Help required in Certification Path

ranjithp

Hi all,

i am working in IT for 5+ yrs and my specialization is security for all these years. I have worked in most of the security products and have enough exposure in implementation/trouble-shootings and now i want my career path towards security consultant. I need to do some certifications which are not product oriented since all product oriented are time-variant ones like when version changes the certification changes and so its value. I want to perform some certification in IT security field which are ever-green, high valued and not product oriented. i have planned for following certifications like Compatia security+, CISSP, CEH and for technical project management PMP. please provide me some tips/advice regarding the path.

with cheers,
Ranjith

Turgon

ranjithp wrote: »

Hi all,

i am working in IT for 5+ yrs and my specialization is security for all these years. I have worked in most of the security products and have enough exposure in implementation/trouble-shootings and now i want my career path towards security consultant. I need to do some certifications which are not product oriented since all product oriented are time-variant ones like when version changes the certification changes and so its value. I want to perform some certification in IT security field which are ever-green, high valued and not product oriented. i have planned for following certifications like Compatia security+, CISSP, CEH and for technical project management PMP. please provide me some tips/advice regarding the path.

with cheers,
Ranjith

CISSP, but there are thousands of them these days. Best advice is to work your CV and do some research on opening doors for yourself based on what you already have to offer rather than banking on another certification doing that for you.

blue_butterfly

I am A+ and NET+ certified with 7 years of IT experience, as technical support and systems implementations. I've been working for 2 years as Information Security Administrator. I really like this field and would like some tips about which Security certification should I take first.
Thanks

Darril

With 7 years experience, you can pursue the CISSP but as you probably know it's a bear. With your A+ and Network+, and other experience and knowledge, the Security+ will be easily achievable and a lot of the knowledge you gain pursuing it will be valuable when pursuing other security certifications (including the CISSP). A big consideration is what your employer values, and what your employer is willing to pay for.

HTH,

Darril Gibson
Security Blog

Bl8ckr0uter

7 years experience in what? Systems? Networks? Databases? What are you trying to secure?

blue_butterfly

Darril

Thanks a lot for your response. I will check on Security + before the harder ones. As I mentioned I am only 2 years working as Security Admin and is pretty much entry level on this field. My past experience was based on desktop support, and banking automation. So Security + may be a good start on Security field.

Thanks

badrottie

Turgon wrote: »

CISSP, but there are thousands of them these days. Best advice is to work your CV and do some research on opening doors for yourself based on what you already have to offer rather than banking on another certification doing that for you.

I think it is more germane to ask what security path you wish to follow.

• If you are interested in security consulting (what I do for a living), a CISSP, CISM and CISA are excellent designations to have (Some would say mandatory, but I do not share this viewpoint)
• If you are interested in security engineering, vendor specific security certifications (Eg. CCNP Security) are good, while SANS GIAC certificiations are non-vendor specific and very well regarded
• If you are interested in penetration testing, a CEH and/or SANS GPEN are well recognized, but some of the best pentesters I know hold none of these, nor do they plan on obtaining them
• A PMP with a CISSP only adds real value for project management on security projects, IMHO. Unless that is a career goal that you are truly aiming for, and a rather niche area of specialization, I would pick one path or the other. (For the record, when I need a project manager for my projects, I factor it into the project scope and budget. Let them do all the project planning, develop Gannt charts, milestones, etc. so I can concentrate on what is far more interesting and satisfying work .)

In short, it varies, and there are no hard and fast rules. The best advice I can give is to research what interests you, determine what credentials provide the best value, and then pursue them. Otherwise, you will just be collecting a lot of certifications that may not add a lot of value, consume time and money, and do not significantly add value/point of diminishing returns.