What cert would you recommend & why ?

niceguyshankar

Friends..

Request your opinions / suggestions / advice on my post

My qualifications as follows

Got Bachelors and masters in computer science ( thats UG and PG in our geography)
Got 12 Years experience in IT Infrastructure support / remote infra management /
Straight 8 years of Managing Multi OS Servers / Storage - design / deploy / provision / manage / charge back / private clouds etc - held managerial role for last 5 years placing me 30:70 on technology : management
Strong experience on Software license compliance and L1 on all products like Application servers ( oracle / ibm) and databases (oracle) - well these ran on the servers that I managed
Experience in handling Info sec, statutory audits / vendor compliance reviews @ enterprise level
Very basic knowledge on Network

What am looking for and not working

A job change - I trust I do not carry enough professional certs ( tech & manager, both)

Confused on

Why am not pursuing tech certs for Servers / Storage - possibly lost touch in the current stint
Why am not pursuing Network certs .fear of lack of experience

What am inclined and why

Cyber security and its audit positions due to impending Cloud distribution in the field - debating if I can start on CISA first and PMPs, ITILs and other security related certs

What / where I need help

1) What certs / path can I pursue if I want to continue on Data centers / server deployments at a Solution Architect Level

2) What cert path should I pursue to evolve into a Info sec evangelist and what tech certs should I complement to reach there technically strong..

All and Any response would be highly appreciated.:)

Regards..NG

niceguyshankar

Looks like I asked too many questions....

N2IT

Something aligned with your technologies that you know well.

CISA would be a nice one since you have quiet a bit of auditing experience. My vote is for the CISA!

swild

Depending on your location, you may not need any certs at all to continue with Data center/server archetecture. You have plenty of experience and that will get you the job. Some employers, like the government require that you have certain certs and most of those will give you a 6 month period to gain the required certs after you are hired.

If you need to update your skillset on new software, you could go for the MCITP:SA or MCITP:EA. Look at this link under Windows Server or under Windows SQL Server for database: MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) | Training Courses for IT Professionals


Infosec is a whole different animal. There are so many different paths that you can go down. The CISSP is widely regarded as one of the top Security certifications. I am a CISSP and I think it is just a broad overview of the entire scope of IT Security. There is very little depth to it. However, it is an excellent management cert because it exposes you to everything you need to create and enforce policy. After I studied for the CISSP, I had a better idea of which path of Infosec I wanted to go down.

The PMP is an excellent cert for any manager, in or out of IT, if you have the project management experience to qualify. I took the Project+ cert and that is all of the PM certification I will ever have. It just isn't for me.

The CISA is good for auditing, but the CISM is more for managers. I plan on getting the CISA this december, so I haven't studied for it yet. the CISM is a possible future goal.