Pen testing courses can help you learn vulnerability assessment, network security, and ethical hacking techniques. You can build skills in penetration testing methodologies, risk analysis, and incident response strategies. Many courses introduce tools like Metasploit, Wireshark, and Burp Suite, that support identifying and exploiting security weaknesses in systems and applications. By engaging with these tools, you can practice practical work that enhance your ability to secure networks and protect sensitive data.

University of Colorado Boulder
Skills you'll gain: Penetration Testing, Network Security, Network Monitoring, Exploitation techniques, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), Cryptographic Protocols, Network Protocols, General Networking, Computer Networking, Command-Line Interface, Network Analysis, Proxy Servers
Build toward a degree
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

Google Cloud
Skills you'll gain: Google Gemini, Gemini, Test Script Development, Software Development Life Cycle, Google Cloud Platform, Development Testing, Application Development, Test Case, Query Languages, Debugging
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

High Tech High Graduate School of Education
Skills you'll gain: Education and Training, Teaching, Growth Mindedness, Learning Theory, Human Learning, Student Engagement, Cultural Diversity, Experimentation, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Psychological Evaluations, Discussion Facilitation
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

Coursera
Skills you'll gain: API Testing, Software Documentation, API Design, Application Programming Interface (API), Test Tools, Technical Documentation, Restful API, JSON, YAML, Software Design
Beginner · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours

Infosec
Skills you'll gain: Secure Coding, Computer Programming Tools, C and C++, Application Security, System Programming, C++ (Programming Language), C (Programming Language), Software Development Tools, Exploit development, Debugging, Interoperability, Unix, Embedded Systems, Vulnerability Assessments, Unix Commands, File I/O, Operating Systems, Data Security, Linux, Microsoft Windows
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Skills you'll gain: Environmental Monitoring, Hydrology, Environmental Engineering and Restoration, Water Resource Management, Land Management, Natural Resource Management, Water Resources, Water Quality, Climate Change Adaptation, Environmental Science, Biology, Research Reports, Environment and Resource Management, Environment, Geographic Information Systems, Laboratory Testing, Geospatial Information and Technology, Technical Documentation, Microbiology
Intermediate · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

University of Colorado Boulder
Skills you'll gain: Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Experimentation, Research Design, Statistical Analysis, Data Ethics, Statistical Modeling, Data Science, A/B Testing, Data Analysis, Quantitative Research, Regression Analysis, Statistical Inference, Probability & Statistics, Sample Size Determination, Linear Algebra, Calculus
Build toward a degree
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

Skills you'll gain: Penetration Testing, Cyber Security Assessment, Vulnerability Scanning, Cybersecurity, Vulnerability Assessments, Network Analysis, Exploitation techniques, Linux, Virtual Machines, Operating Systems
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

Skills you'll gain: JUnit, Apache Maven, Spring Boot, Model View Controller, Unit Testing, Microservices, Application Development, Spring Framework, Redis, Restful API, YAML, Java, Java Programming, MongoDB, Application Deployment, NoSQL, Ajax, Hibernate (Java), Data Persistence, Software Testing
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Microsoft
Skills you'll gain: Load Balancing, Scalability, Performance Tuning, Software Architecture, Microsoft Copilot, Application Design, Performance Testing, Systems Architecture, Application Performance Management, Distributed Computing, Database Management, Middleware, SQL
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

Skills you'll gain: Computational Thinking, Theoretical Computer Science, Mathematical Modeling, Systems Analysis, Performance Testing, Embedded Systems, Graph Theory, Technical Documentation, Model Evaluation, Algorithms
Mixed · Course · 1 - 3 Months

Vanderbilt University
Skills you'll gain: Generative AI Agents, Java, Agentic systems, AI Workflows, Generative AI, LLM Application, Tool Calling, OpenAI API, Application Development, Prompt Engineering, Debugging
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months