Deadline for upfront tuition payment is by your enrollment date. Tuition must be paid in order to begin your cohort.
See FAQs
An alternate option to paying tuition upfront or deferring until after graduation is to pay your tuition in installments over time.
Your tuition payment schedule will be based on your cohort timing and selected payment period. One-third of the tuition payment will be due by the beginning of each quarter, so you can pay as you go.
See FAQs
You can also select to defer your tuition payment until after you’ve graduated and begun your career. This is done through a Deferred Tuition Agreement (DTA).
By signing the DTA, you agree to pay the tuition once you’re hired and making more than $50,000 per year. Payments will be made over time using 14% of your salary until the $18,000 is paid in full. If you do not get a job, you do not pay.
See FAQsA Deferred Tuition Agreement (DTA) is a form of financial instrument, which provides students with educational funding in exchange for a deferred tuition repayment that starts once you are employed with a salary level over $50,000 with a small percentage of the student’s future earnings until paid in full. A DTA offers zero percent interest and is a flexible and safe method to finance your education related expenses as compared to private educational lenders. Because the amo.
With traditional private loans, student-borrowers must pay back the principal amount and accrued interest, irrespective of their future income or employment circumstances? Under a loan, failure to pay back accrued interest can lead to ‘negative amortization’, which means your principal loan balance increases over time despite making minimum payments. With an Deferred Tuition Agreement, there is absolutely no risk of negative amo.
No! Our investment is in you and only you need to sign.
For the DTA the cap equals the tuition so that the total payment will never exceed the tuition amount.
Completing our online application utilizes what is called a "soft-pull", which will not impact your credit score. While your credit score is not a priority, certain merit indicators may overlap with items also included in your credit score, such as: recent garnishments, lien attachments, judgments or tax liens, bankruptcy, or unsatisfied suits or judgments.
Following program completion (and your applicable grace period), your monthly payments will be indexed to a specified percentage (14%) of your pre-tax earnings for the prescribed contract term ? After making ordinary payments over the designated contract term. Since your monthly payments are calculated as a fixed percentage of your earned income, if you become unemployed, face unexpected salary shocks or other work-related financial hardships, your payments will be commensurately lowered, or wa.
Typical private lenders use a grace period because their loans must be repaid irrespective of your circumstances.? With a DTA, however, you will only pay it back if and when you are gainfully employed and earning above an income floor based on your degree or career. With an Deferred Tuition Agreement, your repayments will start only once you are gainfully employed, and earning more than a base amount? So, if it takes you longer than expected to find a job, there is no interest accumulation.
Yes, many cybersecurity professionals work remotely especially post-pandemic. With a DTA, you have the flexibility to keep the contract for the full term and benefit from the built-in protections against unemployment, or you may pre-pay early? The choice is entirely yours.
We are exploring additional financing options for international students. In the meantime, international students have the option of paying tuition upfront or in quarterly installments.
No!? With a DTA, there is no penalty should you choose to pay-off your DTA early. To end your DTA contract, all you have to do is pay the tuition amount that is set forth in your agreement.
Apprenticeships are an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway that provide relevant workplace experiences while acquiring the skills, abilities, and credentials that employers value.
Apprenticeships can provide affordable paths to secure, high-paying jobs and careers without the typical student debt.
The apprenticeship program does not typically require any college or institutional degree. For most apprenticeships, the only requirement is a high school diploma. This said, there are some occurrences where the job apprenticeship does require a college degree such as a B.S. in engineering or may require prior coding experience.
The length of an apprenticeship program can vary depending on the employer, industry, and type of apprenticeship program. Department of Labor certified programs are typically 12-18 months.
The training portion of the program with RapidAscent is normally remote full-time training for months 1-3 (firstquarter) and up to 40% training and 60% on-the-job learning work for months 4-6 (second quarter). The last two quarters during months 7-12 (or 18) are typically full on-the-job work with expert reach back from RapidAscent.
While RapidAscent makes a range of apprenticeship opportunities available to student learners, the candidates must still apply, interview, and be hired to the apprenticeship by the company. For this reason, there is no guarantee by RapidAscent that the candidate learner will be hired into an apprenticeship program even when RapidAscent is the trainer for the program.
"Typically, a company offering an apprenticeship will hire their apprentices with a salary-based entry-level position for the on-the-job component. Depending on the company, they may or may not pay salary while in the first 3 months of training. In addition, some companies, depending on their apprenticeship program, may cover part or all of your tuition.”
Once you apply and are accepted into the RapidAscent program, the current apprenticeship opportunities are displayed, and you are redirected to active apprenticeship programs.
On average, nationally 92% of apprentices retain employment after completing an apprenticeship program and on average earn over $300,000.00 more over their career when compared against their peers who do not participate in an apprenticeship program.
You will receive macro and micro-credentials for completing courses and sets of courses during the training phase and will receive a Credlyrecognized certificate of completion for the apprenticeship program. For partnering companies, the RapidAscent micro-credential may be awarded jointly with the corporate partner’s credential. Typically, the apprenticeships are Department of Labor approved.
Apprentices are required to work/train 32-40 hours per week. While hours may vary, the typical schedule is normally from during a 9-hour workday with an hour lunch Monday-Friday. Some allow for more flexible schedules.
Apprentices are full-time apprenticed employees from day one and, if apprenticeship requirements are met (taking and passing classes and learning through on-the-job training), full job employment is not guaranteed and will be determined by the company upon completion of the program.
This varies by employer and apprenticeship program. Typically, the employer or a grant program may pay for all or part of the tuition. Training material that are required for the apprenticeship program will be paid for by the tuition.
This depends on the company offering the apprenticeship program. The company offering the apprenticeship will list whether it is an onsite or remote training/job. If onsite, the locations will be provided. Most apprenticeship opportunities offered to learners are remote training for the first 3 months.
If you are accepted to an apprenticeship program partway through the program, then typically this previous training can be counted towards the completion of the apprenticeship program. So, if you have already completed the first quarter of the RapidAscent program, then you will be given one-quarter of credit in the apprenticeship program.
Our online application takes only 30 minutes to complete. We’ll gather basic information so you can set up an account and get started.
As part of the application, we’ll ask what interests you about cyber and take you through a brief assessment to help match you to industry roles.
As part of your application process, you will be scheduling an online interview with one of our admissions officers so we can get to know you better.
Following your online interview, we’ll contact you within 2-4 weeks with our admission decision.
Upon acceptance and receiving your cohort, we’ll finalize your enrollment and set up orientation to get started!
Our online application takes only thirty minutes to complete. Get enrolled and join our community of cyber professional.
