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Professional Education & Workforce Development
It’s all about progression
Professional Education & Workforce Development (PEWD) offers learning opportunities for professional growth and career advancement. We believe that where growth ends, decline begins — so we offer programs and services with the continued progression of our community top-of-mind.
Park University leverages internal and external expertise to provide meaningful and innovative courses and programs. Whether you’re in need of professional education credits, workforce skills training, or supplemental education to keep your professional degree current, the PEWD program has a solution tailor-made for you.
Our offerings may be taken as stand-alone courses for continuing education credits, or in some cases may be applied toward the completion of a certificate or degree program at Park University.
Invest in yourself
Businesses face a variety of obstacles every day, but by being a growth minded employee, you can create a positive impact on your organization. Organizations need employees who think strategically, collaborate effectively and adapt quickly, YOU are that employee. Allow us to help you bring your highest potential to light.
Talk to your employer
Park University’s vision is to meet learners’ needs for a lifetime. Short, skills-based training at your fingertips means a smaller but more impactful and immediate return for your company. Let’s work together with your organization to keep you learning.
PEWD Courses
Career training and skills building for personal and professional advancement — we offer hundreds of high-quality courses and training programs provided online.
Across nearly every industry, cybersecurity skills are in demand to ensure the secure handling of data online and protect it from attacks, amongst other essential duties.
This online Cybersecurity Bootcamp is designed to empower the next generation of cybersecurity professionals to tackle advanced and critical threats. No previous experience is needed—just your dedication and eagerness to learn. By the end of your Bootcamp, you will gain the fundamental skills and knowledge needed to succeed in IT security and earn today’s most sought-after certifications.
“This Bootcamp removed any doubts I had about my career choice as I was able to solidify that cybersecurity is what I wanted to do for a living. I am grateful to my teachers and the experience the course gave me.” – Samuel Webb.
This self-contained course will cover various security concepts, attacks, and countermeasures with a series of hands-on experiments. The topics included in the experiments include Linux basics, cryptography, operating system security, web basics, and web security.
After completing the experiments, the student should be able to understand what the cybersecurity specialist is dealing with and become an expert in several topics, including Linux operating system, cryptography, web security, etc.
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
Understand Linux basics, including file system organization, access control mechanism, process management, and text file editors.
Use basic commands to operate Linux.
Understand and use basic cryptographies, including symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and cryptographic hash.
Understand the attack principle and the countermeasures of privilege escalation.
Understand HTTP basics and implement HTTP request tampering attack.
Understand the attack principle and countermeasure of several common web attacks, including XSS and SQL injection.
Lab 1: Linux basics (2 hours). This lab cover basic Linux commands related to file system, access control, process management, and text file editing. In this lab, you will practice commands to copy, delete, and move files and folders. You will also practice the commands to change file permission and editing text files.
Lab 2: Cryptography (2 hours). This lab covers symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, cryptographic hash. In this lab, you will practice different encryption algorithms with OpenSSL. You will need to use different hash algorithms and test the performance of AES-256.
Lab 3: Privilege escalation (2 hours). This lab covers privilege escalation attack and countermeasures. Privilege escalation is the action of infiltrating a system and granting yourself access privileges higher than what you have with the account/user you gained access to, in order to tamper with the system or files in some way, or to steal or modify stored information. In this lab, you will gain an understanding of how to perform privilege escalation with Apache and a reverse shell.
Lab 4: HTTP basics (2 hours). This lab will help you to get familiar with HTTP protocol. You will also become familiar with an HTTP Proxy, called ZAP, and looking at how HTTP works behind the scenes.
Lab 5: Web security basics (2 hours). This lab covers common web attacks and their countermeasures, including cross-site scripting and SQL injection. In this lab, you will practice how to implement those attacks.
Online CompTIA A+ Training Course
Prepare for the CompTIA A+ Certification Exam
Ready to pursue a lucrative career in the IT industry? According to the 2022 Dice Tech Salary Report, the average tech salary has increased by 6.9% from 2021 to 2022, with average tech salaries now breaking the six-figure mark for the first time in the 17 years of the report’s existence.
CompTIA’s A+ certification is the top credential for associate-level IT professionals. This 100% online course will successfully prepare you for the CompTIA A+ certification exams (220-1101 & 220-1102). You will learn essential exam topics such as various computer hardware and software aspects, including mobile devices, networking technology, virtualization, cloud computing, security, and operational procedures.
Upon course completion, you will receive an exam voucher for each of the A+ certification exams, which covers the cost to sit for the certifying exams upon eligibility.
Job Outlook for CompTIA A+ Certified IT Professionals
According to the Certification Magazine 2023 Salary Survey, the average CompTIA A+ salary is $108,170 in the U.S. and $99,980 worldwide. Pay depends on several factors, including years of experience, the city where you are employed, and more.
To have a better understanding of the average salary for specific job titles, Glassdoor reported in November 2023 the following figures: IT support specialist ($56,564), network engineer ($100,385), IT specialist ($77,439), network administrator ($85,628), and field service technician ($55,214).
CompTIA A+ FAQs
What is the CompTIA A+ Certification? The CompTIA A+ certification is designed for individuals interested in pursuing a career in information technology (IT). It is an entry-level qualification that is highly recognized in the industry. The certification requires performance testing to validate that professionals possess the necessary skills to solve critical IT support tasks efficiently.
Why should I get CompTIA A+ Certified? Acquiring the A+ certification demonstrates you possess the essential technical and soft skills required for a field service technician, making it an excellent starting point for individuals who wish to pursue entry-level to intermediate IT positions. Employers worldwide need these trained professionals for endpoint management and technical support roles.
What kinds of jobs can I get with a CompTIA A+ Certification? Earning your CompTIA A+ certification opens several job opportunities for you, although it cannot guarantee a specific position. With an A+ certification, you become eligible for several roles, such as an IT support specialist, a help desk technician, a desktop support analyst, a field service technician, and many others.
Course Objectives
Master fundamental concepts of multiple operating systems to maintain and support them effectively.
Develop troubleshooting skills for software, hardware, and connectivity issues.
Acquire knowledge of network fundamentals, protocols, and troubleshooting techniques.
Gain in-depth experience in assembling and disassembling computer parts to expand your IT expertise.
Prerequisites and Certification Requirements
There are no prerequisites to enroll in this CompTIA A+ course. However, you should have a basic knowledge of computer hardware and operating systems. For example, how to power up and log on to a machine, use a mouse and keyboard, and basic Microsoft Windows navigation skills.
This course is for you if you are interested in pursuing a career in information technology, specifically related to PC technology— and will prepare you to obtain a CompTIA A+ Certification designation.
CompTIA recommends all A+ exam applicants have up to 12 months of hands-on experience in the lab or field before taking the certification exam.
Instructors
Linda Matthews has years of experience both in the classroom teaching technical material and in the field solving a myriad of technical issues.
Linda possesses the background to engage deeply with cybersecurity through teaching and intellectual focus. For the past eight years, she has lived with this vast and fascinating body of knowledge. Now, she regularly trains individuals in several of the most popular security courses from CompTIA and Microsoft. CompTIA’s Security+ is the foundational course students need to begin an incredible journey into cybersecurity.
Sara Perrott has been working in the information technology field for 20+ years and has devoted the last 10 of those to focusing on cybersecurity. She is a published author and a former college professor, and she is passionate about teaching the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Sara has a Master of Science in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from Western Governors University Washington and a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Security from the University of Phoenix.
Paula Woodall began her technical career as a network and computer consultant 30 years ago. She first taught at a local university before taking the CompTIA and Microsoft exams to teach certified courses. Paula has been fortunate to teach these classes worldwide for companies such as HP and Microsoft. Paula enjoys teaching classes regarding computers and networking and talking to students about how their companies put these technologies to work for them.
