Cert Advice for Pen Tester / In-Demand Skills

roninkai

Hey all.

I've just about finished CEH studies, but unfortunately had to reschedule my exam. It's now way out in October. I have another week or so of CEH prep, but them my plate is open for another cert. I'm coming back into IT with an 8 year gap. I've got 20 years experience, but in this world, if you miss 20 minutes, you're behind.

So, I'm not really sure the best route to go. I want to get into pen testing, but I know I'm still a bit behind being ready for that. I'm looking for suggestions on a cert that wouldn't be so hard and out of left field that I could obtain it either before my CEH in October, or around the same time.

After being on the market, and a few interviews...I know where I need to get up to speed. Just not sure how feasible the cert is in this time frame.
Options are:

CCENT: I studied for about a month in June. While this is great for basic networking, will it help me land my next job? Good ROI? I def want to go the Cisco route all the way to CCNP Security.

VCP: In every interview I was asked about my Virtualization knowledge. Other than playing with Vmware Workstation and lots of VirtualBox, I don't have enterprise virtualization skills. When I left IT in 2007', the cloud hadn't yet crossed my radar nor was it the buzz word it is today.

Linux+: I have some basic Linux knowledge having started with RedHat way back when. But its almost useless since it was so long ago. I know this cert is two exams, and the exams just changed. Not sure if it's a good one to knock out in 1 month to 1.5. I come from mostly a Windows/Mac background.

MCSA 70-417: I have an MCSA in Windows 7. But eventually I'd like to upgrade this to 2012, then 2 more test for MCSE:PC. This of course falls back into the SysAdmin world, but keeps me current.

CISSP: I know this isn't a cert to be done in a month. I could just bit the bullet and begin studies for it now though, with the goal of being done by end of the year. I guess this one may have the biggest ROI, but I feel it doesn't give me new technical knowledge useful day to day. Just a very marketable cert for advancement.

Any thoughts and ideas? As I write this, I feel VCP may be a step in the right direction. Can anyone recommend study materials? I do like CBT nuggets, but I feel they are a little long winded. I want to get in/get out with little to no fluff. Sitting though 40 min videos is hard I'm finding. I like seeing / doing. Not watching someone scribble across a whiteboard.

BlackBeret

VCP might be good, but double check the requirements. If I'm not mistaken it requires a formal course. I don't know how difficult it would be for you to schedule, attend, study, and test in that time frame.

I highly recommend learning Linux for any/all security positions. I learned a good bit from studying for Linux+ since it covers three distributions, but I had used Linux as an end user for years and started using it at work recently as well. I've seen too many people use test **** for Linux+ so now I feel like I need to get my RHCSA just prove that I actually know what I'm doing when my hands hit the keyboard. Also Red Hat is what I run into 98% of the time in enterprise environments. With the new Red Hat 7 changing a lot, you'll find good books for the cert test are just now starting to be released.