I started out 2026 wanting to learn Cybersecurity. I felt stuck, I had health problems stopping me from iOS development and I have a need to do good in this messed up world. So naturally with my background Cybersecurity felt like a good fit.
I decided to use AI to help me map a course to an engineering role, first up Google’s Cybersecurity Course. A 8 Course program which took me just under 5 months (not full time learning and over 120 hours).
Why Start Here?
It is a natural, easy to access starting point. Google is obviously a big name and indeed the course is by far one of the most comprehensive courses out for the broad range of cybersecurity. Was I intimidated, not really. Th instructors were all very good and the structure of starting with the very foundations really got me excited at first. I truly was looking forward to the entire course in the first month.
What I Expected vs What Actually Happened
I knew Cybersecurity wouldn’t be easy, but was I prepared for the level of brain pounding knowledge I was about to ingest…not really. You see this course is so in-depth and covers the entire range of Cybersecurity before we go off to specialise in a particular area. But Cybersecurity is a big world, so that means the amount to learn in a full overview course is to put it mildly, overwhelming!
However what did surprise me was how each part integrated with each other. Whilst keywords are easy to forget, the security principles all converge for each area of cybersecurity. Not to mention the instructors all being very supportive knowing what hell they are putting our brains through.
I was expecting it to be hard, but not quite as hard. I think for me the hardest part was coming from a technical, programming world. The course is very designed for the people not coming from this world. That in itself, I really struggled with. The dumbing down of especially programming parts and the reality of having really very little programming within the course.
The Courses That Challenged Me the Most
In all honesty, networking was the first to break me a little. I just found it somewhat boring. It definitely was to the area I wanted to specialise in. However, it was one that I seemed to remember most and get very good grades on. I have to admit, the Python course also bored me to tears. I was so excited to finally get to where I wanted to be and touch upon the areas I am hoping to specialise in. Sadly it was the very very basics of programming as a whole, which I am sadly far to past this stage for it not to frustrate the hell out of me and feel like a waste of time. This course actually made me want to quit. It was nothing like the programming I was hoping for.
But I didn’t quit. I pushed through. I got perfect grades and I was so close to the finish line. I kept my goal in mind and the knowledge that I can at least say I did it!
The Skills I’m Proud of Learning
I am super proud to have learned more SQL more general cybersecurity but out of everything. I am actually thrilled to have the knowledge to keep myself super locked down, super safe and my data away from companies. It has taught me the importance of using email masking, the knowledge of knowing exactly what happens when I press send on that email. The way I think about the data I output on any digital device has changed. Has it made me more weary about social media, definitely!
How It Felt to Finally Finish
I was honestly kind of surprised when I finished. The last certification of the course was not what I expected. I did the whole course in a morning and was not expecting to finish. Was it a relief, in all honesty yes! I have sadly felt a lot of negativity since coming into the world of cybersecurity. Sadly social media doesn’t help as obviously dramatising breaches and creating a negative impression does make an impact and I have found that. The firefighting area of cybersecurity is not where I aim to specialise but sadly most social media accounts are from the fight zone which is just too stressful and negative for me.
So it really is nice to breathe and take a step back for a week. I am soooooo proud of myself for sticking with it and the knowledge I have gained is beyond anything I could imagine. Would I change my experience? Probably not, I have grown in ways I didn’t expect and is hard to describe other than a calm confidence in a crazy digital world.
What I’d Tell Anyone Thinking About Taking It
Go for it! It truly is a wealth of knowledge to gain. My only advice is to not get bogged down into the world of cybersecurity. It’s really easy especially in a world of AI to feel so overwhelmed, super quick. Remember that this course is not a specialisation and you will learn things boring and not interesting to you at all. But that quiet knowledge will be super useful oneway so keep going!
What’s Next for Me
I am back in the world of iOS development and it truly is my happy comfy space. That doesn’t mean I am done with Cybersecurity though. My next goal is to start learning Cloud & Azure Security and touch upon the more programming parts of cybersecurity. I’ll probably take a week or two off before I dive into that though. Until then, I am working on a wonderful new update for My Woolly Pal which should be out at the end of the month. I am. super excited to send this update to Apple. The Watch App version of My Woolly Pal has always been a sore spot for me…not anymore!
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