My review of the SecurityBlueTeam BTL1

Pros:

• Decent alternative to other far more expensive options that cover similar ground.

• You get two attempts to pass the final exam.

• Discord & SBT Forums are active with people willing to lend a helping hand.

Cons:

• Price:

at the time of writing this course & certification costs $530 USD

• Bugs

copy/paste doesn't work sometimes

correct answer is sometimes marked wrong

VM labs not functioning properly (no cmd history in terminal)

very long load times

annoying typos & formatting is confusing

• Not recognized as much by HR

Personal Take:

I truly am grateful for this experience, however I can't recommend it as an junior level aspiration. It's advertised as a junior level cert, but I strongly disagree with this. I don't think this is the place for a newbie to come into cybersecurity. I personally feel this is a strong cybersecurity analyst cert to have for those that have at least 2-3 years of experience. It's the perfect companion cert to go with the CompTIA CySA+ cert. Where CompTIA lacks in practical applications, the BTL1 compensates for.

The exam itself left a bitter taste in my mouth after I passed it on the 1st try after 19 hours of consistent focused work. I feel that it's trying to masquerade itself to be on par with the likes of GIAC/OSCP and it just isn't. You get what you pay for.

There is zero hand holding on this exam & you could feel very confused as to where to even start because so little information is given to you. I can imagine seeing a first year cyber security student trying to do this and being completely frustrated & lost.

To new students, I would strongly recommend obtaining the Security+ & CySA+ before considering this course. Do alot of labs in tryhackme & hack the box as supplemental activities while studying for aforementioned certs.

Hope this information has been helpful.

Thank you & keep up the good fight cyber warriors!