What certifications will make me more appealing for jobs in law enforcement?

Hi guys,

I've been a tech guy my whole life. I've built and repaired dozens of computers, and do my best to keep up to date with the latest tech. I'm currently in law enforcement and assigned to their cyber crime unit. They mostly put me there because out of the whole department, I had the widest depth of knowledge. This isn't saying much, mostly because none of the other guys were good with computers at all. My department has sent me to law enforcement training classes, most are two to five day courses which focused on; social media investigations, mobile device investigations, legal concerns for law enforcement when it comes to computers, ect. I have attended 11 of these courses.

That being said, I want to make myself more marketable for other departments in law enforcement, mostly with the feds.

I currently have no offical IT Certifications. My Undergraduate degree was in Psychology.

My goal is to make myself more appealing when it comes to law enforcement jobs, but I'd like to avoid certifications that would be considered a waste of time and money. I'd be paying for everything myself.

I was looking at the CEH exam. So I decided to give myself a self test on skillset.com. I was rated as being 40% ready. Is it possible to just study and take this exam? Where would you guys start if your ultimate goal is to be a Special Agent focusing on computer crimes?

I feel lost and am not sure what I should pursue first. I don't mind spending the money, so long as it makes me more desirable.

Feedback? Thoughts?

Thanks

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Comments

techfiend

Security+ is a good starting point and is recognized by government. For many of us certs are a means to an interview through HR thus I would find job postings of positions that interest you and see what certs they look for.

cyberguypr

LE loves everything forensics related like EnCase, FTK, CCFP, and CCFE.

iBrokeIT

cyberguypr wrote: »

LE loves everything forensics related like EnCase, FTK, CCFP, and CCFE.

Surprised you didn't mention the CHFI since it's from your favorite vendor!

cyberguypr

^ LOL!!!! These peeps know me too well.

Chinook

cyberguypr wrote: »

LE loves everything forensics related like EnCase, FTK, CCFP, and CCFE.

What he said. Encase is a great example of a specialized program you might want to investigate. Any/all things around digital forensics are a good learn. Understanding forensics on mobile phones & other digital devices is also a great start. Police have been very slow to adapt to technology. Not everyone on the force is open minded about the voodoo magic which is anything digital. Data reconnaissance is also a good skill. Believe it or not lots of people are still stupid enough to post their criminal activity on social media.

LE is finally catching this train and starting to hire people in this realm. The good part is they're often civilian jobs so you don't have to be a cop to get involved. As a word of warning, be prepared to undergo serious examination of yourself and give away some of your personal privacy.

JSN

Chinook wrote: »

What he said. Encase is a great example of a specialized program you might want to investigate. Any/all things around digital forensics are a good learn. Understanding forensics on mobile phones & other digital devices is also a great start. Police have been very slow to adapt to technology. Not everyone on the force is open minded about the voodoo magic which is anything digital. Data reconnaissance is also a good skill. Believe it or not lots of people are still stupid enough to post their criminal activity on social media.

LE is finally catching this train and starting to hire people in this realm. The good part is they're often civilian jobs so you don't have to be a cop to get involved. As a word of warning, be prepared to undergo serious examination of yourself and give away some of your personal privacy.

Correct me if I am wrong, isn't the ACE certification free? Or am I thinking of something else.

PJ_Sneakers

Are you a comissioned officer?

Someguy412

PJ_Sneakers wrote: »

Are you a comissioned officer?

No, police detective.

PJ_Sneakers

Uh, so you're a police detective but you're not a sworn LEO through your state's POST commission?

Someguy412

PJ_Sneakers wrote: »

Uh, so you're a police detective but you're not a sworn LEO through your state's POST commission?

I'm a sworn LEO recognized by my state with statewide arrest powers.

PJ_Sneakers

Oh, OK gotcha. Try to get in good with your local Secret Service guys and see if they will nominate you for NCFI. Try to get into FLETC. Also, try to attend the NW3C classes. Some of those options are provided to your agency at no cost.

Take what you can get from those, and apply them to certifications that are recognized in the private sector. Get a couple certifications that fall under DoD 8570. Build upon that with some forensics certifications if you go that route, which you probably will if you are doing cybercrime investigations.

Which software suites do you use for your investigations now? EnCase? Cellebrite? Get certified in those, whatever they are.

If you want to stay public sector, you're going to have to network.

Someguy412

I would just like to update this thread with some new thoughts that I've had since I discovered this forum.

I was basically set on getting the CEH certification and that was it. However, after talking to the CTO of my friend's company, he suggested I take the certifications "in order" since the CEH may be too difficult without prior mastery. He suggested I do this:

Network+ --> Security+ ---> CEH

I sort of agree with him since each of these certifications depends on knowledge based upon the previous certification. Besides, more certifications can't hurt either. It would show I worked my way up to a mastery level, instead of just getting a higher level certification right off the bat.

And then I saw the posts about WGU. I never heard of this University before coming to this forum. I did my research this past weekend, and besides some negative posts, the overwhelming majority sing it's praises. It appeals to me because it's cheaper than a B&M school and it allows a faster track to acquiring a masters degree.

So now I'm stuck tossing around the idea of just getting a masters instead of focusing the next 6 to 12 months on certifications. I was looking at a regular MBA or the Cybersecurity degree.

That's where I stand right now. I've been using Skillset.com to master Networking+ in the meantime since it can't hurt. Not sure what I am going to end up doing but just thought I'd share. As always, your thoughts are always welcome.

Thanks.

MickyDee

Not to derail this thread, but does anyone know if UMUC's MS in Digital Forensics and Investigation would be helpful for applying to law enforcement jobs, instead of certifications? I plan on getting the MS and then doing some of the forensic certifications at some point, like the GCFA, GCFE, etc.