Have you ever felt you got to many certifications looking back on it?

N2IT

When I first started off I went on this certification craze and as I look back on it, I didn't have much direction or guidance. It seemed it took me several years before I started to piece together certifications that actually started to make sense.

Has anyone run into this?

Iristheangel

I wouldn't have wasted any time on the CompTIA ones if I knew any better.

Oh well. 20/20 hindsight. It was only a few months of time wasted and about $1500.

bryguy

Yes... Frankly, the only solution is letting some of them expire when you're not actively using the technology anymore. I've always used certs to validate my knowledge though (with the exception of a couple that were required for school) and not necessarily as a bullet point on a resume.

docrice

Right here. Too much "cramming new certs into the shortest time frame" is somewhat of a waste of money, especially the infosec ones. However, the effort has helped me provide better context when analyzing situations, but that skill really came from the training courses, not the GIAC certifications themselves. I have a feeling I'm going to give certifications a serious rest for a while since my alphabet soup has become long enough that anyone in my field is going to really question the validity of my apparent abilities at this point. Studying for the exams did help reinforce quite a few concepts over each other and tie them together meaningfully, so there's a gain there, but a long train of paper certs mean little after a while.

Khaos1911

I only have three at the moment ( I plan on adding GSEC, GCIA, and GCIH by the end of the year) and I'm personally burned out. Plus, at work I have my certs on my bookcase in my cube and I feel some "envy" from my fellow infosec team members. I think up until I started showing I had more than "just" book knowledge, they looked at me like I was a paper tiger. I honestly just want these GIAC's for the SANS knowledge and a CISSP next year for hopefully a new gov't infosec job.

NinjaBoy

No, all my certs where either a reflection of what I did/do or was related to what I was doing.

However I'm at the point in my career where professional certifications are now put on hold and I'm concentrating more on my post grad stuff, things that will assist me with the next rung of my career and not expire (that's not to say that I won't return to the professional certification game)

wes allen

I probably could have done without a couple of the lower end ones (sec+ and JCNIA), but overall, the learning experience has been pretty good. I have been working on OSCP off and on for like 7 months now (work/commute > 55 a week, not really conducive to doing this course), and even if I don't pass the challenge, it has been well worth the time and effort. I told myself I was done after this one, win/lose/or draw. But, really psyched on some of the work I have been doing lately, so ISSAP and/or Splunk Architect might be in my future this year.

daviddws

I do feel sometimes that obtaining so many certs was overkill. Im taking a break for now until my career takes me in a direction where a certain skillset is required.

NovaHax

If I had to do it over, I wouldn't necessarily get less certifications, but definitely would have gotten different ones. Less CompTIA and EC Council for sure. Probably would have stepped into the GIAC world sooner as well....as I am only taking my first GIAC exam next week.

SteveO86

Never thought about it. All the certs I studied for where a reflection of my current job role at the time.

Granted over time my job role has changed, and some of the certifications I've acquired have become more than useless. However many of those certifications I've allowed to expire.

The old BlackBerry and Microsoft certs I had for one.

When I first started I did the typical A+, Net+, MCSA, CCNA which got me by since I dealth with Cisco & Microsoft after working my way up from helpdesk.

Over time I became primarily network focused and just focused on the networking side. CWNP/Cisco, a few other random certs for the employer partnerships.

JoJoCal19

I wasted time and money on Net+/Sec+ after being well established in IT. So I'd have skipped them. I'm letting them lapse this year.

MSP-IT

I probably would've ignored CompTIA had they not been required for WGU. For my own general knowledge, I'd like to go for a CCIE Security at some point in my life, but other than that, I'm probably going to resign myself from here on out to the OSCP, CCIE Security, and eventually the CISM/ISSAM.

Kai123

I got a internship on the back of my Comptia's, but now they wont carry me even with experience.

Something I realized after trying to decide which cert to go for now, I was going to chase something relevant to my work (MCSA, MS helpdesk certs) but figured, why would I if I'm going to be getting experience anyway? One of my colleagues mentioned that I shouldn't be hung up on chasing something I know have, and get what your missing for your next big jump, so for me its the CCNA.

N2IT

It seems like new IT professionals are going with CompTIA less and less. With security booming (in some areas) it seems that IT professional are blocking similar certifications together. E.G. Sec + CISSP and CCNA Security for instances or CCNA, CCNP and some other networking certifications. It seems the trio or trinity strategy has started to fade.

When I first popped on this forum getting the trifecta almost seemed like a must have. Now it looks like it more of a waste of money then anything. That's not to say that's the case for everybody, but some most.

devils_haircut

I think if the CompTIA certs were cheaper, they'd be more viable. But $350+ for the A+ and $250+ for the Network+ just seems silly to me when Microsoft exams are $150 each, and even cheaper for the MTA exams.

Priston

If you got your A+ and Net+ when it was lifetime it wasn't such a bad deal, but now they aren't lifetime it's definitely not worth it.

SephStorm

Well its an interesting situation. If I were hiring for a HD, i'd still like to at least see an A+. Even if you have an CP, it doesn't give you a real understanding of troubleshooting I think the A+ provided me. Besides, I see too many people, in my mind who shoot for the top out of nowhere in an attempt to get where they want to go. I get the idea, but i have my doubts as to the capabilities of someone who goes straight from Sec+ to CISSP.

srabiee

I started with the CompTIA certs because I wanted to study and learn the material, but I knew that they really wouldn't further my career much if at all. With the exception of Linux+, I don't see any value in CompTIA certs career-wise unless an employer specifically requires them.

The VMware VCA stuff is pretty worthless IMO. Same with CIW which WGU requires.

jvrlopez

All of my certs have been required for my job (read - DoD 8570), outside of CCNA which I took on as a personal desire.

Amongst my coworkers, I have the most, and it makes me feel like an academic blow hard since some don't apply or aren't required for our current position (some coworkers only have the 1 that is required, though that's CISSP).

Chivalry1

Not really. To me obtaining the certification is apart of professional development and apart of the building blocks of learning. Now would I list each one of my certifications on my resume....absolutely not. And in some cases the certification was apart of a training course offered....so the employer expected you take and pass the certification since they were paying for it.