Job oppurtunities after CISSP

dryan86

I work on the geek squad at Best Buy with no college experience. I've learned everything on my own and have a few certifications. If I study and pass the CISSP and become an associate, would that open any doors to better job opportunities? I know it wouldn't be a big leap from best buy since I don't have a college degree but can I use that certification as a credential to any higher paying jobs? And if so, what should I look for? Any help is much appreciated.

cyberguypr

Welcome to TE.

Do you have any IT experience other that the Geek Squad? Assuming no experience and no college, you could go for an entry level security analyst position or something similar. If I were you I would focus on gaining more experience. A the same time, lower level certs such as Security+, CCNA, MCP, etc. would be useful. I think you may see more ROI out of that.

Another question that popped into my mind is what is your ultimate goal? If you want a better job going for a CISSP is not the best approach. If security is your area of interest i stand by my recommendation of getting other certs that willexpose you to technologies that are essential for a well-rounded security pro.

Again, tel us more about where you want to go and what your priorities are so we can suggest an appropriate path.

emerald_octane

Unfortunately i don't think this would work in your case. While I already have a degree and am working on the CISSP exam, I would easily say that the degree would open up more doors to you in general when pitted against a cissp alone, but an associate title without any relevant info sec experience at all doesn't sound very attractive. Of all the job openings i've seen, none ask for an associate of (isc)2 title "or above", and the ones that ask for the CISSP credential often ask for relevant experience and a degree of some sort, although the experience portion is a bit of a moot point since a bona-fide CISSP will have the 5 (or 4) yrs of required experience.

I say get the security+ cert which should open more doors for you. The CISSP isn't worth the ROI for you atm. Remember you have 6 years from when you pass your test to get the required experience else you'll have to retake it. That means A) Finding an info sec job, making sure it fits in some sort of domain, C) finding someone to endorse you, etc. This can be tough starting from scratch.