Khalid Ibrahim

Khalid Ibrahim graduated recently from Per Scholas Denver’s Cybersecurity Security Fundamentals course with a CompTIA A+ certification, and has successfully launched his career in cybersecurity!

Khalid, who is originally from Eritrea, had always been passionate about technology. Since he was a child, he says, he enjoyed every moment that he spent using computers and, as he grew older, he decided to try a career in IT.

Before attending Per Scholas, Khalid was in his second year of community college, pursuing an associate’s degree in cybersecurity. He realized that many hiring IT companies were looking for candidates with hands-on training. Although his college was covering the basics, there was very little hands-on learning to prepare him for a real work environment. Completing his degree was also taking years.

With this in mind, Khalid decided to expedite the process of gaining his cybersecurity training and credentials, and enroll in a bootcamp. He attended a career coaching event held at his school, and it was there that he was introduced to the cybersecurity courses being offered by ActivateWork, powered by Per Scholas. The Security Fundamentals program seemed perfect for him, and so he immediately applied. “It was the right moment, everything clicked right away, and now, here I am!” Khalid recalled.

Khalid enjoyed his time at Per Scholas, particularly the ways in which it allowed him to learn new things every day and deep dive into specific cybersecurity topics that he was interested in. He thought that Per Scholas had a great learning environment with excellent instructors, and he loved being a part of his team of classmates. “The instructors were so great and so helpful guiding us,” Khalid reflected. “We had a great team of classmates, sharing ideas and projects and helping each other out — it was definitely a team success!”

Khalid was also impressed by how much information was covered during the bootcamp. “The class was very eye-opening and I learned so much stuff,” he said. “I used to think I knew a lot about computers, but after doing the bootcamp at Per Scholas, I realized there is so much I learned and so much still to learn…In this bootcamp, you try everything out. You get to experience and touch a little of everything. And you know how to work hard, so you are ready for a job when you graduate!”

After Khalid graduated he interviewed for several positions and landed his current role within just a few weeks. He now works as a Systems Technician at Atom Creek. His goals are to continue taking classes and earning more certifications, and eventually to work in a cybersecurity operations center.

“I’m so grateful to be part of this program,” Khalid said. “Through being enrolled in this program, I can see how my life has changed, as well as my career. It was a very short cut to what I’m doing right now, rather than waiting four years to get a degree and then a job. Having this bootcamp for 3 months and then landing a job has paid off so well!”