Training

I am working more on the GSEC training that I have for my study plan. Working with the GSEC training will allow me to take the GSEC around February or March in 2026. I have found that the training is somewhat easier than I expected, it just encompasses a lot of information.

There are some things that I want to accomplish with my skill set for the rest of the year while I am also focusing on the GSEC studies. I will be working with Beacon, studying Ruby, Python and maybe some Lua. Beacon is the learning platform from Palo Alto, and I will be studying for eventual certifications like the Cybersecurity Apprentice and Cybersecurity Practitioner.

In addition to Beacon and the programming I am interested in still working on the Server+ and CCNP ENCOR training materials. This will help me out as I am gearing up for the ENCOR exam next year as well. I am looking forward to establishing these skills going forward in my career. I’ve completed the AZ-900 and SC-900 this year and will continue my studies with the AZ-104 Azure Administrator Associate exam.

Ruby Update

I have been working on my Ruby training with the Udemy course Learn to Code with Ruby. Also, I have some more books to read on Ruby including the Black Hat Ruby Book and the Comprehensive Ruby Programming book. I am looking into doing more Metasploit scripting which relies on Ruby. For the Udemy course I am around 93% complete and can code somewhat in Ruby now.

Computer Networking

I have been doing some of the reading materials that I have for the CCNP ENCOR exam and have some grasp still on the material. This is from my experience with the Cisco Networking Academy when I was going for my associate and bachelor’s degrees at Westwood College. There are some things that are new and some things that have changed since 2009, which is when I graduated.

Conclusion

For my training I will be doing more Ruby and Python, maybe a little Lua which is helpful with Snort scripting. I am not renewing the CBT Nuggets Adept subscription due to not having enough of a budget for it. The current subscription that I have expires in November and I will be including Beacon more along with doing more CTF’s in the meantime.

The Python training that I am doing is more for Network Automation with Cisco products. I am working on some Terraform and might do some Ansible and Chef training as well. One benefit of Chef is that it uses Ruby as well, so it is more in my wheelhouse. I am planning on doing the CCNP ENCOR in July or August 2026.