Free certifications?

Does anybody know of any free certifications that are currently being offered?

I've tested the 70-669 Desktop virtualization for free during a special offer. I also saw when they had the HTML5 certifications for free. Anything like that going on right now? Are there any beta exams slated for release in the immediate future?

Know the best way to stay informed and not miss out on these when they become available?

Also, what's the deal with the price of some of these Information assurance/management certifications? I saw the GIAC was like $999 and the CISA/CISM were almost $700. These are far more than the $150 I am accustomed to paying for Microsoft certs. Though, if you add up the price of the MCITP it is roughly on par with these. I understand Microsoft and Cisco wanting to make money off of their certs but isn't the ISACA and (ISC)2s entire existance to develop these tests? Thus, shouldn't their exams be priced more competitively since profit is not the bottom line for these organizations?

I was just forecasting the price to get the "trifecta": CISSP, CISM, CISA and experienced a good bit of sticker shock.

Can anyone rationalize/justify these prices?

Edit: By rationalize/justify I mean as it pertains to the cost manufacturing/distributing the test vs the overall mark up. Essentially, Why so high?

Thanks all.

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Comments

networker050184

Anything work getting is going to cost money.

tprice5

I am not saying they aren't worth it. I understand the value and opportunities the CISSP brings to the table. The question was why are they priced the way they are.

ChooseLife

tprice5 wrote: »

By rationalize/justify I mean as it pertains to the cost manufacturing/distributing the test vs the overall mark up.

These are not "goods" being "manufactured". Mass-produced goods that have little distinctive quality (majority of population will buy cheapest milk/bread/eggs, not that of highest quality or certain brand) have to maintain lowest profitable margin and drive the price down. On the contrary, tangible/intangible products that are not mass-produced are typically priced up to whatever highest price the market will bear.

tprice5 wrote: »

Thus, shouldn't their exams be priced more competitively

What is their competition?

tprice5 wrote: »

Can anyone rationalize/justify these prices?

Sure, by using ROI. If I pay $1000 and as the result get an increase in pay by $5000, that is 500% or $4000 ROI.

Master Of Puppets

They can afford it. Those certs add a lot of value to a person's resume/marketability and therefore people are willing to pay the money.

redz

First, rant:
I consider GIAC's business model to be slimy and offensively indecent. I will not sit either their courses or exams, even if paid for by an employer. That said, they are absolutely allowed to attempt to squeeze every dime from the populace by trying to force everyone to sit their $5,000 training to get a certification that could likely be self-studied for effectively.

Second, rational thoughts:
The reputation of the certifying agent determines the value of the certification. GIAC is highly respected. We should count ourselves lucky that more respected organizations, such as (ISC)2 and ISACA, have modestly priced exams (by comparison). Those two agencies could charge whatever they want and we would see ROI, so we would pay, whereas GIAC can still be entirely ignored in a successful information security career.