Self-paced course. Launching soon.
Get into identity and access management without learning it the hard way.
Most IAM knowledge lives in the heads of people who were thrown in at the deep end. This course puts it in order: how identity systems really work, how they fail, and how to get hired to run them. It follows the CIDPRO exam objectives, so you can sit the exam when you're ready.
- Written by a working IAM governance practitioner, not a textbook author
- Plain English first, standards and specs second
- Free preview module when the course opens
Get the welcome offer
The first learners get the course for £499 (normally £997) in exchange for an honest testimonial. Join the list and you'll hear first, before it opens to anyone else.
One email when it opens, plus the odd useful note. No spam, and you can leave any time. See the privacy notice.
For career changers
You're in IT, security, service desk, infrastructure or audit, and identity keeps landing on your desk. You want to be the person who actually understands it.
Exam aligned
The syllabus follows the published CIDPRO objectives and topics, with original exam-style questions and mock exams to test yourself properly.
Practitioner led
Real enterprise patterns: hybrid estates, joiner-mover-leaver, access reviews, evidence for auditors. The stuff job descriptions don't explain.
What you'll learn
Eighteen modules, from "what even is IAM" to a full mock exam and your first interview. The first module is a free preview.
Foundations
- What IAM is, the careers it opens, and how the exam works Free preview
- Identity system components and architecture patterns
- Customer, workforce and partner identity; human and non-human identity
- Privacy, ethics and bias in identity
Identity lifecycle
- Identifiers, usernames and the identity lifecycle
- Identity proofing, binding and account recovery
Authentication and access
- Authentication: factors, MFA, passkeys and usability
- Authorisation and access management: RBAC, ABAC, least privilege, tokens
- Cryptography and PKI essentials
- Attacks, best practice and threat modelling
Law, standards and operations
- Law and compliance: GDPR, HIPAA and identity law
- Core standards: OAuth 2.0, OIDC, SAML, SCIM, PKCE, FIDO, NIST 800-63
- Customer-service identity operations and privileged access
- Incident response and running identity systems
The real world
- IAM projects, business cases and workforce planning
- The hybrid estate: AD, Entra, Ping and AWS
- Governance and evidence: access reviews, CAF, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS
Getting hired
- Exam strategy, a full 150-question mock exam and gap review
- CV, interview preparation and a capstone project
What you get
- Short video lessons, around 8 to 12 minutes each
- Slides and speaker notes you can keep
- Original exam-style questions after every module
- Full mock exams and a study guide built from the topics you miss
- A glossary in plain English
- Labs and worksheets you can show an employer
How it's taught
Every lesson is written from working experience and primary sources: NIST, the RFCs, the SAML and OIDC specs, GDPR and the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework. Nothing is copied from exam material, and the course doesn't ask you to memorise anything it can't explain.
You go at your own pace. No cohorts, no deadlines, no being left behind.
The welcome offer
I'm opening the course to a small first group at a much lower price. In return, I'm asking for one thing: an honest testimonial once you've been through it. Good, bad and in between all help me make the course better.
- Full course access at the welcome price
- Your feedback shapes the later modules
- Places are limited to the first group
Who's teaching
I'm Paul. I run identity governance in a large enterprise with a hybrid estate, so I deal with joiners, movers, leavers, access reviews and auditors every week. I started this course because I kept watching capable people struggle to find a clear way into IAM.
You can find me on YouTube.
Honest note on the exam
This course prepares you for the CIDPRO exam. It is independent, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by IDPro. Passing depends on you, so I won't promise a result, but I will make sure you know exactly what you're being tested on.
Questions
Do I need an IAM background?
No. If you work in IT or security and understand the basics of users, passwords and permissions, you can start here.
When does it open?
The course is in production now. I'll email the list as soon as the first modules are ready, and early-access people are the first to know.
What does the testimonial involve?
A short written or video review in your own words, once you've worked through the course. No scripts, and no obligation to say anything you don't mean.
Is it self-paced?
Yes. There are no live sessions or cohorts, so you can fit it around work.
Is this the official CIDPRO course?
No. It's independent and aligned to the published exam objectives. IDPro and CIDPRO belong to their respective owners.
How do I leave the list?
Reply to any email and I'll remove you, or write to admin@iamexplained.com.
Be first through the door
Join the list for the £499 welcome offer.