CCSP or CCIE - Security Exam !!!

mcox1232000

I am planning to tackle either the CCSP or CCIE - Security exam as soon as I finish the CCNP exam. Can someone please tell me if it is worth to go for the CCSP first and then the CCIE - Security exam or just go for this CCIE exam straight away. How about the contents, are they the same or different? How hard are these two exams? I prefer doing security related work, so which of these two would easily land me a Cisco security job?

Thanks
MC.

mikej412

One of the new CCNP exams, the 642-825 ISCS - Implementing Secure Converged Wide Area Networks exam should be a good introduction to Cisco Security.

You can compare the individual exam blueprint of the 5 CCSP Exams against the requirements of the CCIE Security Track

Studying for the CCSP exams should help prepare you to pass the CCIE Security Written Exam.

And passing the CCIE Written Exam lets you schedule your CCIE Security Lab Exam

The only thing you have to do for the CCIE is pass the Written Qualifying Exam for that track, and then pass the Lab Exam. The CCIEs pre-date the current Associate & Professional level Certification tracks and don't have any prerequisites. But a lot of people do find it useful to take the Associate & Professional level exams (and certifications) that match their desired CCIE track first.

You can check out the Cisco Press CCSP page and the recommended books against the CCIE Security Book List to get an idea of the "overlap" between them... but its probably safe to say the the CCSP is a subset of the CCIE Security.