CBT Nuggets

What CBT Nuggets is

CBT Nuggets is an on-demand IT training library for individual IT professionals and for the teams that employ them. Its home page promises "Expert IT training, when and where you need it" and says that "For 20+ years, IT pros and teams have trusted CBT Nuggets for in-demand technology training available anytime, anywhere." The footer gives its address as 497 Oakway Rd., Suite 410, in Eugene, Oregon. The product rests on four pieces: short training videos from expert trainers, virtual labs, practice exams, and reporting and management tools for teams. Most of the catalog is built around IT certifications, so the typical learner is preparing for a specific vendor exam or moving into a new IT specialty.

Videos, labs and practice exams

The core of the product is video. The site describes "on-demand training from industry experts with focused, engaging videos available anytime", and a "Meet our trainers" link introduces the people who teach under the line "Train with the IT elite". Learners study at their own pace, which suits people fitting certification prep around a full-time job.

Virtual labs cover the hands-on side. The home page says: "No need to invest in expensive equipment. Our virtual labs run the software and hardware you need to simulate real-world situations." For networking and security certifications that would otherwise need racks of switches or firewalls at home, this is a practical advantage.

Practice exams come from N2K. The site says they are "Included with top certification-track courses" and puts the value of each at $89, presenting them as a way to test your knowledge before the real exam. Study plans, certification guides and a career center sit in the resources section, along with free IT career tools, learner stories, customer reviews and a blog.

The certification catalog

The certification training page says IT certifications "validate both skills and knowledge" and offers a dynamic certification matrix tool to help learners pick their next certification, plus a downloadable PDF of the training on offer. Training can be browsed by vendor or by career. The most popular certifications, the ones "most of our learners are pursuing", are CCNA 200-301, CCNP Enterprise, CompTIA Security+, CCNP Security and CompTIA Network+.

The vendor list is broad. Cisco training covers CCNA, CCNA Automation, CCNP Automation, CCNP Enterprise and CCNP Security. Microsoft covers Azure Administrator, Azure Developer, Windows Server Hybrid Administrator, Azure Database Administrator and Azure Fundamentals. CompTIA covers A+, which the page calls "a great place to start", plus Network+, Security+, Project+ and Linux+. AWS training runs from Cloud Practitioner through the Solutions Architect, Developer and SysOps Administrator associate certifications to Advanced Networking Specialty. Security learners will find (ISC)2's CC, CISSP, CCSP and SSCP, ISACA's CISM, CISA, CRISC and ITCA, Fortinet NSE courses for FortiOS, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer and enterprise firewalls, Palo Alto Networks PCNSA and PCNSE, and Check Point CCSA.

On the infrastructure side there are Juniper certifications from JNCIA-Junos to JNCIP-SP and JNCIP-DC, LPI courses including Linux Essentials, Security Essentials, DevOps Tools, LPIC-1 and LPIC-2, VMware Certified Professional tracks for data center and network virtualization, Red Hat RHCSA, RHCE and specialist exams in Ansible network automation and containers, HashiCorp Terraform Associate, GitLab, F5 BIG-IP and HPE Aruba Networking. Google Cloud training covers Cloud Digital Leader, Associate Cloud Engineer and Associate Google Workspace Administrator, and the page says its Google Cloud Platform training includes App Engine, Cloud Storage, Cloud SQL, Compute Engine and BigQuery. Kubernetes learners can prepare for CKA, CKAD and CKS.

Each certification card carries a one-line description of who it is for, which helps a learner judge the level before opening a course. CCNA is described as a certification for associate-level professionals with a broad range of Cisco networking skills, Azure Fundamentals as an entry-level cloud certification, CISSP as an advanced certification for experienced security pros, and the Fortinet NSE 4 course as preparation for intermediate network administrators and security engineers who manage Fortinet firewalls. Red Hat's container specialist exam is pitched at deploying, managing and securing containerized applications, and the F5 Certified Administrator course at supporting BIG-IP in real enterprise environments.

Coding and project management

The catalog is not only infrastructure. For programmers, CBT Nuggets lists Python Institute certifications from PCEP, described as "an ideal starting point for those new to Python or programming in general", through PCED for data analysis and PCAP to the professional-level PCPP1. JavaScript developers can train for the OpenJS Node.js Services Developer and Application Developer certifications, which cover RESTful APIs, databases and production debugging. Python also appears among the headline topics on the home page. Project managers have PMI's CAPM, PgMP and PMI-RMP, alongside CompTIA Project+.

For teams and organizations

For businesses, CBT Nuggets adds management and reporting. Team admins can "Organize your team into custom groups, assign training based on specific learning needs, and easily track their progress." Usage reporting gives individuals automated progress reports and a leaderboard, and gives team admins advanced reporting. The solutions menu has separate entries for business, government, active military and LMS customers, and a "Talk to sales" route for team purchases.

To make the case for online training, the home page cites three statistics: "Online training requires 40% less time than classroom training", "Team members who train more than 40 hours for a given project are 3 times more likely to meet project objectives", and "Highly trained IT staff are 10% more productive."

Trial, pricing and support

Individuals can try the product before paying. The home page offers "Start your free week" and "Train free for a week", which is a trial rather than a free plan. Prices sit on a separate pricing page linked from the main menu, and teams can talk to sales. For help choosing, the site says: "Not sure where to start? Call 541-284-5522 or try our live chat." A help center and contact page cover sales, support and general questions.

Who it suits

CBT Nuggets suits IT professionals working toward a named certification who want video lessons, virtual labs and practice exams in one subscription. Newcomers to IT have obvious starting points in CompTIA A+, Network+ and Python's PCEP, and experienced engineers can work up to CCNP, CISSP or RHCE. IT managers get grouping, assignment and reporting for whole teams, and government and military buyers have dedicated solution pages. The free week lets anyone test the teaching style before committing. Learners who want live classes on a schedule should know the product is built around on-demand video rather than timetabled sessions.