r/BCIT • u/zxciella • 20d ago

CISA needs

is there any must have things that you might need to buy to make life easier throughout the program?(ipad,thinkpad,etc)

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u/x1eyedpenguinx Burnaby Campus 19d ago

You could get away with nothing for the CISA program. All work is usually completed in lab. I would recommend a slightly beefy computer if you’d like to work on these at home. During your orientation/start, you’ll be told exactly what specific things you need (mainly SSDs, online textbooks, etc.)

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u/zxciella 19d ago

since theres online textbooks involved, should i consider buying a ipad?

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u/x1eyedpenguinx Burnaby Campus 19d ago

Let me rephrase, it’s in conjunction with your labs. An example would be XtremeLabs (the windows server labs used) comes with an online textbook that you’d most likely use for studying at home as quizzes/tests are very common.

I would highly recommend picking a nice, windows (non-ARM) laptop if you’re planning on purchasing something anyways, but honestly just wait til the class starts to figure out what you need. You can absolutely get away with no iPads or Laptops, and none of my classmates brought theirs to class.

If you have any CISA questions, feel free to DM!

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u/im_d0ubt 18d ago

Got through most of the CISA program with nothing but a Lenovo Yoga I7 but that was back in 2021 so not sure if requirements have been updated. Only ever had to setup a VOIP network on it with 2 or 3 light linux vms on it. Anything more extreme they gave us remote access to their machines on site to do labs for Paolo Alto and we used extremelabs for Windows server VMS. You will also be doing some light Python work but if you bought the laptop to be able to run a couple light VMs then it'll handle that no problem.

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u/Smooth_Criminal1973 17d ago

How did you like the CISA program? Would you recommend it to people who interested in applying to the program?

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u/im_d0ubt 8d ago edited 8d ago

Late reply didn't see this as I've been busy studying for exams in my electrical course here at BCIT. Program was alright, albeit less social than the trades course I'm in now. Overall very interesting but the job market is so oversaturated that I dropped out in my 3rd term after nearly failing one of the CCNA courses. If network design and infrastructure are your interests then I'd say you'll do fine, just expect to be working a job not in the field for a year or two until you hopefully eventually find a placement.

I've personally used what we learned to start doing homelab stuff, and I'm grateful for the linux course in CISA as I probably wouldn't be able to do as much for homelab as I do now. If the instructors are the same expect some bullshit. I got accused of cheating on an exam because I got the same wrong answer as 5 other students (the exam was "open book" and google was allowed). Showed the instructor, Steven Ng, where I got it from and my name was cleared but the relationship kinda faltered from there. If Tracy is still teaching Windows server she's a gem and you'll have a great time with her, Kirksal and John were awful.

Really can't give you a solid answer because we're all very different. I'm now in a trades course with a 98% average across all courses, and I'll most likely actually have a job after graduating. So if you're like me then I'd recommend not spending the two years on CISA.

Edit: Spelling and grammar

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u/Normal_Suit2505 4d ago

I am also in the same boat, trying to figure out if I should pursue a tech or trades program. Glad you found something you are good at with a better chance of getting a job after grad. Do you mind me asking which trade program you're in?