Brandon McCray spent two decades in the U.S. Navy managing compliance and inspection programs in healthcare. He knew how to write policy, run audits, and navigate bureaucracy that would make most people’s eyes glaze over. What he didn’t know was how to configure a network.
“I was just like a Bambi on ice,” he said, describing his first weeks in MyComputerCareer’s Cyber Warrior Program.
He found his footing. Brandon graduated in April 2026 alongside 1,577 other alumni, earning his A+, Network+, Security+, and CySA+ certifications. He finished as one of the top performers in his class.
The Push He Needed
About 18 months before his Navy retirement, Brandon started thinking about what came next. He’d built a solid career in healthcare compliance. He just wasn’t ready to spend the next chapter doing the same thing.
“I just knew that I didn’t want to continue doing the exact same thing for the next chapter of my life,” he said.
He’d seen the MyComputerCareer ads. Multiple times. His first instinct was to scroll past.
“It was almost like when Scam Likely is calling you and you’re not answering the phone,” he said with a laugh. “Except this one I did answer.”
He called. Got his questions answered. And asked the one that was really on his mind: “Do I have what it takes as somebody who is not a technical person?”
The program staff told him they see all kinds of people come through. What you make of it is on you.
That was good enough for Brandon.
What GRC Is and Why It Clicked
Brandon came in targeting GRC (governance, risk, and compliance). For anyone unfamiliar, GRC is the framework that keeps organizations operating inside legal and regulatory boundaries: building policies, managing risk, and making sure the rules get followed.
For Brandon, it wasn’t a stretch. It was a translation.
“That’s what I was literally doing in the healthcare world,” he said. The cyber version just needed different credentials behind it.
The Program Wasn’t Easy. He Did It Anyway.
Brandon’s night class ran Monday through Thursday, 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. He still had daytime responsibilities. He still got up at 4 a.m. He still fit in the gym.
“You were either studying or you were in class,” he said. “There was no real rest.”
The military mindset helped. Brandon started each day by working through material before class so he came in with the objectives already done. His study approach: break each section down, use flashcards, and don’t rush.
“Don’t overload your brain trying to learn everything so quickly,” he said. “Give your brain time to digest the material.”
The instructors gave everything they had. Something shifted.
“You just become unstoppable,” Brandon said. “You don’t fail any more tests and you graduate on time.”
He was the oldest in his class at 46, learning alongside veterans, career changers, and self-described “love of computers” types who pushed each other through. His instructors recognized him as a World Class IT Professional, a designation reserved for top performers in the program.
The First Graduation He Ever Attended
Brandon holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. Military obligations kept him from walking at either ceremony.
When his MyComputerCareer graduation came around, he made it work.
“I didn’t just stop after I saw myself and cut it off,” he said of the virtual ceremony. “I watched everybody. This is my class.”
The Certs That Erased His Homework
While working through the Cyber Warrior Program, Brandon was also pursuing a Master of Science in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance at WGU. The two tracks didn’t just coexist. They fed each other.
The CompTIA certifications he earned through the program transferred directly as course credit at WGU. His CySA+ alone knocked out two graduate-level classes.
“I only have eight classes left for another master’s degree,” he said. “MyCC was the start of it.”
That’s the part that doesn’t always get mentioned: certifications from an IT training program can shorten the road to a graduate degree. For Brandon, the Cyber Warrior Program didn’t compete with his academic goals. It accelerated them.
Career Services Didn’t Stop at Graduation
His Career Services advisor, Samantha Leon, was a steady presence throughout the program and continues to be now that Brandon has graduated and is preparing to relocate to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“She even changed our search parameters over to DFW because she knows I’m going there,” he said. “We still chat.”
Brandon is targeting GRC analyst roles. Remote, hybrid, on-site. He’s flexible. And he’s not afraid to start at the entry level.
“That’s how I did it in the Navy,” he said. “E1 to E9. No problem.”
His Advice If You’re on the Fence
Don’t assume you’re not technical enough. That’s the message Brandon most wants people to hear:
“A lot of people don’t know they have transferable skills from what they’ve already been doing. Don’t sell yourself short thinking you can’t pivot into this lane.”
And once you’re in? Pick a lane and commit to it.
“Focus in on a lane and charge that way,” he said. “There’s so many options in IT, I think people get lost.”
Connect with Brandon on LinkedIn.
Curious what four CompTIA certifications in 12 weeks looks like? Learn more about the Cyber Warrior Program and see the ways MyComputerCareer’s IT-training programs can change your life.