New Annual Maintenance Fees from (ISC)2

PCTechLinc

Looks like the annual fees for all (ISC)2 certifications are increasing effective July 1.  From the AMF website:

https://www.isc2.org/Member-Resources/AMFs-Overview

How Much Are My AMFs?

The following AMF rates are effective until June 30, 2019.

Associate of (ISC)²	U.S. $35
SSCP	U.S. $65
CAP	U.S. $65
CSSLP	U.S. $100
CISSP	U.S. $85
CISSP Concentrations	U.S. $35
HCISPP	U.S. $65
CCSP	U.S. $100

Starting July 1, 2019, your new AMF will be U.S. $125 regardless of what certification you earn, but you will no longer need to pay multiple AMFs if you hold multiple certifications. The new AMF for Associates of (ISC)² will be U.S. $50.

Danielm7

That's way too much in one change. Most people have the CISSP, not the others, it's not really a benefit for most of the cert holders. Cash grab. 

rebelution

No furlough discounts I guess...

mgeoffriau

Take note, however:

New AMF Rates and Policy Changes
To remain in Good Standing, all (ISC)² members and associates are required to ensure their accounts align with the new Certification and Membership Maintenance Policy by June 30, 2019. AMFs are increasing to U.S. $125 for certified members and U.S. $50 for associates. Members have until June 30, 2019 to pay any outstanding AMFs and the option to pay ahead for the remainder of their three-year membership cycle at the current rate for their certification(s).

So, if you haven't already, take the opportunity to prepay the current membership fees for your current membership cycle before the fee goes up.

cyberguypr

I just paid $185 a week ago for CISSP and CCSP so can't really complain.

DZA_

This is where all my Christmas money will be going to. 

Info_Sec_Wannabe

Ugghh.... on the upside of it though, those who hold multiple ISC2 certifications will have to pay less moving forward..

rebelution

I think the real question is, what new value are we getting for this increase in price?  Aside from 5 letters in my resume, what is $375 over 3 years doing for me now?

tedjames

What a racket!

cyberguypr

+1 to what rebelution said. You need to determine if you are getting any value. Otherwise you are just wasting money. In my personal case I cater to audiences that value the letters behind the name, so I gotta stick with it. My EC-council certs didn't bring any value to me so once they implemented the fees I bailed.

SteveLavoie

Well, in my case it is a price reduction as I have SSCP and CISSP and I will pursue CCSP soon. So I will not complain. 

MitM

I'll pay it to keep it. It's still relevant in the industry

JoJoCal19

The CISSP, CISM, CISA, and CRISC are the ones I will keep indefinitely. My GIAC certs are starting to come up for renewal and I need to decide if it's worth it to keep them or not. I've not directly seen any value from them, but I'd hate to need them one day and not have them since they're not easy to get.

fitzlopez

Thanks for the heads up, it seems I'll just have to pay $85 for my CISSP in march plus the $35 I accidentally paid for the ISSMP in december, then $125 in june for my CSSLP and (hopefully) ISSAP and by next year I'll save about $130 dlls a year.  $85 + $35 + $35 + $100 = $255.

This is actually an incentive for me to get more ISC2 certs, and makes the decision to keep renewing them easier if I ever change jobs. I'll look into the CSSP and CAP.

The main reason I like Comptia is the single cheap AMF cost.

lucky0977

This is welcoming news. I was one of those that sent complaints because I had to pay an AMF for CAP, SSCP and CISSP.

spiderjericho

After seeing what the benefit of the change is, it’s not bad for a lifelong learner. I don’t have multiple ISC certs.

I do have multiple ISACA and CompTIA and wish they’d implement similar pricing.

Such a racket lol. I’m curious what fees a Doctor, Lawyer, etc has to pay annually.

E Double U

Wow! Feeling fortunate that I have an employer that reimburses for these fees. 

DZA_

spiderjericho said:

Such a racket lol. I’m curious what fees a Doctor, Lawyer, etc has to pay annually.

My brother who practices Canadian law pays about 400 CAD annually. Although mine will probably add up once I get a few more certs (CCSP and the CRISC)

Regards,

cyberguypr

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/isc2-fees-price-being-professional-wim-remes/

Danielm7

That's an interesting article, but his justifications still basically point back to "I want to be able to claim I'm an CISSP", they aren't offering a lot more in return for the fees. His claim of "continual learning"... I do a multiple of the required learning every year anyway, cert or not, at a certain point I just stop recording it, it's not driven by needing CEUs, but needing to stay current in the industry and enjoying it. 

H-bomb

To the members saying that it’s too much. You have to pay to play. If you’re going to complain about the AMF for the CISSP, let it lapse.

Chances are you’ll get offered a job someday making stupid money that requires it. Guess who won’t get the job?

JDMurray

H-bomb said:

To the members saying that it’s too much. You have to pay to play. If you’re going to complain about the AMF for the CISSP, let it lapse.

Chances are you’ll get offered a job someday making stupid money that requires it. Guess who won’t get the job?

Sure, but how many hiring managers actually check if any of the certs you claim to have are expired or even care if they have expired? Not many, I'm sure.

By getting more (ISC)2 certs you stand to benefit by this change in (ISC)2 AMF policy. We are all in these discussion forums because we want to get more certs, yes?

ThePawofRizzo

Since I have SSCP and plan on CISSP in the next few months, I'm glad for not paying for two certs.  I don't love the fees, but I recognized the continuing education is a necessary part of the certification before I took the exam.  

H-bomb

JDMurray said:

H-bomb said:

To the members saying that it’s too much. You have to pay to play. If you’re going to complain about the AMF for the CISSP, let it lapse.

Chances are you’ll get offered a job someday making stupid money that requires it. Guess who won’t get the job?

Sure, but how many hiring managers actually check if any of the certs you claim to have are expired or even care if they have expired? Not many, I'm sure.

By getting more (ISC)2 certs you stand to benefit by this change in (ISC)2 AMF policy. We are all in these discussion forums because we want to get more certs, yes?

True. However, those working for DoD or other federal agencies usually have to show proof (if required) for DoD 8570/8140 compliance. I know that I've had to show a copy of my certs for the last two positions I've held.

lucky0977

DoD is a different animal. I think he's referring to private sector with the verifying of your certs.

Danielm7

I think some people are jumping to the conclusion that people would just stop paying for the $40 difference, I'm obviously not going to do that. I think they just should add more value, or do a more reasonable increase. The idea that it's a good deal because you can just pay them more to take more certs isn't really adding value for most people. If your internet service suddenly was 50% more and they said, "but it's a great deal if you also want phone service!" the people who only wanted internet wouldn't be happy with the logic. I was reading someone on another forum saying it's good because now tons of people won't renew and the cert will be way more valuable, HA, good luck with that thought process. 

rebelution

Danielm7 said:

I think some people are jumping to the conclusion that people would just stop paying for the $40 difference, I'm obviously not going to do that. I think they just should add more value, or do a more reasonable increase. The idea that it's a good deal because you can just pay them more to take more certs isn't really adding value for most people. If your internet service suddenly was 50% more and they said, "but it's a great deal if you also want phone service!" the people who only wanted internet wouldn't be happy with the logic. I was reading someone on another forum saying it's good because now tons of people won't renew and the cert will be way more valuable, HA, good luck with that thought process. 

I tend to agree with this.  Obviously for my 8570 compliance and time I invested into getting my CISSP I'm going to have to pay the increase, however, the value that ISC2 adds to my life and profession currently is very limited.  Maybe someone can shed some light as I truly don't know, nor do I go on the ISC2 seeking it out, but are there regionalized meetings/conferences/get together put on by ISC2 to foster networking and growth in the field?  All I seem to get are emails asking me to vote for board members or attend the large symposiums (hard to justify that expense at my current position) . 

JDMurray

H-bomb said:

True. However, those working for DoD or other federal agencies usually have to show proof (if required) for DoD 8570/8140 compliance. I know that I've had to show a copy of my certs for the last two positions I've held.

This policy is up to each hiring manager or hiring organization. Sometimes they want to see the physical copy of your cert/diploma (for fraud detection reasons) and other times they are satisfied by checking your degrees/certs online. It's less work for them if you bring your paper with you to the interview.

PCTechLinc

JDMurray said:

H-bomb said:

True. However, those working for DoD or other federal agencies usually have to show proof (if required) for DoD 8570/8140 compliance. I know that I've had to show a copy of my certs for the last two positions I've held.

This policy is up to each hiring manager or hiring organization. Sometimes they want to see the physical copy of your cert/diploma (for fraud detection reasons) and other times they are satisfied by checking your degrees/certs online. It's less work for them if you bring your paper with you to the interview.

There is also the DoD Workforce Certification (DWC) section in MilConnect, where you authorize the DoD to request verification from the vendors directly.  Once done, it automatically imports the PDF cert into ATCTS.  That is, of course, after you actually get the position and are able to do so.  The whole process takes a couple weeks.  That's the process we have to follow in order to request AMF tokens.

H-bomb

JDMurray said:

This policy is up to each hiring manager or hiring organization. Sometimes they want to see the physical copy of your cert/diploma (for fraud detection reasons) and other times they are satisfied by checking your degrees/certs online. It's less work for them if you bring your paper with you to the interview.

I guess I just assume everyone works for the federal government lol. Yes, you are correct. Different organizations have different policies. It probably won't make much of a difference in the private sector. For the cert holders that have multiple ISC2 certifications it works out really well. I will be able to pay $125 for my CISSP, CCSP, CAP, and SSCP instead of $300+

MitM

I think some people will complain no matter what.