636-555-3226 wrote: » Minimal exposure ... pass more exams to solidify yourself as a good candidate.... As a hiring manager, I do appreciate certs, but I also value (more highly) someone who can walk in and say they know how to use Nessus, Splunk, Bro, Wireshark, Kali (and Linux for that matter), etc. Now that you've got the Security+, I'd recommend downloading and learning some of the tool sets you'll be expected to know for the job. If there's a job opening and I've got some guy with a Security+ and CSA+ in front of me but doesn't have any hands-on experience versus a guy with a Security+ and has been running Security Onion on his home network for two years - I know which one I'm more likely to hire!