I did get a job through CAPSLOCK’s connections, and I genuinely enjoy the GRC role I’m in now, so I can’t deny there was a positive outcome. But I left the course with serious misgivings, and I think it’s important to share them.One of the big draws for me was the emphasis on certifications. In hindsight, I accept that I should have done more due diligence on their true industry weight. That said, the way they were presented was, in my view, misleading. The advertised certs are very much at the entry level, and now that I’m in the industry I’ve been told point blank how little they count for. They were made to sound like stepping stones with real heft, but the reality is different.The course itself covered a lot of ground but often without much depth. “Width of an ocean and depth of a puddle” sums it up. We did plenty of labs, but those highlighted the limitations of the teaching staff. Penetration testing was the worst example: when we got stuck, the guidance was often little more than “try adding -sudo,” and if that didn’t work, that was the end of it. The tutors were supportive and approachable, but many were alumni themselves without the technical experience to guide us properly. They also promoted a “team-based learning” model. This had its benefits, but it only went so far; the quality of your learning was capped by your team’s expertise and the tutors’ own limitations.Privately, I didn’t meet a single member of my cohort who felt fully satisfied by the end. Some were resigned to the fact they’d at least found jobs; others were bitterly disappointed. The public positivity didn’t match the private conversations, and I think the strong “family” culture CAPSLOCK pushes makes people reluctant to speak up. The career coaching reflected that same mix: the mental coaching was excellent, but other advice—like putting target roles onto CVs as if you already held them—struck me as misleading, even if the intent was just to bypass ATS filters.Then there’s the cost. Around £9,500 upfront, or much more on an income-share agreement, feels far too high. Especially when so much of the real learning had to be done independently anyway. For that money, there are many other ways to build a stronger, more respected foundation.One final observation: their domain is registered in the Ascension Islands and uses “.ac,” which at first glance looks academic but isn’t tied to academia. Make of that what you will.In the end, I did land in a job I enjoy, and for that I’m grateful. But the lack of technical depth, the questionable marketing around certifications, and the overreliance on team-based learning left me feeling it wasn’t worth the cost. CAPSLOCK may open doors, but don’t be swayed too quickly by the statistics they’ll present. Looking at the LinkedIns of many from my cohort, the outcomes tell a more mixed story than the marketing suggests.
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