EP 76: Which Certification Roadmap or Path Should I Use?

https://www.yourcyberpath.com/podcast/76/

In this episode of Your Cyber Path, Kip and Jason discuss the world of cybersecurity certifications and how you can determine the proper path for you to follow. We bust the myth that the Security Certification Roadmap by Paul Jerimy is a proper roadmap from left to right to follow…but it isn’t!

A certification roadmap or pathway should be something that allows you to outline the skills and certifications you will need in your career for the next few years. A roadmap gives you a plan to follow and allows you to not try and “collect them all” when it comes to certifications. After all, certifications are expensive, and you don’t need to collect them like Pokémon cards.

Jason personally prefers the CompTIA Certs Roadmap, which presents the roadmap based on 5 different jobs within cybersecurity. This will allow you to pick a position, such as cybersecurity analyst, and then it will outline which certifications you should take. Note, this isn’t just CompTIA certifications, but they also include competitor certifications that are applicable to the career and positions you are working towards.

Remember, when it comes to certifications, you don’t need 20 or 30 of them to be competitive, but instead you need 3-5 key certifications based on the job role you are trying to fulfill in the marketplace.

For example, if you want to be a cybersecurity analyst, you should only have a handful of certifications, such as CompTIA Network+ or CCNA, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst+, and ITIL 4 Foundation. With these 4-5 certifications, you would be well qualified to join a Security Operations Center as a cybersecurity analyst. By having these certifications under your belt, you will have a better chance of getting through the HR job filtering process, landing an interview, and then impressing the hiring manager with your knowledge and skills. In addition to all of that, you will be much better prepared to do value added work in a large SOC on day 1, too, because you have the foundational knowledge needed to succeed!

What You’ll Learn

●     How to determine which certifications you should earn

●    How to create a roadmap for your future career

●     Where to find data on which certifications employers are asking for

●     How to use certification roadmaps

Relevant Websites For This Episode:

●    www.YourCyberPath.com

●   www.CyberSeek.org

●   CompTIA IT Certification Roadmap

●   Paul Jerimy's Security Certification Progression Chart

Other Relevant Episodes

●   Episode 55 - Which cybersecurity certifications should you get?