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Your Personal Cybersecurity Career Plan

The capstone project for Cybersecurity Career Pathway — a free Data & Tech course. Pass it and you earn a certificate anyone can verify.

Start the course free Download the project workbook

The project unlocks once you complete the lessons. The workbook is free to download now so you can see exactly what is expected.

What you will submit

A single shared document link containing: your chosen target role with justification and target employers, a month-by-month 6-month skills + certification roadmap with a budget, a concrete home-lab first project and first writeup plan, a tailored CV summary and LinkedIn 'About' summary, and a short ethics-and-law statement.

What to do, step by step

  1. Choose ONE target first role using Lesson 1, and write 3-4 sentences explaining your choice (for example 'Entry-level SOC Analyst' or 'GRC/Compliance Analyst'). State honestly why it suits you — your strengths, background, and whether you are aiming local, global remote, or both — and name 2-3 realistic types of Nigerian or remote employer you would target (e.g. a Lagos fintech SOC, a bank graduate scheme, or a remote European SOC).
  2. Build a month-by-month 6-month skills + certification roadmap as a table or clear list. For each month state what foundation you will strengthen (networking, Linux, OS, or security concepts from Lesson 2), which free training you will do (e.g. specific TryHackMe paths, a Google/Cisco/Microsoft course from Lesson 4), and your certification milestones in the right order (ISC2 CC then CompTIA Security+, with a chosen specialisation noted for later) including a rough naira budget for any exam voucher.
  3. Describe your home-lab first project concretely (Lesson 4): the tools you will use (e.g. VirtualBox + Kali + a vulnerable target VM, or browser-based TryHackMe if your laptop is low on RAM), exactly what you will build or complete first, how you will work around your hardware and NEPA constraints, and what you will document as your very first portfolio writeup.
  4. Write a tailored CV summary (4-6 lines) and a LinkedIn 'About' summary (4-6 lines) for your target role, applying Lesson 7. Both must name the target role, the skills and tools you are building, your certification plan, and a reference to your home lab/portfolio — written in clear, confident, honest language (no bluffing about skills you don't have).
  5. Add a short ethics-and-law statement (3-5 lines) in your own words committing to authorised-only testing, responsible disclosure, and compliance with Nigeria's Cybercrimes Act and the NDPA — showing an employer you understand the legal boundary that protects your career.
  6. Combine everything into one clean, well-organised document (Google Doc, Word, or Notion), set sharing to 'anyone with the link can view', and submit the link.

Files to work with

Project workbook (fill in, then submit)The whole brief, an evidence checklist, the grading rubric as a self-check and the link-sharing steps in one file. Opens in Word, Google Docs or WPS.Word · 7 KB

How it is graded

CriterionWeight
A clear, well-justified target first role (realistically beginner-appropriate per Lesson 1) with sensible target employers and local/remote positioning20%
A realistic, sequenced 6-month skills + certification roadmap that pairs foundations and specific free training with the correct cert order (ISC2 CC then Security+) and a sensible naira budget30%
A concrete, achievable home-lab first project that names real tools, works around Nigerian hardware/NEPA constraints, and specifies a first portfolio writeup20%
A tailored CV summary and LinkedIn 'About' summary that name the role, real skills/tools, certs, and portfolio — clear, confident, and honest20%
A genuine ethics-and-law statement covering authorised-only testing, responsible disclosure, and the Cybercrimes Act/NDPA10%

You need 65% overall to pass. A failed submission comes back with feedback and can be revised and resubmitted.

Before you submit: make your link public

If your work lives in Google Drive or Google Docs, open Share → General access and change “Restricted” to “Anyone with the link” (Viewer). Then paste the link into a private browser window: if it opens without sign-in, you are ready. A private link cannot be graded — it is the single most common reason a good project fails.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to finish Cybersecurity Career Pathway before submitting the project?

Yes. The submission screen opens once every lesson in Cybersecurity Career Pathway is marked complete. The lessons are where the methods, the Nigerian context and the worked examples the project depends on are taught.

How is the project graded?

An examiner scores each rubric criterion from 0 to 100 and weights them as shown on this page; you need 65% overall to pass. Most submissions are graded within minutes and you get written feedback on what was strong and what to improve.

Can I resubmit if I fail?

Yes. A failed project comes back with feedback; revise the weak parts and resubmit. A passed project is final — the certificate is issued and cannot be re-rolled.

What do I actually submit?

A write-up of what you did (under 5,000 characters) plus a public link to your work — a Google Drive folder, Google Doc, spreadsheet, GitHub repository or video. The link must open without sign-in; a private link cannot be graded. The free project workbook on this page walks you through all 6 steps.

Is the certificate real?

Yes. Passing this project issues a certificate with a unique verification code. Anyone — an employer, a client, a school — can open the verification page and see that the certificate is genuine and which project earned it.

More Data & Tech projects

Ready to earn this certificate?

Cybersecurity Career Pathway is free and self-paced. Finish the lessons, complete this project, and the certificate is yours to share.

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