Question

Which information security certifications appeal to you? From either the perspective of a manager seeking a new hire or an employee seeking career advancement, compose a detailed post to explain your choice(s). Share your interests and goals. Some additional research may be required. Consider using Internet resources to find salary information, firsthand information from certification blogs, and other real-world advice.

Answer 1

The information security certifications that appeal to me are:
* CompTIA Security+ : A vendor-neutral security certification. An individual with this certification would have superior technical skills, broad knowledge, and expertise in multiple security-related disciplines.

* Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP): It is a vendor-neutral credential. This is an advanced-level certification for IT professionals working in corporate organizations and who are serious about their careers in information security.

* Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH): It is a vendor-neutral certification. It certifies an individual in a specific network security discipline of Ethical Hacking. Acquiring this certificate credential a Certified Ethical Hacker would be a skilled professional who has an understanding and knowledge of determining weaknesses and vulnerabilities in target systems, networks, and hosts and makes use of the knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker, however in a lawful, legitimate, securing, and constructive manner (as a white-hat hacker- good guy) assessing the security environment and status of a target system/s.

Explanation of the choice for a specific information security certification from the perspective of a manager seeking a new hire:
A manager would expect, desire, and prefer a new hire who has a CISSP certification. This is because a manager expects a candidate (for the mid-senior level) to have at least 5 years of recent full-time professional work experience and comprehensive understanding in organizations in two or more of the 8 domains such as asset security, engineering, access management, and others of the CISSP common body of knowledge. Also, it is a qualification pursued and completed successfully by those already working in network security.

Reason being: Individuals with this certification are decision-makers possessing advanced and expert knowledge and technical skills required to develop, lead, guide, and manage security standards, policies, and procedures in, within, and across organizations.

Explanation of the choice for a specific information security certification from the perspective of an employee seeking career advancement:
An employee seeking career advancement would go for a CISSP certification. This is because as the employees working in other companies already would have at least 5 years of recent full-time professional work experience and comprehensive understanding in organizations in two or more of the 8 domains such as asset security, engineering, access management, and others of the CISSP common body of knowledge. Also, it is a qualification pursued and completed successfully by those already working in network security.

Reason being: Employees with this certification are decision-makers possessing advanced and expert knowledge and technical skills required to develop, lead, guide, and manage security standards, policies, and procedures in, within, and across organizations.

Interests and goals:
My interests and goals would be: With the IT knowledge, skills, expertise, and a few years of work experience, I would pursue and acquire a foundational security certification such as CompTIA Security+. With this and with my prior work experience in IT, would work in the future company and based on my interest, performance, and work experience, would pursue CISSP certification and get promoted to the next level and role in IT security domain within the organization.

Salary information:

Below are the average salary based on an employee's knowledge in IT and security, his expertise, skills, knowledge in other domains, his prior experience, and one of the above-mentioned certifications he has in Security domain:

The average salary for a Certified Ethical Hacker is $89,000 per year.
For IT Security Specialist the average salary is $107,000 per year.
For an Information Security Analyst, the average salary is $84,000 per year.

Firsthand information from certification blogs and other real-world advice:

* CompTIA Security+ is an entry-level certification for an individual to get hired in an organization.
* CISSP is one of the most desired and preferred certifications in cybersecurity. It is the most frequently mentioned and discussed certification in the industry and business. It was also one of the top-paying IT security certifications earlier.
* Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification consistently appears in the top paying hacking certifications lists. It is the most popular one. Professionals with this certification have expertise in penetration testing and hence are sought-after professionals in cyber forensics analyst, cybersecurity engineer, and applications developer positions.