B.Sc.-Equivalent — Self-Paced — Est. Jul 15, 2026

The curriculum.

Network Engineering → Cybersecurity Engineering. Real MIT, Stanford, and Harvard coursework, audited free, sequenced against a working curriculum instead of a cert-cram list.

01 / Cost Model
Every course below is free in audit mode — lectures, problem sets, and labs, no paywall on the content itself. The only spend in this entire plan is two CompTIA exam vouchers.
ItemCostWhy it's mandatory
CompTIA Network+ voucher~$369Industry-recognized, appears in job screens
CompTIA Security+ voucher~$404Appears in ~70% of entry-level cybersec postings

Total mandatory spend across ~24 months: ~$773 USD. Everything else — CS50, MIT 6.858, Crypto I, TryHackMe, Wazuh — audited free.

02 / Deployment Destinations
01

Civilian Remote Cybersec

SOC analyst → cloud security engineer. Primary lean — remote-first, fastest to migration.

02

Maritime IT Officer

Cruise line IT/ETO track. Backup — needs CCNA add-on, ~2–5yr enterprise gate first.

03

NICTC Cyber Warfare

Naval ICT Center special enlistment. Based in Sangley Point, Cavite City — local, government-stable.

03 / Year One — Foundations
CS50 — Intro to Computer Science
~1.5 hr/night
Source: Harvard CS50x (edX, audit free)
Fixes the rusty-Python gap directly — algorithms, memory, abstraction at real depth. Problem sets solo, no AI assist.
GateComplete pset8 + final project, pushed to GitHub
CS50P — Programming with Python
~1 hr/night
Source: Harvard CS50P (edX, audit free)
Direct fix for the self-identified Python gap. All 9 problem sets solo.
GateAll psets passing, pushed to GitHub
Computer Networks (CS144 equivalent)
~1 hr/night
Source: Stanford CS144 lecture archive + Georgia Tech CS 6250 (backup)
Real theory behind Network+ — TCP/IP, DNS, subnetting — instead of cert-cram memorization.
GateDiagram TCP handshake, DNS resolution, subnetting math from memory
CompTIA Network+ (paid)
~1 hr/night
Source: Professor Messer (free full course)
Home lab: pfSense router VM, VLANs, DHCP/DNS on your own rig.
GatePass Network+ exam ($369 voucher)
04 / Year Two — Core Security
Cryptography I
~1 hr/night
Source: Stanford / Coursera, Dan Boneh (audit free)
Understand why crypto works, not cert trivia. Implement cipher-breaking exercises in Python.
GateComplete all problem sets
Computer Systems Security (MIT 6.858)
~1.25 hr/night
Source: MIT OpenCourseWare (fully free, no certificate exists to buy)
OS security, web security, network attacks — MIT's actual security course, with real lab assignments.
GateComplete labs 2 and 3, documented on GitHub
CompTIA Security+ (paid)
~1 hr/night
Source: Professor Messer / Jason Dion
The credential most entry-level postings screen for by name.
GatePass Security+ SY0-701 ($404 voucher)
Web Security (CS253 equivalent)
~1 hr/night
Source: Stanford CS253 lecture archive + OWASP Top 10 (official docs)
Directly protects your own Cappyworks client deploys while building offensive skill.
GateClear OverTheWire Natas levels 0–15
05 / Year Three — Applied Specialization
Applied Offensive Security
~1.25 hr/night
Source: TryHackMe "Jr Penetration Tester" + HackTheBox Academy (free tiers)
3–5 boxes/week, documented writeups on GitHub — this becomes your real portfolio.
Gate25+ machines rooted, published writeups
Applied Defensive Security
~1 hr/night
Source: Wazuh (open-source) or Security Onion (free training)
Deploy a SIEM in your home lab, hunt anomalies in your own lab traffic.
GateFunctioning SIEM detecting simulated attacks
Specialization Cert (paid, only when job-targeted)
~1.25 hr/night
Choose one: CySA+ (blue team) / eJPT / CPTS (best value) / CEH v13 (HR-recognized)
Don't buy this until a job posting specifically names it.
GatePass chosen specialization exam
Cloud Security Foundations
~1 hr/night
Source: AWS Skill Builder or Microsoft Learn AZ-500 (free tiers)
Highest-demand specialization right now. Harden your own Cappyworks infra using the same principles.
GateComplete free learning path; sit paid exam only once employed in a cloud role
06 / Year Four — Capstone
Cappyworks Security Audit & Hardening Report
~1.5–2 hr/night
Applied to your own infrastructure — ProPHBot, Gym Depot
Full pentest, written vulnerability report, remediation, SIEM deployed to production. Your thesis-equivalent and a sellable Cappyworks service line at once.
GateReport delivered, remediations shipped, SIEM live on prod
07 / Do Not Do
ONE-LINE DIRECTIVE — Finish CS50P, start CS50 in parallel, audit mode only. Everything else is sequenced and paid for exactly twice.