tom's IT Pro Best Information Security Certifications for 2016

From Best Information Security Certifications for 2016 - Certs - Tom's IT Pro

Before examining the details of the top five InfoSec certs, take a look at Table 1 below for the results of our informal job board survey. The data indicates the number of job posts nationwide in which our featured certifications were mentioned on a given day. The data should give you an idea of the relative popularity of each certification.
Table 1: Job Board Search Results

[TH][/TH]
[TH]SimplyHired
[/TH]
[TH]Indeed
[/TH]
[TH]Dice
[/TH]
[TH]LinkedIn
[/TH]
[TH]TechCareers
[/TH]
[TH]JustTechJobs
[/TH]
[TH]Total
[/TH]

[TH]CEH[/TH]
3,789
2,364
288
1,197
2,354
234
10,226

[TH]CISM
[/TH]
69,997
3,965
645
1,447
8,689
366
85,109

[TH]CISSP
[/TH]
66,939
13,271
2,014
6,013
12,755
1,401
10,2393

[TH]GSEC
[/TH]
2,101
1,581
218
651
266
177
4,994

[TH]Security+
[/TH]
3,497
2,772
226
999
468
328
8,290

Now let's take a closer look at the top five information security certifications for 2016.

FWIW, the 2015 and 2016 best Infosec certs are the same, choice of certifications most likely influenced by US 8570.1

Image courtesy of ISC2

DOD-8570-Chart.jpg

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Comments

Mike-Mike

probably about to look into GSEC

TechGuru80

Looking at how many job postings for certifications is a great way to guide your studies. The last few years have had similar results. I assume CCIE Security is in high demand, however the qualified applicants are far and few between.

NovaHax

I'd say spot on when you said this was heavily influenced by 8570.

TechGromit

Basing your statistics on Job Board Search Results is pretty worthless in my opinion, when I was searching for work I noticed a lot of the same positions were posted by several different head hunter firms. Often they were re-posted over and over, they looked like new leads, but we you looked into them, they are the same posted a month ago, just that a new search engine got a hold of it and posted it as "New".

TechGuru80

They aren't reposted enough to make a major impact on the numbers. Also...those certs are always in any cert discussion so it's valid. You can also find reputable companies and look what they list as desired.

renacido

Unless you're going to work for DoD, certs are little more than keywords that help recruiters find you.

Not saying that certs aren't valuable, they just aren't what generally get you hired. The value of certs is the learning process of studying the source material that the exams tests you on, a body of knowledge that makes you better equipped to solve problems and make decisions on the job.

OctalDump

So, this is based on by number of job listings "mentioning" the certification. It shows roughly what you'd expect: that generic certifications are more popular. The apparent anomaly of CEH is likely because of US 8570.1. I might even suggest that not all these roles are actually Info Sec roles, but related roles were a security qualification is needed.

So, it is a worthwhile guide to "generic" certifications.

What a method like this isn't going to show you, is which specialist paths are best. And it is the specialist paths that you end up pursuing for the money. So, a hardcore defensive network security person, easily earning 6 figures or contract day rates in the 4 figures, what certifications should they pursue? This list isn't going to tell you.

The reality is that Info Sec is becoming several specialisations. What would be handy at this point, is what are the top/best certs to get in those specialisations.