Strengthen your digital security foundation through cybersecurity courses on prevention and defense. You’ll learn to identify vulnerabilities and protect critical systems.
Start your cybersecurity career and prepare for a new job in the growing field. Learn the skills for cybersecurity roles like Engineer and Analyst, and gain in-demand technical skills including Python programming, computer networking, Linux, and cloud computing in AWS.
Learn how to build and secure an enterprise-level cloud environment with AWS. Gain practical experience and expert knowledge on AWS security, including SOC operations and the benefits of a well-architected framework in the cloud.
Get a comprehensive understanding of computer communication and security systems, including network models, authentication, authorization, admin roles, foundational cybersecurity concepts, Linux, Python, and networking protocols.
Cybersecurity, also known as digital security, computer security, or information technology (IT) security, is a term that encompasses a variety of processes and procedures that include analytics, engineering, system architecture, ethical hacking, and incident management. A cybersecurity professional works to protect an organization’s servers, systems, hardware, software, and databases from those who would do it harm. Every business in Los Angeles can benefit from the expertise of security professionals to protect its computers from information theft, system disruption, eavesdropping, malware phishing, and other attacks on a system or its users. These attacks are the work of bad actors benefitting from the anonymity of the internet to wreak digital havoc for financial gain, political purposes (cyberwarfare), or, in some cases, just for the thrill of sowing chaos for its own sake.
The first instance of a crime involving information technology goes all the way back to France in 1834, when a pair of thieves stole financial information by intercepting telegraph messages. Computer crime couldn’t really come of age until IT did, which is to say when the internet connected computers that contained more and more sensitive information, especially records of a personal or financial nature. Data, one of the prime targets of computer crime, is a precious commodity, and bad actors can make a considerable financial profit with stolen personal information through such very real crimes as credit card fraud and identity theft. A vast network of computers containing such information is a sitting target for people with the technological expertise to get their sticky fingers into these electronic tills.
Just as cybercrime takes a variety of forms, so does cybersecurity. In addition to ethical hacking, cybersecurity comprises defensive measures (vulnerability management), designing systems that are as impervious as possible to attack (security by design, security architecture), hardware protection devices (dongles, for example), so-called digital hygiene (loose lips still sink ships, and network users have to know how to keep passwords and network access secure and not fall victim to the evils of social engineering), and, finally, in the worst-case scenario, the repair of damage once it’s been done. More traditional methods, such as anti-virus software, regular updating of operating systems, and firewalls, form part of any cybersecurity strategy, even as the field expands to fit the problem.
There are some 5.5 million cybersecurity professionals worldwide, and that number is regularly lamented to be a shortfall of qualified personnel. The Bureau of Labor Statistics maps 3,600 of them, under the rubric of Information Security Analysts, to the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim statistical region. The amount of money spent domestically on cybersecurity topped $220 billion in 2023, and that number is expected to increase. The diffusion of data in the cloud, the propagation of interconnected toasters and blenders on the Internet of Things (IoT), and the seemingly unstoppable expansion of wireless devices are so many easy pickings for bad actors, and new measures are ever-necessary to protect the new technology. And, whereas ordinary internet users need only worry about phishing and the like, the stakes are significantly higher for corporations, and higher still for governments.
Bad actors are always trying to find more ways to act badly, and the interests of the better part of humanity need to be protected. As seen above, millions of people are engaged in cybersecurity, and hundreds of billions of dollars are spent on it each year. And, despite all those cybersecurity workers, there is a marked labor shortfall in the field. While the growth in the sector needs to be as high as 12.6% according to some estimates, sector growth for 2023 was only 8.7%. Cutbacks always loom in a slowing economy, but, overall, the forecast for cybersecurity is that it is an understaffed sector, that jobs exist, and that there is every expectation that there will be more jobs in the future.
At their finest, cybersecurity professionals can do a great deal to benefit humanity. You may just be the person to save the world from devastating nuclear war with Turkmenistan by foiling the Turkmen computer system just as it’s about to launch missiles armed with nuclear warheads at Grover’s Corners. You can also save your company a lot of money, and do something to spare people the tribulations of identity fraud. It’s primarily a field for the at least somewhat altruistic, although beating the bad guys at their own game can become a sort of esport as well, in which hacker is pitted against hackers and the good guy hats turn from white to grey. The difference from esports is that the stakes are real. You thus can be a very effective ethical hacker and care more about outsmarting your adversary than saving humanity.
Cybersecurity is a field that calls for the exercise of your wits. You need to look for system vulnerabilities using a magnifying glass, put yourself in the shoes of the bad guys, and then come up with solutions that need to be novel if they’re to succeed. You don’t have to be a geek living in a self-built computer lab in your parents’ basement and live on lukewarm pizza and Mountain Dew to work in cybersecurity, but you do need to like computers and learning more about them. Indeed, cybersecurity is a field in which you have to learn something new every day, as both sides of the battle for the soul of the digital world are waged with ever-new ordnance.
A cybersecurity class is likely to start you off by defining what cybersecurity actually entails, and basic security concepts such as the CIA Triad of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. You’ll next learn how systems administration works, which will entail an introduction to Linux, Windows server configuration, command lines, and the Kerberos authentication protocol (which is indeed named after the three-headed hound that guarded the underworld in Greek mythology).
With those fundamental concepts in hand, you’ll proceed to the security topics themselves. Those can be divided into two categories: defensive and offensive, both of which are necessary to keep a network healthy and intruder-free. The defensive side of things includes SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), forensics, and data recovery. Offensive security, for its part, comprises things with arcane names like Burp Suite (a set of programs that can be used for penetration testing; according to its creator, Dafydd Stuttard, it was named burp “for no real good reason”), Zenmap (a beginner’s version of Nmap, a network mapping tool that came by its name more organically), SQL injection (a means of attacking databases by confusing the way in which it is queried) and XSS vulnerabilities and payloads (cross-site scripting, which can be used to redirect the user to a malicious website or to filch a victim’s active cookie with all the personal information it contains).
Other topics can make their way into the curricula, and the order of presentation can vary from the above. What you should know is that cybersecurity is a vast field, and you can’t learn everything there is to know about it in only six months. You’ll learn a great deal when you’re on the job; the point of a class is to give you what you need to be able to assume an entry-level role. In addition to learning by doing when you’re working, the field itself is going to keep expanding as the bad guys come up with new and innovative ways of infiltrating your system, and you’re going to have to come up with new and innovative ways of stopping them.
Los Angeles is home to a wide range of industries that rely heavily on cybersecurity skills to protect sensitive data and maintain operational security. The entertainment and media sector, including major players like Netflix, Warner Bros., and Disney, invests heavily in cybersecurity to safeguard intellectual property, film content, and streaming platforms from cyber threats. Cybersecurity professionals in this industry work on network security, digital rights management, and threat detection, ensuring that creative content and user data remain protected from hacking attempts.
The aerospace and defense industry is another major employer of cybersecurity talent in Los Angeles. Companies like Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Raytheon rely on cybersecurity experts to protect sensitive designs, satellite communications, and defense systems. Professionals in this sector focus on securing critical infrastructure, performing vulnerability assessments, and implementing advanced encryption and access control measures to prevent cyber espionage and attacks on national security assets.
Additionally, the finance and technology industries in Los Angeles are increasingly investing in cybersecurity to safeguard digital transactions and customer information. Banks, fintech companies, and tech startups hire Cybersecurity Analysts, Ethical Hackers, and IT Security Managers to monitor networks, detect fraud, and maintain regulatory compliance. Companies such as City National Bank, Snap Inc., and Ring employ cybersecurity professionals to ensure safe digital operations, protect client data, and maintain trust in an era of growing cyber threats.
There is a superabundance of terms to define cybersecurity roles. These range from Application Security Administrator to Vulnerability Assessor, with most of the intervening letters of the alphabet covered as well. They can be fanciful (Bug Bounty Hunter, a job for a freelance hacker), almost Bond-like (Counterespionage Analyst), puzzling (Blue Team Member and Red Team Member, i.e., simulating being the good guys and the bad guys, respectively), or decidedly grand like Chief Information Security Officer (that even comes with an acronym CISO and goes to a highly-paid corporate heavyweight).
As far as entry-level situations are concerned, you’ll encounter job titles such as IT Service Analyst (that’s more of a launch pad to a cybersecurity position), Cybersecurity Analyst (one of the first things they have you do is guard the castle ramparts against invaders), which can also be called Security Analyst, Cybersecurity Specialist, or Security Operations Analyst. As a general rule, the more junior positions on the cybersecurity ladder are the Analyst ones, which then move up to jobs with Engineer in the title, then to jobs with Architect, and then to the management roles with Manager in the title. All these jobs are available at companies situated in Greater Los Angeles, although bootcamp graduates will of necessity keep their eyes on entry-level positions. Always read job descriptions carefully: yes, a rose is a rose is a rose, and they all smell sweet, but they don’t all smell the same when it comes to cybersecurity employment.
According to Indeed, in Los Angeles, the average salary for a Cybersecurity Analyst is $101,000, and a Security Specialist earns about $117,000.
The similarity between the words certificate and certification has caused no end of confusion for IT job seekers. The two are actually very different animals, especially in terms of cybersecurity. A certificate is what you receive when you’ve completed your cybersecurity bootcamp: it’s your diploma, and it shows that you’ve attended classes and completed them to your instructors’ satisfaction. Meanwhile, certifications are what you receive when you’ve passed one of many third-party examinations that test your abilities. The difference should be apparent: while a certificate says something about your abilities, a certification proves it. They go under different rubrics on your resume. The certificate goes under education, while the certification goes under skills. The HR person who will scan your resume for all of seven seconds will react differently to certificates and certifications, but the obvious reality is that the certification is by far the more dependable objective yardstick by which to market your abilities.
Although most IT fields offer certificates and certifications, the latter are enormously more important in cybersecurity than elsewhere. While a general rule is that a certification won’t hurt your chances of getting hired, but isn’t essential if the rest of your job-search dossier is strong, you basically will stand no chance of getting hired in an entry-level cybersecurity job without the CompTIA Security+ certification on your resume.
The quantity of certifications available in the cybersecurity field can be dizzying. Your initial reaction to all the possibilities is probably going to be feeling that you’re vertiginously perched on a high-dive over a large bowl of room-temperature alphabet soup.
Your first spoonful of alphabet noodles is going to spell CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Education, a non-profit that offers vendor-neutral certifications across the full spectrum of IT. These are widely respected, and are as close to an industry-standard as can be found. The CompTIA, which has a mania for putting + at the end of its certifications’ names, leads off with the CompTIA A+, a certification of the candidate’s abilities in installing and repairing PCs. It’s not a bad thing to have if you’re going into cybersecurity, but it’s not the digital badge you need to get hired. That would be the CompTIA Security+, which is the entry-level certification specifically geared towards cybersecurity. A further entry-level certification from CompTIA is the CompTIA PenTest+, which tests your knowledge of penetration testing, a “red team” activity that involves attempting to break through your own company’s system defenses to ensure that the walls of the cybercastle are intact. The CompTIA Security+ is priced at $404. A wealth of preparatory materials for the exam is available: CompTIA’s complete bundle of learning materials, along with an exam voucher and a free retake, comes in at $1,111.
A rival to CompTIA is GIAC (pronounced GEE-ack, to rhyme with short stack), the Global Information Assurance Certification. As of 2023, it has revised its certification path, and now offers over 40 different GIAC Practitioner Certifications, along with a new set of Applied Knowledge Certifications for those who are considerably advanced in their careers. The certifications are stackable, and if you get enough of them, you can get certified as a GSE, a Global Security Expert. But that’s a long way off from a cybersecurity bootcamp. The certification journey begins, rather, with the GISF (GIAC Information Security Fundamentals; note that GIAC considers all its acronyms to be pronounceable as words). More advanced, but still suited to people at the beginning of their careers, is the GSEC (GIAC Security Essentials), which is designed with cybersecurity specialists in mind, whereas the knowledge required for the GISF is generally applicable to most IT roles, not only those explicitly involved with security. Further certifications available to people further along in their careers include GX-PT (GIAC Experienced Penetration Tester, GMLE (GIAC Machine Learning Engineer), and GDSA (GIAC Defensible Security Architect Certification). GIAC offers affiliate exam preparation training through the SANS Institute. The GISF exam lasts from two to three hours and doesn’t come cheap: the price of the exam is $949, including two practice tests to determine whether you’re ready to stand for the real thing.
A third organization that offers up steaming bowls of alphabet soup to the candidates for its cybersecurity certifications is the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (that mouthful is abbreviated ISC2). Their starter certification is CC (which stands for Certified in Cybersecurity), which is offered for free as part of the organization’s efforts to help close the employment gap that is such a prominent feature of the cybersecurity landscape. The CC opens the doors to its vast family of other certifications. The ISC2 Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP), which concentrates on the network aspects of cybersecurity, requires a year’s work experience and is the next step on the path. Cloud Security (CCSP), Security Architecture (ISSAP), and Security Engineering (ISSEP) lie among the more advanced certifications you can obtain as your career progresses. The ISC2 offers education and training in many different forms (online, classroom, self-paced) in preparation for its exams.
Another option, known only by its acronym, is the ISACA (it won’t be on the test, but that stands for International Information Systems and Audit Control Association). It offers its own entry-level certification, the Cybersecurity Fundamentals Certificate. (Just to confuse everyone further, they call this a certificate, but it is indeed a certification). The exam has no prerequisites, lasts two hours, and initiates you into a whole other world of certificates and certifications. An online course and study guide are available (at a charge) in preparation for the test. ISACA members receive a substantial discount on these, as well as on the exam voucher, which costs $199 but only $150 for members.
| Another possibility to bear in mind is the EC-Council (International Council of ecommerce Consultants) and its Certified Ethical Hacker (C | EH) certification. It’s one of several certifications provided by the EC-Council, all of which are distinguished by a vertical bar in the acronym. C | EH isn’t for people just starting out, especially if they’re fresh out of a bootcamp, as the EC-Council recommends that candidates for the exam be proficient in several coding languages, including Python, SQL, and C++. It is, however, a highly valuable certification when you obtain it, not least of all if your ambitions lie in the direction of ethical hacking per se. EC-Council has several training schemes to go along with the exam, which itself costs $1,199, not including a $100 application fee and whatever training options you might select. |
How do you make your way through all these certifications (of which the above is nothing like an exhaustive list)? Perhaps the best advice is to take a look at job descriptions, and see what jobs call for which certifications. You’ll need to do some research before you can choose a certification path; do it with all due diligence. You’re going to be investing a substantial sum of money in the exam(s) you choose to take, and your future is going to depend on it. You’ll also have to accept that an ongoing series of stackable certifications is going to be in your professional future, so you might as well get used to them early on.
If you’re in the market for a well-paid field in which there’s an abundance of jobs—indeed, in which there is a sizable gap between qualified candidates and vacant positions—then cybersecurity might be a good fit for you. As bad actors trying to get something for nothing (or start a nuclear war) aren’t going to disappear, the field isn’t going to disappear, either. You’ll also be doing something for which there is a real need, since, as more and more of twenty-first-century life shifts online (until the vending machines take over), there’ll be even more need to keep the people using the internet safe. Cybersecurity is an altruistic calling at heart: even if you don’t work in the law enforcement part of the field, practicing your trade is still a way of helping people by stopping the bad guys. It’s a form of altruism you can practice from just about anywhere, often with minimal contact with other people, just in case you’re the “I love mankind—it’s people I can’t stand” kind of altruist. You’ll also be solving problems on a regular basis; if that appeals to you, you’ll probably enjoy working in the cybersecurity sector.
Although they cost less than a college education, bootcamps aren’t exactly inexpensive. And certification will probably involve another thousand dollars before you’re through. On the other hand, the rewards at the other end can be considerable: Cybersecurity Analyst salaries in Los Angeles can run from $92,000 into the six figures. And while you probably won’t be making that much when you’re hired for your first job, those salaries will be clearly in view from the time you start your cybersecurity career. Ultimately, the decision between the expense of retooling yourself and potential gains when you’ve finished your training is one you’ll have to make for yourself. If you have settled on a career in IT or tech, however, cybersecurity makes an excellent choice of specialization.
Cybersecurity is a field that calls for a lifetime of study. The bad guys are going to be looking for vulnerabilities in new technologies, and that means that cybersecurity professionals have to constantly stay on top of their game, especially as the bad guys are often a step ahead of them. So don’t expect to be able to say that you’ve completed your cybersecurity education. This is one of the reasons why there are advanced certifications: they’re there to make sure that the good guys know everything they need to know to be effective.
Whether something is easy or hard to learn depends on you first of all, and, second of all, on how your brain is configured for the acquisition of new information. Cybersecurity is a field that calls for the ability to learn a lot of highly logical computer operations: you’ll be working with the guts of the networks and machines you’re trying to protect, and those guts don’t exactly speak English. And, if you don’t understand how a computer works, you’re not going to be worth much when it comes to trying to rescue them from North Korea’s RGB.
The reality is that there are things that are easier to learn than cybersecurity. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty with computer science concepts, you might do well to look elsewhere. If you don’t like solving problems and riddles, you may also not have your ideal career in cybersecurity. On the other hand, if those things do appeal to you, and you like being a good guy, you should enjoy and be able to learn cybersecurity.
The answer here is that the more you know about computers, the more effective you’ll be working in cybersecurity. That’s one reason why you can spend four to five years at university learning what you need to know to start a career. Thus, in addition to cybersecurity itself, the best thing you can learn is computer languages. An excellent place to begin would be Python, as it is the language most used in cybersecurity applications. Python comes complete with code libraries designed to help with security operations, including Scapy (network analysis), Faker (a fake data creator), and Pycrypto (cryptography and encryption). Other languages you can learn that will serve you well in your cybersecurity career include SQL, C++, and even the less user-friendly C.
A further subject that won’t hurt you in a cybersecurity career is network administration. The more you know about that, the more effective you’ll be when it comes to defending networks against intruders. You might even give the CompTIA Network+ certification a look; if nothing else, the experience with CompTIA exams will prepare you for the CompTIA Security+ test.
The world today presents several ways to learn just about anything, with the major fork in the road coming between in-person and online instruction. The internet can be a wonderful way to learn everything from how to make the perfect egg fried rice to…things you’re not supposed to make. Cybersecurity isn’t egg fried rice, however, and some ways of learning it are better than others.
With online education having reached a level of sophistication it lacked in its earlier years, the internet offers teaching that is fully comparable to what you can obtain in a live class. Indeed, many internet classes are fully live, with the teacher available in real-time: if you have a question, you need but raise your hand to ask it, just as though you were in a physical classroom.
The choice between live online and live in-person depends on two factors: the availability of in-person instruction in your locality and your own personal learning style. In Los Angeles, it also depends on your ability to tolerate freeway traffic to get to your class. Certificate (i.e., non-degree) programs are to be had from the likes of UCLA Extension, Los Angeles Community College, or Cal State Long Beach, each of which offers its own brand of freeway headache. These courses can be taken online from home, without having to get into the car, pay a fortune for gas, and sit in traffic. That said, there are people who don’t like the idea of online learning. While no one likes the idea of braving the 10, the 101, or the 710 during a rush hour that extends from 6:00 a.m. To midnight, you may still feel more comfortable with the idea of being in the same physical space as your instructor. That is, after all, how most of your school experience unfolded, and you may simply prefer that familiarity to the convenience of learning online.
While self-paced learning isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, its limitations become veritable shortcomings when the subject matter is involved or complicated. Cybersecurity is such a field, and the inevitability is that you’re going to come upon something in an on-demand video tutorial at 2:00 a.m. That you don’t understand, and you’ll have no way of asking another human to explain it.
A live class is going to offer you that precious possibility. Indeed, it’s not a luxury with something like cybersecurity when you have to assimilate a great deal of material that must be as up-to-date as possible. (There’s little sense in learning how to stop cyberattacks that were stopped ten years ago.) In a live class, the instructor can also tailor the lesson’s pace to the students, and keep track of their work by looking at their screens. This last feature is possible for remote students in a virtual classroom as well, but can only be done with the student’s permission. The proponents of AI notwithstanding, nothing can replace a human teacher. Whether you decide to take a live class in-person or across the miles is a question of personal style: the choice is more subjective than anything else. The choice between a live cybersecurity course and a self-paced one is, on the other hand, decidedly more objective.
Noble Desktop offers a Cybersecurity Bootcamp that delivers comprehensive training in the core skills required for a career in cybersecurity. Students explore both offensive and defensive security techniques while developing in-demand technical expertise in areas such as Python programming, modern networking, Linux operating systems, and cloud computing with AWS (Amazon Web Services). For those looking to focus on specific areas, Noble also provides shorter, specialized cybersecurity courses, including options like Cloud Computing with AWS.
Another pathway is the Full-Stack Web Development Certificate, an immersive program designed to prepare students for full-stack web development roles. Through hands-on instruction, students learn front-end development with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, along with back-end programming using Node.js. The curriculum also covers essential collaboration tools like Git and modern web technologies such as Flexbox, Grid, and Bootstrap, enabling students to build responsive, high-performing websites. The program includes a comprehensive workbook and a free retake option, offering added flexibility and support. By the end of the program, students complete real-world projects and gain the practical experience needed to pursue entry-level web development positions.
Noble Desktop also offers a Data Science Certificate focused on developing coding and software skills for technology-focused careers. This beginner-friendly program introduces fundamental Python programming and teaches students how to use widely adopted libraries for data analysis. Participants build and evaluate machine learning models, create data visualizations, and learn to deploy projects online using GitHub. Tuition includes six one-on-one mentoring sessions, and enrolled students receive complimentary access to Noble’s Python for AI: Create AI Apps with Flask & OpenAI. As with all Noble courses, students benefit from a free retake option for up to one year.
Do you wish your team were more up-to-date on all things cybersecurity? You may not want to train your entire staff to become certified ethical hackers, but you may well need them to know more about the subject, given how pressing cybersecurity concerns are today. Noble Desktop can arrange custom-tailored cybersecurity classes for your organization or team. You can choose the curriculum in consultation with Noble’s expert instructors and have your employees learn exactly what you need them to learn. Classes can take place on your premises, or the class can be served up using any one of several teleconferencing platforms. A further option is having your team attend one of Noble’s regularly scheduled classes on the subject; discounts are available for multiple voucher purchases. Please contact a member of Noble Desktop’s corporate sales department for additional details.
Those seeking a chance to sharpen their skills in tech, design, business, or data can look no further than the opportunities in Los Angeles. The city is more than just Hollywood; it’s a collection of professional services and companies that stretch from the innovative companies in Silicon Beach to the more corporate areas of downtown L.A. Cybersecurity is becoming more and more necessary throughout all industries, making it a useful skill to learn in L.A. If you want to protect computers, networks, and data from hackers, cybersecurity skills will help you become a valuable asset in any business that needs to keep information safe and secure. For those interested, Noble Desktop’s partner school, VDCI, offers classes taught by industry experts who are passionate, willing, and ready to impart their knowledge to students and professionals alike. They offer insight based on their real-world experience, which makes all the difference when learning a new skill from scratch or while looking to advance in your field.
Los Angeles-based learners can take advantage of the training at 3904 Groton Street, San Diego, California, located directly in the Point Loma neighborhood. Driving from Los Angeles, you’ll take I-5 South all the way. Those who prefer public transportation can hop on the Amtrak and commuter rail services connecting to San Diego from L.A., making it a quick way to access the campus. The facility is designed for interaction, offering students access to top-rated instructors and modern workstations.
With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Deanne Larson has built a reputation as a pioneer in the Los Angeles data science and analytics world. As the founder of Larson & Associates LLC, she has partnered with Fortune 500 companies and FinTech firms to help shape AI strategies and implement solutions through machine learning. She’s worked with global enterprises, particularly in designing their data systems. Her accomplishments go beyond the norm, however, as she’s also been part of projects that serve 225 million customers worldwide and others that require developing cutting-edge data governance frameworks for cloud and blockchain technologies. She’s a seasoned instructor as well, having taught at City University of Seattle, where she mentored doctoral candidates and designed data analytics programs. She holds several doctoral degrees that, paired with her extensive experience, position her to teach subjects like AI, Python, data, machine learning, and project management.
Michael Wilson is a Licensed Architect in the State of California and an Autodesk Certified Platinum Revit Instructor, one of only 20 professionals worldwide to hold this title. With over 25 years of experience in architecture, Michael has contributed to award-winning commercial and municipal projects, including facilities for pharmaceutical companies and landmarks such as the El Cajon Animal Shelter and the Mission Hills Library. Michael teaches and develops Revit courses that emphasize real-world application through project-based learning. Over the past decade, he has trained thousands of students in the Los Angeles AEC community, helping them master workflows. Michael is also an Autodesk Certified AutoCAD and Revit Professional, specializing in Revit certification and interior design software.
John O’Malley is a Registered Architect with more than a decade of experience leading Los Angeles teams through all stages of design and construction. His professional background spans different sectors, where he has earned recognition for his technical precision and leadership. A licensed architect in California, John also holds LEED AP BD+C certification and is an Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI Silver). Most recently, he teaches AutoCAD courses that prepare students to apply drafting and design principles in real-world settings. John is passionate about mentoring the next generation of design professionals, contributing to the ACE Mentor Program.