CBT Nuggets vs. LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com) vs. Offensive Security Cybersecurity Courses and Certifications

CBT Nuggets is well suited for people who need
to learn in nuggets/small packets, business professionals on the run, and those
who need modular content for a wide range of topics. This is also suitable for
people/employees looking for upskilling, certification exams, or business growth.
It is also suited to large organizations that want to upskill their workforce.
This might not be suited for people looking for supplementary content, or people
attending regular in-class educational/training, sessions as this provides
comprehensive content rather than supplementary content. Also not suited for those who are looking for written materials for training like
books, notes, ppt, etc.

Incentivized

I've learned hundreds of software applications over the last several decades, and trained teams in offices and one-on-one. At one point, books and trade magazines were a great way to get up to speed with an application, but they've become less and less effective for getting started. Video lessons have some strengths; you can get a rapid overview of a program's capabilities and watch an experienced user using its tools efficiently. On rare occasions they'll even point out bugs that could trip you up, but I wish instructors shared more of those issues. However, it takes a very self-motivated learner to sit through training sessions. Most people don't fit that category, and a subscription may end up gathering dust like a pandemic gym membership. My account is sometimes dormant for months, but then I'll be watching lessons continually the following month. I've often wondered if it was worth it for that reason. I have some friends that voraciously devoured class after Lynda.com class, and built successful careers on that training. But many others never use their account. It's helpful to consider whether you're a self-motivated learner. If not, it may not be the best format for you. More complicated software often can't be adequately introduced in a several-hour-long series of videos. I found Final Cut Pro (7) hard to learn online, also Logic Pro. Other somewhat complicated programs like DVD Pro were a snap to learn, and I learned a lot about PHP and Actionscript programming from Lynda.com. Some web and graphics software is exceptionally explained by real experts, such as Lynda's Photoshop classes, which are the best I've seen on that subject. Many of her web production courses will take you every step along the way to creating your own website, even if you haven't coded before. Adobe and Apple have both published similar project-based tutorial classes in book form, and I think they're a bit more polished, but the video instructor can help move you along through all the content more easily. Learning software seems to work better from an online video than a book these days; it's helpful to already be sitting at the computer where you're able to try everything out as it's explained. Most people don't seem to retain software principles unless they're trying them while learning. A bad instructor can make it difficult to sit through a video class. Lynda.com and others generally have a large variety of content creators, so you're not as limited with instructors as you might be at a University, where the same instructor may teach several related applications. Departmental faculty may have much more targeted and creative applications for your software though, while paid corporate software training can be mind-numbingly bad. Continuing ed classes that I've taken usually seemed to just focus on learning the tools in a software product. They often don't or even can't show you how to apply the software for your purposes as full time faculty at a University might. Some Lynda.com instructors weren't great, but most seemed a cut above the continuing ed and corporate software trainers I've learned from or contracted. The majority of the classes seemed to apply the software for an impressive final project. Redundancy is a real drawback among the online lessons. Often the advanced classes repeat many of the concepts from the introductory "Essentials" courses. If you know an earlier version of an application and just want to learn new features, a book may be a faster route to your goal. I originally suggested the "New Features" lessons that Lynda began to offer for updated releases, and I think they're especially helpful. It's much harder to skim through a video than a page of text, so I'd anticipate having to complement your Lynda.com lessons with other instructional materials. Lynda.com didn't have as many of the "fluff" courses that LinkedIn is now offering. These titles read like articles from Cosmo. They might be better served to offer "How to respond to a connection request from a recruiter who works in a field completely unrelated to you."

For cybersecurity practitioners interested in advancing their skillset in deeply technical matters, Offensive Security Cybersecurity Courses and Certifications offers some of the most well respected, up to date, technically challenging and comprehensive training courses out there; however, users must be very disciplined, determined and resourceful in order to make the most of the high quality content on offer since good time management is critical and "Try Harder" isn't just a motto for Offensive Security Cybersecurity Courses and Certifications given the content could frustrate some inexperienced users that may be pressed for time and don't have enough drive to spend learning a good amount of possibly unfamiliar but essential content and concepts

Incentivized

• It's on-demand. You can take zero or 100 courses for the same price and at your own convenience.
• Courses are organized extremely well and instructors are great.
• You can cover a wide range of training topics - Microsoft, Networking, database, ETC.
• You can go back and re-watch videos to get a better understanding.

Incentivized

• Industry expert authors/instructors - you're learning from people with pedigree.
• Breadth and depth of catalog - not only is there a wide range of topics and disciplines, but there are frequently several levels of depth within each (eg. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced).
• Time needed to complete each course AND each section of a course are included - you know what you're getting into from the first click.

Incentivized

• Content is comprehensively laid out in a clear manner
• Content is regularly kept up to date with the latest techniques seen today
• Content doesn't assume too much about the reader's existing knowledge levels
• Labs are representative and designed to emulate what could happen in real life
• Certifications are well respected and widely recognised in the security industry
• Prices are not that expensive compared to other vendors etc.

Incentivized

• While the trainers are good, sometimes their accent make them hard to understand.
• More practice questions at the end that simulate the certification test.
• Perhaps a score card that with those questions that tell you where to spend more time training.

Incentivized

• LinkedIn Learning provides learning paths, but it's left much to be desired. Not enough direction about the why, or learning outcomes.
• Some courses provide exercises/quizzes. Others do not. There's definitely a missing piece to test comprehension.
• The library is so large, it's difficult to really build your own learning. I find it better for just-in-time learning.

Incentivized

• The exams are quite hard to pass and some require a lot of hours to be spent on them which might leave some exhausted
• Some of the content can be hard to remember since there is a lot of syntax that might be intimidating to users not familiar with something similar from before
• Perhaps consider more specific, tailored courses rather than courses which cover many topics at once which might not necessarily be within the same niche
• More human to human interaction could be beneficial to prepare for the exams sometimes

Incentivized

It can help all employees learn to strengthen current skills or to learn new skills and then can learn to excel in their current department or they learn a new skills in a new department creating interconnection and cross-departmental value in a company.

Incentivized

The platform is very easy to use and navigate, the content is clearly itemised via the Contents section and the video playback speed can be adjusted. It's also useful to have optional captions (I always use them) and a transcript for accessibility purposes.

Incentivized

The technical team behind LinkedIn Learning (or Lynda.com) knows their job, and they usually solve problems very quickly. While I haven't had many run-ins with them (thus the low rating), I do find that when we call them, the problem gets resolved in a reasonable amount of time. The flip-side of this comment is that we never have needed to call them with a high-priority issue.

Incentivized

By implementation we are able to achieve 1.Skill improvement 2.Reduced burden on training staff 3.Learning new market leading technologies like Generative AI.

Incentivized

I haven't used any learning platform like CBT Nuggets yet

Incentivized

Our organization has used different webinars, including ones on LinkedIn, to provide similar insight. But it's a totally different ballgame. Lynda.com offers in-depth tutorials rather than just a 2-hour video broadcast. With lynda.com there are more information and experts, as well as so many different courses fit for every need/want. There is also a lot more flexibility with lynda. You can take it on the go, watch on mobile and at anytime, rather than being tied to a certain time slot.

Incentivized

Offensive Security Cybersecurity Courses and Certifications are very comprehensive, regularly kept up to date and, unlike some other courses out there, are quite challenging and technically demanding even for industry colleagues who've been in the field for many years; for this reason, Offensive Security Cybersecurity Courses and Certifications is excellent for your more senior cyber security analysts/engineers as it will enable these technical experts in your organisation to further enhance their knowledge and learn some new tricks that they can then bring back to the workplace to share with the rest of the team

Incentivized

• This tool helped many people to clear their certification exams by providing in-depth training.
• Helped employees achieve their personal learning goals.
• CNT Nuggets also has a positive impact on upskilling employees/interns for better productivity.

Incentivized

• I can't think of a negative impact that Lynda.com has when it relates to the extensive library of training software that is available to subscribers. I'm lucky that my job provides a free subscription for instructors. I use Lynda.com to hone in on my technical skills.

Incentivized

• Labs have allowed us to safely test new offensive as well as defensive techniques
• Certifications are widely recognised and allow us to showcase our team's maturity to external parties when required
• Content is very comprehensive so this lessens the need for covering the same topics in our internal knowledgebases
• The platforms that Offensive Security Cybersecurity Courses and Certifications have setup helped showcase the benefits and drive adoption of infrastructure as code in our own organisation

Incentivized