How Ryan Launched a Network Engineering Career with RapidAscent

After serving as an active-duty Army Apache mechanic and managing IT systems in the military, Ryan Oaks was ready for his next mission: breaking into cybersecurity. He enrolled in RapidAscent’s New Career Entry program, earned his CompTIA Security+ certification, and within months, he transitioned directly into his role as a Tier Two Network Engineer managing DoD networks. Ryan shares how RapidAscent’s hands-on cyber range and live-fire simulations helped him connect theory to real-world practice, and how the program’s career support guided his transition from the military into IT.

What were you working on before RapidAscent, Ryan?

I was an active-duty Army Apache mechanic. In that role, I also managed a small server, a network, and a handful of workstations, which is where my initial interest and background in IT administration began.

You came into RapidAscent with both military experience and time as an IT administrator. How does that background translate into a cybersecurity career?

That background is a really good base. Even if it's not military experience, any prior IT experience lays the foundation for learning more advanced concepts. The day-to-day work of a sysadmin or network admin is invaluable in the cybersecurity world.

What made the RapidAscent program stand out compared to other training options you considered?

A RapidAscent representative visited a career transition program for military members, and I was also looking at several other courses at the time. I did some research, and RapidAscent seemed to have the best reviews, which is what initially drew me in. I was also able to use my VA benefits to pay for RapidAscent. It was an absolutely wonderful program.

What was your goal when you started the program? Was it to get a job in cybersecurity, network engineering, or something else?

The goal was to get into cybersecurity. However, the farther you go into it, the more you realize that the job market is very segmented. There are many different roles, such as cybersecurity, network security, or cloud security. When I enrolled, I originally thought I would pursue cybersecurity, which is why I took the course. But as I progressed through the course, I found myself becoming more interested in network security because I got to work hands-on to make things work on a network. Network security felt more rewarding to me than cybersecurity itself. The course set me up for both, so I don't regret it.

Can you describe the day-to-day experience of the New Career Entry program? 

The daily schedule varies, but my main instructor was Sean Callanan, an incredibly great man and an excellent teacher – I've definitely learned from some of the best. I also had Chris, who led many of our hands-on labs during the day and later on. And Sunny helped us with career searches.

I think the course itself is designed to be an apprenticeship. And I think it's more valuable than being thrown into an environment labeled as an "apprentice" where no one takes the time to mentor you. I know they're currently updating some course material, and things are evolving. But the instructors provide immense value; we're learning about this content daily. We're doing hands-on labs during the day.

They are showing us what they're learning and how everything connects, teaching us – some of us from the ground up. I had people in my cohort who had no IT experience at all going into it, and by the end, they were fully prepared.  Some were transitioning from the military, others were coming from completely unrelated civilian careers.

One thing that seems different about RapidAscent is that you get to practice on a real cyber range. Could you explain what a cyber range is?

This is key to RapidAscent. I don't see many other programs doing this. A lot of them will send you to a third-party website. Don't get me wrong, we all use TryHackMe, and it's a great website. But RapidAscent did something special and set up its own Cyber Range. A Cyber Range, in this case, was a couple of robust servers that allowed us to run VMs and mock networks, creating a controlled environment.

It involved building up an entire business from the ground up with cybersecurity in mind. We built the networks and the VMs that ran Linux on our servers. We built Windows VMs for our employees and secured them all. A lot of that security uses CIS benchmarking. So I think that's a very unique aspect of RapidAscent, and it was absolutely fantastic for hands-on experience. We weren’t just clicking through prebuilt labs — we were building and troubleshooting our own enterprise environment.

How did RapidAscent's live-fire simulations change your perspective on cybersecurity compared to purely theoretical learning?

Cybersecurity is a highly segmented field, and we often learn about its components individually because each has so much depth. We learn the rules and the network from top to bottom, but we don't always consider how an endpoint might use it in unpredictable ways. We learn the given set of rules, but we rarely think about the non-intuitive behavior happening behind the scenes. With these cyber ranges, not only did we build the environment from the ground up, but we also had to open ports for server or channel backtalk that I wouldn't have even considered. We knew a connection was needed, but we didn't fully grasp how deep it needed to be, what else was being used, or how to secure it.

I think the simulations really tied together all those segmented compartments of information into a whole picture. The hands-on aspect was my best way to learn, and that's what truly brought the whole program together.

You also earned your CompTIA Security+ certification – could you explain what the Sec+ certification is?

Security+ is the baseline certification for anything related to security, cybersecurity, or Department of Defense (DOD) IT. It's definitely a must-have, and I can't thank them enough. The course wasn't built just around achieving this, unlike other courses I see. RapidAscent's focus wasn't simply to send you off with a Sec+. You can study for the test and take it, and that's great, but that wasn't their priority. They taught you everything you needed to know and gave you a little guidance, like, "Here's a study guide for the way CompTIA words things." You had enough background knowledge from the course to pass the Sec+ exam. It wasn't just a handout – "study this and take Sec+." This course built the foundational knowledge you needed to pass the Sec+ test even without the study guide. The certification felt like the result of real understanding, not the goal itself.

After completing the program, how did you approach your job search? What role did RapidAscent play in helping you land your current position?

Having some prior experience and knowledge definitely helped. During the job search portion of the course, we had Sunny, our career representative, who tirelessly helped us with our resumes and brought us up to speed on the job market. Since I hadn't been hired in 10 years prior to my army experience, the job market had definitely changed, and she guided us through it.

Sunny also brought in Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) every Friday. We got to speak directly with industry professionals and interact with them – they weren't just pre-recorded speeches. We made real-life connections during those sessions. That definitely helped launch me out at a higher level than when I started; going from an IT administrator to a Tier Two Network Engineer is a huge leap. Sunny and the career program were absolutely invaluable to that. I also want to shout out my instructor, Sean, for giving me the knowledge base to interview successfully without too many issues. He really set us up for success.

Looking back at the job search process, was there a specific project or skill from RapidAscent that came up in interviews or helped you stand out?

Yes, and don't overlook it: the Python we learned in the course was the key selling point for the job I secured, as they specifically wanted Python experience. I had no prior Python experience, and the project with Chris was incredibly valuable for that.

Now you're working as a Network Engineer managing DoD networks. What does a Network Engineer do? How does your current role connect back to the skills you built during your time at RapidAscent?

Well, I think defining "network engineer" is a bit complex, since it depends on the job posting you're looking at. The distinction between "network admin" and "network engineer" definitely gets muddy. But I would say that, for most organizations, the Network Admin handles basic requirements and creates a ticket, usually sent to a higher echelon, to actually make major config changes or physically change something in the network.

The Network Engineer would be the one who receives that ticket, makes the configuration changes or major network changes, or writes higher policy.

For our final question, what advice would you give to veterans or career changers considering RapidAscent today to help them make the most of the program and prepare for a successful transition into cybersecurity?

Yeah, I think the way the program is designed, anyone can walk in and benefit from it. I would not hesitate to do this program again. It's incredibly deep. Take the most detailed notes you can and just go for it. I can't speak highly enough about this program. 

Find out more and read RapidAscent reviews on Course Report. This interview was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with RapidAscent.