How to Learn Penetration Testing - 11 Bootcamps to Get You Started

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By: The SwitchUp Team
Last Updated: January 10, 2020

Penetration testing, sometimes called ethical hacking, is intentionally attempting to compromise an organization’s IT security with the goal of improving it. Penetration testers are given permission to look for vulnerabilities and perform simulated cyberattacks on an organization before reporting their findings to the company. With the rising frequency and cost of corporate data breaches, cybersecurity specialists who know penetration testing are becoming more important.

Information security is one of the fastest-growing occupational fields: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 32% growth in this field between 2018 and 2028—much faster than the average expected growth of 5% across all occupations. According to PayScale, an average penetration tester earns $83,000 per year, while a more experienced professional in the top 10% of the pay range can earn upwards of $135,000.

Both immersive bootcamps and individual courses are available for people interested in information security and penetration testing. To make it easier to compare them side by side, each listing includes information about the specific content of each course. SwitchUp also collects and shows student reviews of each course, ranging from one to five stars.

Available Online
Flexible Classes
Locations: Online, Chicago
Courses: Cybersecurity Bootcamp: REMOTE (Live-Online), OSCP Bootcamp (Live-Online), Cybersecurity Bootcamp
Subjects: Command Line, Cryptography, Cyber Security, Data Analytics, Information Security +7 More
Available Online
Flexible Classes

Evolve Security Academy offers holistic cybersecurity education as well as advanced tracks on specific areas within cybersecurity. Courses are held in Chicago, IL and live-online. The Cybersecurity Bootcamp provides hands-on and immersive training, giving students the concrete and practical skills they will actually need on the job. Students gain real work experience through the live security assessment work they perform on non-profit organizations. With over 350,000 unfilled cyber security jobs in the U.S. and 1,000,000...
Available Online
Flexible Classes
Locations: Online, Bilbao, Madrid, Seville, Valencia
Courses: Cloud & DevOps, Cybersecurity, Data Science, +3 More
Subjects: Agile, Algorithms, AngularJS, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cryptocurrency +37 More
Available Online
Flexible Classes

The Bridge offers cybersecurity, cloud & devOps, data science, UX/UI product design, full stack web development and digital marketing bootcamps both remotely and at its headquarters in Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao and Seville, Spain. Full-time bootcamps are 16 weeks long and the part-time programs are 26 weeks long. During The Bridge bootcamps, students get access from O’Reilly content and have the chance to work with people in the other bootcamp programs for a multidisciplinary approach. The...
Locations: Online
Courses: Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity Bootcamp, Data Analytics Bootcamp, +2 More
Subjects: Big Data, Bootstrap, CSS, Cyber Security, Data Analytics +20 More

Northeastern Illinois University launches online tech programs. The online bootcamp programs cover dynamic curriculums to equip you with the skill required to become a tech giant.
Locations: Online, Berlin
Courses: Cybersecurity, Data Science and AI, Mini Course Python, +5 More
Subjects: Algorithms, Cryptography, CSS, Cyber Security, Data Analytics +24 More

Code Labs Academy is an international coding school that offers bootcamps paired with one-on-one career coaching. Whether your goal is to change your career, acquire new skills, or launch your own start-up, our courses ranging from Cybersecurity to Data Science, UI/UX Design, and Web Development will help you jump ahead! Our students are the heart of our school. From the moment an application is submitted, we strive for the best possible education and support for...
Locations: Online
Courses: Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity Bootcamp, Data Analytics Bootcamp, +2 More
Subjects: Big Data, Bootstrap, Cloud Computing, CSS, Cyber Security +21 More

Hofstra University bootcamps are designed to accommodate both students and working professionals. You can earn your degree or certification by learning and preparing for exams online, as per the convenience of your own schedule. There is zero compromise on the quality of education provided. We promise excellence by providing: Official Certification All graduates will get an official certificate of completion from Hofstra Continuing Education Self-Paced Learning Study at your own convenience, at your own pace,...

Start Your Career with a Top-Rated Bootcamp

Locations: Online
Courses: Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity Bootcamp, Data Analytics Bootcamp, +2 More
Subjects: AWS, Azure, Big Data, Bootstrap, Cloud Computing +23 More

James Madison University Professional & Continuing Education bootcamps are suitable for students and professionals alike. Self-paced courses and various other learning modalities offer a flexible and rich learning experience via video-based lectures, virtual instructor led training, on the job training, hands-on labs, live mentoring and much more to provide quality education.
Locations: Dallas
Courses: Cybersecurity Penetration Tester, Data Science Immersive
Subjects: AJAX, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber Security, Data Science, Git +3 More

Divergence Academy offers both 10-week sessions (Mon-Fri 9AM-6PM) and 20-weekend sessions (Sat-Sun, 8AM-6PM) for both Data Science and Cybersecurity Penetration Tester courses. The Data Science Immersive course covers Python, with a unique focus on statistical modeling, the UNIX/LINUX command line, machine learning, web scraping, databases, collaborative coding, working in the cloud, visualization tools, distributed algorithm frameworks such as Hadoop, and system architectures. Ideal applicants will have a background in a quantitative discipline including statistics, linear...
Locations: Online
Courses: Part-Time, Cybersecurity Boot Camp, Part-Time, Data Analytics Boot Camp, Part-Time, Full Stack Web Development Boot Camp
Subjects: Cryptography, CSS, Data Analytics, Data Science, Ethical Hacking +17 More

Washington University Boot Camps offer 24-week, part-time Data Analytics, Cybersecurity and Coding programs. The data curriculum includes programming in Excel, Python, R programming, JavaScript charting, HTML/CSS, API interactions, SQL, Tableau, fundamental statistics, machine learning and more. Enjoy close collaboration with other professionals while receiving hands-on experience. The cybersecurity curriculum offers hands-on training in networking, systems, web technologies, databases and defensive and offensive cybersecurity. The full stack curriculum includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Express.js, Node.js,...
Locations: Online, Dallas
Courses: Part-Time, Full Stack Web Development Boot Camp, Full-Time, Full Stack Web Development Boot Camp, Part-Time, Cybersecurity Boot Camp, +3 More
Subjects: Agile, Algorithms, Blockchain, Command Line, Cryptography +34 More

Southern Methodist University (SMU) boot camps offer 12-week, full-time and 24-week, part-time web development courses, 24-week, part-time data science, financial technology (FinTech) and cybersecurity courses and an 18-week, part-time product management course. The full stack curriculum includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Express.js, Node.js, databases, MongoDB, MySQL and Git. The data curriculum includes programming in Excel, Python, R programming, JavaScript charting, HTML/CSS, API interactions, SQL, Tableau, fundamental statistics, machine learning and more. Enjoy close collaboration...
Locations: Online
Courses: Part-Time, Cybersecurity Boot Camp, Part-Time, Data Analytics Boot Camp, Part-Time, Digital Marketing Boot Camp, +5 More
Subjects: Agile, Algorithms, API, Blockchain, Bootstrap +37 More

GW Boot Camps offer 12-week, full-time or 24-week, part-time web development courses, 24-week, part-time data analytics, cybersecurity, UX/UI, and financial technology (FinTech) courses, and 18-week, part-time digital marketing, and product management. The full stack curriculum includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Bootstrap, Express.js, Node.js, databases, MongoDB, MySQL, and Git. The data curriculum includes programming in Excel, Python, R programming, JavaScript charting, HTML/CSS, API interactions, SQL, Tableau, fundamental statistics, machine learning, and more. Enjoy close collaboration with...

Best Bootcamps received an average 4.57 of 5 based on 355 reviews.

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