NC State University, for example, offers more than 50. There’s one in AI prompt engineering, one for concrete technicians, one in immigration law, and another that certifies students to become golf caddies. NC State says demand for these is “strong and growing.” One of the main markets for these programs is midlife career changers.
Maarja Raudsepp, a 33-year-old from Clayton, for example, wanted to escape the stress of the medical field and enjoy the stability of a job in tech. Alfred Cassidy, a 45-year-old from South Carolina, is battling cancer, and wanted to pivot from his career in urban planning to a tech job he could do from home. Both took to the internet to check out what programs were out there, and found NC State’s cybersecurity bootcamp.
A nine-month program that cost $17,800, the bootcamp promised a voucher to cover the cost of an industry-recognized certification exam and advertised the possibility of job placements upon successful completion.
But Raudsepp, Cassidy and other former students say the program made promises it couldn’t keep.
As soon as they indicated interest, the calls, texts, voicemails and emails started rolling in.
Raudsepp was contacted by a sales representative, “Camilo NC State,” multiple times per day. Her phone was blowing up: “You’ll have a career coach and success manager dedicated to you. and meet executives hiring,” texts reviewed by The News & Observer said. “Are you willing to give yourself permission to grow?” And: “New cohorts are starting soon- don’t miss your chance to join the next one.”
She rushed to respond in the time she had between patients.
“They kept repeating to us that it was a roughly nine-month career] transition timeline,” she said. “I chose NC State because how well their name is known and that they’re a trusted university.”
So, she went for it.
The NC State brand was prominent in the course’s communications, learning platform and materials, Raudsepp said. The bootcamp, however, isn’t truly operated by NC State, but a third-party, for-profit company. That company has gone by many names since NC State first started contracting with it in 2020: HackerUSA, then ThriveDX, and now Iron Circle.
When Cassidy and Raudsepp signed up for their course, the company went by ThriveDX.
The company partners with 12 other universities, including American University in Washington, D.C. and Purdue University in Indiana. It says its mission is “to change lives through career-focused cybersecurity training.”
NC State reviewed and approved all curriculum, instructors and marketing for the bootcamp, both before the program’s launch and as it continued, the university said.
In 2027, NC State will stop offering the Iron Circle cybersecurity bootcamp, the university said, because the program is pivoting to be strictly asynchronous, without real-time instruction and participation. There are students still currently enrolled, but the university will not be accepting any new cohorts. Turnover and curriculum questions
For Cassidy and Raudsepp, things seemed good at first. The class met remotely on Tuesday and Thursday nights for three-and-a-half hour sessions. Cassidy recalls being initially excited by all the new information.
Then, there was a noticeable shift, Cassidy said. The instructor suddenly stopped showing up to class. Next, the career advisers started turning over.
Raudsepp recalls the moment it clicked into place that something wasn’t right. One of their classmates had started a cybersecurity internship, and she asked the instructor why she wasn’t using any of the skills or material they were learning in class. She wasn’t prepared for the things her supervisors were asking her to do related to cybersecurity topics like firewalls and VPNs.
“That’s because we are teaching you outdated information,” Raudsepp quotes the instructor as saying. That was before he dropped off the map. Students heard from a substitute that it was because “he wasn’t happy with his income.”
“How exactly are students supposed to transition into a fast-changing field while paying thousands of dollars for training that’s not even current?” Raudsepp asked. “After that, I lost all hope. The students started talking amongst each other, sharing our experiences, and that’s when it just started to snowball.”
After having been promised a voucher to take an industry-standard certification exam, CompTIA Security+, the students were informed that they’d be preparing for a proprietary CyberAdvantage Certification. That exam and certificate were created and administered by Iron Circle.
“There’s nothing to show for this, absolutely nothing,” Raudsepp said. “We got a badge at the end of it, which was basically a JPEG that was sent to us on an email that said, ‘Here’s your badge.’”
Other promises fell through, too, Cassidy said: No job fairs. No mock interviews. No recruiters reaching out. The cohort had gone through four different career advisers by the time it wrapped up. When Raudsepp tried to access career services, the webpage informed her she didn’t have access.
“All this career counseling, career coaching, it just never happened,” Cassidy said. “It was really, really aggravating, really frustrating, trying to get a straight answer, trying to just contact people for help.”
Cassidy actually was able to get his $425 voucher for the CompTIA Security+ exam, after he “pushed some buttons,” he said. He has yet to take the exam, but three other people in the cohort have already failed it. That made him “question how effective the program really is,” he said.
The last day of class, the company changed its name to Iron Circle.
“We dedicated almost a year to this, and we’re coming up empty-handed,” Cassidy said. “I think I can speak for every student when I say everybody is upset. I’m not happy with NC State.”
NC State told The N&O that 1,523 people have enrolled in the bootcamp since they began offering it in 2021. Of those, Iron Circle reports that 349 people have found employment.
Raudsepp took out a loan to pay for the bootcamp, and loan provider Sallie Mae gave her 14 years to pay it off. If she follows that schedule, she’ll pay $45,000 in total. She still works in the medical job she had when she enrolled in the bootcamp. She never received the voucher to take the certification exam, she said.
An instructor recommended students go to cackalackycon, a Durham cybersecurity and hacking conference. Raudsepp went, and attended a resume review event. She said when the people there looked at her resume, they laughed in her face.
“Basically they said, ‘there’s no way you’re going to pivot into this career with what you’re doing right now,’” Raudsepp said. “My resume had red marks everywhere. They’re like, ‘This is a joke. I don’t even know what this is.’” Complaints to NC State and state government
First, Raudsepp reached out to the school to complain and try to get a refund, or at least just stop the payments. NC State deferred to Iron Circle. Iron Circle told her to contact the loan provider. But Sallie Mae said that loans “must be repaid even if the borrower is dissatisfied with the educational program paid for with the loan,” according to records reviewed by The N&O.
Cassidy, Raudsepp and 11 of their classmates were so dissatisfied with the course that they escalated their complaints to the state attorney general’s office.
That office acted as an “informal mediator” between NC State, Iron Circle and the 14 dissatisfied students. Nothing came of it, besides the recommendation that the students hire a lawyer if they wish to continue their fight. Raudsepp says she doesn’t have the money, and has had a hard time getting in touch with pro-bono firms.
In Iron Circle’s response to the attorney general’s office, the company contends that it did not engage in high-pressure sales tactics, that no job placement promises were made, that the terms of partnership with NC State are clear, that Raudsepp and Cassidy’s cohort had access to high-quality instructors throughout the bootcamp, that they did receive career services, and that no curriculum changes occurred.
“The record does not, in any way, support the vague allegations contained in the Complaints,” Iron Circle’s response reads. “The Company takes its mission — to change lives through career-focused cybersecurity training — seriously and has acted in good faith in the marketing and provision of services for the Program. The Complainants cannot make a showing of any unfair and deceptive trade practices because there have been none. We remain committed to our strong partnership with NC State and working to provide a quality educational experience while addressing student concerns.”
Iron Circle told The N&O that all students who were eligible for a CompTIA voucher and requested one received it. It also clarified the recruitment strategy, noting that official scripts require recruiters to say they are “with ThriveDX calling on behalf of [NC State.”
The company contends that the sudden departure of the instructor had “no impact on the program.” It “strongly disagrees” with the characterization that students were taught outdated material.
The N&O obtained NC State’s contract with Iron Circle. In April 2024, the company was behind in payments to NC State, owing the university more than $600,000. They revised the payment schedule to let Iron Circle catch up. A later amendment reduced NC State’s share of revenue from the bootcamp.
NC State said partnerships like the one with Iron Circle are not unusual in the continuing education realm, and this one was developed for professionals who wanted to enter the workforce without pursuing a traditional degree. The university was contractually bound to review Iron Circle’s curriculum, instructors, and marketing materials.
“NC State takes any student feedback or concerns seriously,” NC State spokesperson Mick Kulikowski told The N&O. “As part of our oversight of non-degree programs offered through Continuing and Lifelong Education, we have established processes to regularly review partner program quality, student experience and alignment with the university’s standards.
“In this case, NC State has reviewed feedback related to the cybersecurity bootcamp through routine monitoring and direct check-ins with the partner. NC State continues to engage in ongoing oversight to ensure the program meets expectations for academic integrity, student support, and transparency, and we remain committed to reviewing concerns and bringing them to our partner for review if they arise.”
Oversight for non-degree programs is less stringent than for traditional university programs. While NC State said that these kinds of programs are typically not accredited, it declined to say one way or another whether Iron Circle’s cybersecurity bootcamp was or not.
“Non-degree and workforce-focused certificate programs are not typically subject to the same external accreditation requirements as degree programs, since most regional and programmatic accreditors focus on degree-granting offerings,” Kulikowski said.
For Cassidy and Raudsepp, their faith in NC State has been damaged.
“No one should be left carrying this kind of debt, simply because responsibility was just shifted and not addressed,” Raudsepp said. “This has changed our lives so much on mental, emotional, and financial levels. This was a year of our life that took a toll on everything: personal relationships, work relationships, anything financial. We asked for help, and everybody’s just pushing us off. Nobody wants to help, and then you have thousands of dollars of debt, and nothing to show for it.
“You’re stuck in the exact same circle.”
© 2026 The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
