Is Sec+ useful on its own?

tcp/udp

First off, I am aware that you can apply Sec+ as an elective to Mcse, which is quite useful. But.

I just can't seem to see a lot of demand/recognition of it on its own.
Did it help any of you find a job, or do you see jobs that require Security+ ? I mean, don't get me wrong, it is a cool thing to have, but does it help professionally?

royal

I personally look at all of Comptia's exams as building a foundational knowledge that will guide you towards other certifications that will ultimately help land you a job in the field you are pursuing. Of course people can get lucky (luck myself) and get a job with just Comptia certifications, that seems to seldom occur, even more so these days.

sthomas

If you search job boards like careerbuilder.com or dice.com you will see Security+ as a requirement sometimes. CompTIA certifications can help you get a job as a Tech but may not help as much when going for Admin and Engineer type jobs.

bas13

I think of all Comptia certifications as just entry level certifications. Although Security+ has the highest requirement to pass it's in the spotlight right now with security being a sweet spot for companies right now.

None the less anything else that can make you competitive in the industry is worth looking into. If you have identical credentials to someone and he just so happens to have the Security+ and you don't he just might get the call first.

Slowhand

It's worthwhile to have, especially when you've got other certs like A+, Network+, and Linux+, (or even the higher-level certs, like the Cisco and Microsoft paths). Security+ was talked about a lot at the RSA security conference, and I hear from a lot of companies that they're looking for security-professionals with either Security+, a security specialization from a vendor (MCSE: Security, CCSP, etc.), or the (ISC)2 certs. Security+ is also considered a very good foundation for other paths, like SSCP and CISSP, along with being an elective for MCSA/MCSE.

sthomas

bas13 wrote:

I think of all Comptia certifications as just entry level certifications. Although Security+ has the highest requirement to pass it's in the spotlight right now with security being a sweet spot for companies right now.

Not all CompTIA certs are entry level, the one that comes to mind is Server+. This is a mid level Server Hardware certification and from what I have heard is challenging in its own right.

Webmaster

Whether they are entry-level depends on whether entry-level refers to the certification or the person going for it. Regardless of how CompTIA meant them to be, they are entry-level certifications, but not necessarily for entry-level IT professionals. So I agree with royal, it's good for a foundation, but don't expect Security+ by itself to lead to a job, especially not one as a infosec professional. But I also agree with Slowhand, it's "worthwhile to have, especially when you've got other certs". It's not as much the certification or the exam, but the preparing for the exam that can benifit you most. Although security is becoming a more integrated part of certifications (including the new Windows 2008 MCTS and MCITP, and Cisco exams), Security+ is a good excuse to focus on solely security topics and learn the basics and terminology so you have an idea what to look for and a good foundation for this topic that will continue to be an important part of further studies whether it's infosec, networking, system administrator etc.

draken

The way I look at it is that when an employer looks at your certs, they would rather see that you have it than you not having it. The more certs the better. It still shows that you know some security. So I don't see why it wouldn't help you.

datchcha

I never really looked at CompTIA's certs to be entry-level, but more as a vendor neutral which allows doors to open for more dedicated certs.

For example: Every computer runs the same, so A+ focused on hardware with the hardware section of the A+. This section pretty much covers everything you need to know about the machine, as object. Anymore then you would become en engineer.

The Application/OS portion focused on Windows. This could be simply because Microsoft is the leading OS provider, but what if Linux or Applie had the lead. Then i wouldn't be surprised to see Linux skills being tested.

I see where you can say that A+ is entry level cert.