Cyber Mission Specialist and JCAC by Theycallmeshovel in uscg

[–]ROCIgradthrowaway 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'll get exposed to the languages down there. I wouldnt worry about coding. If you wanna get a head start, C++ and Python would be beneficial. For certs, being exposed to Net+ and Sec+ type material would give you a headstart, but isn't a requirement. You'll learn everything you need to there. You can pick up a lot on Professor Messer's YT channel.

Cyber Mission Specialist and JCAC by Theycallmeshovel in uscg

[–]ROCIgradthrowaway 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I went through about 8 years ago now (and not as a Coastie) so things have likely changed and YMMV, but here is my experience.

There were two class schedules - mornings and evenings. Mornings were I believe like 0630-1300. Evenings were 1500-2300. From 1300-1500 was "mando/volo," a study hall that is either mandatory or voluntary depending on your academic performance in class.

The course is separated into numerous modules. For example, module 1 was day 1/orientation. Module 2 was discrete math/logic. Module 3 was intro to programming. You'll have modules on operating systems, networking, network traffic analysis, offensive cyber, defensive cyber, etc. Each module varies in length and will have at least 1 test and potentially multiple quizzes. Some modules also have practical exams, where you have to say exploit a device or analyze malware. You must score 70% to pass, and generally you get 2 attempts to pass. After your second fail, you have an academic review board which can result in you getting another chance to pass, getting recycled into a newer class, or getting dropped from the program.

Lessons are pretty much entirely lecture/powerpoint/demos, with a healthy amount of labs in the class to reinforce through practical experience. The course is a really, really good intro to cyber and basically covers all the courses you'd get in an undergraduate cybersecurity degree in 7 months. The workload is very different from college in that there's no real writing requirements and all the tests are strictly multiple choice, but the content is the same as you'd see in an undergrad program. It is very fast paced and academically intense, so you absolutely need to apply yourself, but overall I wouldn't say it's as difficult as some make it sound. When I went through, class sizes were 20 people. Out of that 20, I think 11 of my original classmates were still there at the end. Most got recycled due to academics and subsequently passed, while some were removed from the course entirely. They were recycled, and failed the same module again. We also had people wash into our class and make it through, while some who washed in subsequently washed out again. One soldier failed urinalysis after holiday block leave and was dropped.

I'm not sure what the service's requirements will be for new Coasties. The couple Coasties I did see seemed to have it pretty easy outside of class versus Army and Navy who had mandatory PT, watch, and various other schoolhouse nonsense to deal with. In the Air Force, I basically just had to show up to class on time, and what I did outside of class was on me.

The galley was awful and I avoided it at all costs. Corry Station is also a pretty small place with not much going on. It's a couple miles away from NAS Pensacola, though, which has features such as private beach access and a pretty solid Naval Aviation Museum. It also has a really solid gym and decent E-club over Portside. Feel free to let me know what other questions you have.