CISSP or Amazon AWS

Williev

Well im on to my next cert. Just got the Security+. Cant decide if I want to start studying for CISSP or Amazon AWS . Help me decide.

EANx

Which direction do you want to take your career? Which one has greater demand in your area?

Chinook

Both are excellent certifications that are in high demand. Why not both & work as a Cloud Security guy?

Williev

Not sure. I retire from the army in 2 years. I got to go where the money is.

Williev

Chinook wrote: »

Both are excellent certifications that are in high demand. Why not both & work as a Cloud Security guy?

Thats kind of what im doing now. Some days im doing some AWS other days im reading CISSP stuff.

Chinook

Both careers are in demand (Security and Cloud). I think you'll see a bigger marketplace for Cloud people as I believe the day is coming when pretty much everyone will be Cloud. I know guys working in MSP's who say up to 50% of their clients are now migrating to Azure or AWS. I've seen the salaries of Cloud guys and they're well into the 6 figures. If you consider Cloud maybe do the whole Office 365/Azure/AWS track ?

Williev

EANx wrote: »

Which direction do you want to take your career? Which one has greater demand in your area?

Not sure. I retire from the army in 2 years. I got to go where the money is.

Williev

Chinook wrote: »

Both careers are in demand (Security and Cloud). I think you'll see a bigger marketplace for Cloud people as I believe the day is coming when pretty much everyone will be Cloud. I know guys working in MSP's who say up to 50% of their clients are now migrating to Azure or AWS. I've seen the salaries of Cloud guys and they're well into the 6 figures. If you consider Cloud maybe do the whole Office 365/Azure/AWS track ?

Thats definitely something to think about. If I get a cloud cert. I can have a job and be working remote before I retire from the army.

soccarplayer29

Which one are you more interested in?

I know the money is important and honestly there is money/marketability in both CISSP and AWS.

If you enjoyed the Sec+ materials then jumping to the CISSP is logical and can continue to build off of that knowledge while it is still fresh. (I'd likely recommend doing CISSP first)

If you're doing hands on cloud work (AWS) currently and want to validate skills or would rather get more hands on than theory then AWS is solid too.

CISSP: People recommend the Sybex study guide (current edition), CCCure, etc.
AWS: ACloud.guru, Linux Academy, AWS qwik-labs are highly recommended

To reiterate, follow the path which you're more interested in.

UnixGuy

AWS then CISSP. Cloud is very hot and more people are needed quickly...

gkca

Williev wrote: »

CISSP or Amazon AWS . Help me decide.

Why not both?

Danielm7

Do you have the experience required for the full CISSP? What is your role now?

Kittrick

Hi All,

Saw this thread via a Google search. I am both a CISSP and AWS Certified (Architect Associate / Developer Associate). If anyone has any questions, I'd be glad to field them.

As for my experience:
1) I went the college route to get a Master's in Information Systems first (rule #1: Do what no one can take away from you like a college degree)
2) then I was fortunate enough to work in a computing security position that gave me the needed experience to qualify for the CISSP.
3) I then started working on computing security projects that used AWS and started taking the exams.

The CISSP alone, after I changed my name to "[my name], CISSP" on LinkedIN still brings at least 2-3 messages a day from recruiters because it's easier to steal a CISSP from somewhere than to make one. After passing the AWS Certified Architect - Associate and the AWS Certified Developer -Associate, my employer upgraded my job to have specific AWS verbiage in it, in addition to the CISSP, and an insane pay raise to keep me from getting poached like they poached me when I just had the CISSP.

Conclusion: I didn't get the certs for the money or the job (and you shouldn't either), I just wanted to challenge myself and learn cutting-edge things. If you get good at something you truly enjoy, the money will follow.

BTW, if you ever want to have a life-changing perspective on what money is, how to make more of it and be happy, I highly suggest the audiobook "It's Not About The Money" by Bob Proctor. It sent my career path into overdrive when I was stuck wondering the same question as the OP during The Great Recession just a few years back when I couldn't buy a ham sandwich if I wanted one.

Thank you for your time, and for reading.

Clm

If you just passed the Security+ I would definitely go with CISSP your already laid the foundation i feel it would be easier and quicker than AWS. And after CISSP grab the AWS

Snooper

Can someone please enlighten me what are typical responsibilities of Cloud Professionals?
They stare at monitors all day and go blind? LOL
or do they have to consult, attend meetings, have power lunches blah blah?

Snooper

no one?

Snooper wrote: »

Can someone please enlighten me what are typical responsibilities of Cloud Professionals?
They stare at monitors all day and go blind? LOL
or do they have to consult, attend meetings, have power lunches blah blah?

TechGuru80

Snooper wrote: »

no one?

It depends on the company and job...could be dealing with vendors, reviewing logs or configurations, worrying about compliance...it’s not really going to be drastically different than traditional InfoSec.

Snooper

TechGuru80 wrote: »

It depends on the company and job...could be dealing with vendors, reviewing logs or configurations, worrying about compliance...it’s not really going to be drastically different than traditional InfoSec.

Very encouraging and interesting. I would certainly like to know more. Thanks for replying.

SteveLavoie

I am almost ready for CISSP, however, I looked at the study guide for AWS Architect, and I don't think it is that hard exam. A few week of study then hop, it is done!