DIVISION 03 // WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT · CYBERSECURE CAREERS™

Twelve weeks, evenings.
A credential, and a job worth having.

CyberSecure Careers™ is IgCE's free cybersecurity training program for adults 18 and up in Chicago. Career changers welcome. No experience needed. Classes run on weeknights and Saturday afternoons in North Lawndale, and they end with an industry certification exam we pay for.

I'M LOOKING FOR WORK I'M HIRING
12WEEKS TUE + THU6–9 PM SAT1–4 PM $0TO YOU BBF1512 S. PULASKI RD COMPUTERPROVIDED ISACA EXAMPAID COHORT 1ENROLLING
THE CYBER SALARY SHOCK MOMENT™

Here's what these jobs actually pay.

Not a promise. Public numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the roles this program prepares you for. Move the slider to your wage today and see the gap.

$17.00about $35,360 a year, full time
Computer User Support Specialist
$61,860
$29.74 / HOUR · MEDIAN
That's +$26,500 a year over what you make now.
Computer Network Support Specialist
$76,220
$36.64 / HOUR · MEDIAN
That's +$40,860 a year over what you make now.
Information Security Analyst
$129,180
$62.11 / HOUR · MEDIAN
That's +$93,820 a year over what you make now.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, national median annual wages, May 2025. Entry roles start below the median and grow with experience and certifications. Support Specialist is the typical first job out of this program; Security Analyst is where the pathway leads.

HOW IT WORKS

Four stages. One destination.

STAGE_01

Train

Hands-on cybersecurity, networking, and Linux on real equipment. The skills employers screen for, not a slideshow about them.

STAGE_02

Certify

Prepare for and sit an ISACA credential exam. The voucher is covered, and so is one retake.

STAGE_03

Polish

Resume, LinkedIn, portfolio, and mock interviews with people who actually hire in this industry.

STAGE_04

Deploy

Demo Day in front of employers, then 90 days of placement support after you graduate.

WEEKS 1–2

Foundations and your portfolio

How the internet and threats actually work. You ship a live portfolio site on day one and add to it every week.

WEEKS 3–4

Networking and Linux

Cabling, switches, the command line. You build and break a real network in the lab.

WEEKS 5–6

Defending systems

Firewalls, monitoring, and spotting an attacker on the wire before they get in.

WEEKS 7–8

Threats, people, and evidence

Social engineering, phishing, and the basics of digital forensics.

WEEKS 9–10

Credential prep

Exam domains, practice tests, and your exam date on the calendar.

WEEKS 11–12

Career Ops and Demo Day

Interviews, salary talk, and a capstone you present to employers in the room.

WHY WE EXIST

This city spent decades building a pipeline in one direction. We built one that runs the other way: from a classroom on Pulaski Road to a certification, an interview, and a paycheck.

We don't ask where you've been. We ask what you're ready to build. IgCE is a Chicago 501(c)(3), and the people teaching this program work in the industry you're trying to enter.

WHAT'S COVERED

Everything you need to finish.

  • A computer for every session, in a 20-seat classroom at BBF
  • ISACA certification exam voucher, plus one retake
  • Lab platform access during the program and for 30 days after
  • A CTA 7-day pass each week of the program
  • A meal on class nights
  • 90 days of placement support after graduation
  • Childcare is not provided. We can point you to resources.
  • There is no stipend. That's why the program runs evenings, so you can keep working.
WHO CAN APPLY

If this is you, apply.

  • 18 or older
  • High school diploma or GED, or currently enrolled in a GED program
  • Chicago and Cook County residents get priority; Illinois residents are eligible
  • Legally authorized to work in the United States
  • Comfortable sending an email and using a web browser
  • Able to commit to Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons for 12 weeks

Career changers, first-career adults, people coming back to work. No tech background required.

PROOF

The first graduate is already working.

Eduardo CE

EDUARDO_C

Came through IgCE, earned his credential, and is working in cybersecurity today. He's the first name on this page. The list gets longer from here.

HIRED IN CYBER TRAINED AT FEDEX MEDIA CENTER TOURED AT&T

When Cohort 1 finishes, its results go here: how many enrolled, completed, certified, and were placed within 90 days, including the ones who weren't. That's how we'll earn the next number, and it's how you'll know the numbers are real.

FOR EMPLOYERS

Founding employer partners.

Hiring entry-level cyber and IT talent is hard, and hiring people who were trained on real equipment by working practitioners is rare. Cohort 1 needs a handful of Chicago employers willing to do one small thing. Paragon Cyber, a Chicago security firm founded by IgCE's director, takes an apprentice from every cohort. Join them. Organizations that hire IgCE for technology services also help fund this program through work they already needed done.

ASK_01

Come to Demo Day

Ninety minutes, week 12. Watch sixteen people present what they built. Leave with names.

ASK_02

Run one mock interview

Thirty minutes over video. Your questions, our candidate, honest feedback.

ASK_03

Guarantee one interview

For any graduate who passes the certification exam. Not a hire. An interview.

ASK_04

Sponsor a seat

$2,000 puts one Chicagoan through the full program, exam included, with your name on it.

PARTNER WITH US

QUESTIONS

Straight answers.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. The program, the computer you use in class, the lab platform, the exam voucher, a retake, weekly transit, and a meal on class nights are all covered.

I've never done anything technical. Is that a problem?

No. The program starts from zero. If you can send an email and use a web browser, you can start. What matters is showing up for 12 weeks.

What are the hours?

Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 9 pm, and Saturday from 1 to 4 pm, for 12 weeks. That's 9 hours a week. It runs evenings on purpose so you can keep your job while you train.

Where is it?

At BBF, 1512 South Pulaski Road, in North Lawndale. A 20-seat classroom with a computer at every seat.

Which certification?

An entry-level ISACA credential. IgCE is an ISACA partner. The specific exam is set for each cohort, and the voucher and one retake are paid for. Graduates who want to go further get help planning the next certification.

What if I miss a session?

Life happens. Miss one, catch up with a recording and the instructor. Miss several and we'll talk honestly about whether this cohort or the next one is the right fit. Completion is what gets people hired, so we protect it.

Do you guarantee a job?

No, and be careful with any program that does. What we guarantee is a credential exam, a portfolio, interview practice, a Demo Day with employers in the room, and 90 days of placement support after you graduate. We'll publish every cohort's real results on this page.

APPLY

Three minutes. Then we call you.

Fill this out and someone from IgCE will call within a few days to talk through the program and answer your questions. No commitment until you say so.

Your information stays with IgCE and is used only to contact you about the program.