"Should I or shouldn't I become a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)?"
For anyone asking that question, the simple answer is "I should".
Here's the top 4 reasons to become a CISSP:
1. Money - The CISSP instantly enhances the earning potential for an IT security professional. There are 1 million cybersecurity job openings in 2017, and that number will grow to 1.5+ million by 2019. However, despite the growing popularity of the CISSP credential, there's only 100,000 of them (approximately, according to various sources who train CISSPs). Organizations are aggressively competing for the top security talent, and they'll pay more for CISSPs.
2. Knowledge - Regardless of how much hands-on experience a security professional may have, most are focused one or more disciplines if they work in a large IT organization. While there's a lot to be said for being an inch-wide and a mile-deep, that can also be somewhat limiting.
An Identity and Access Management pro can broaden their background with the CISSP's concentration in other areas such as security operations. For those working in smaller organizations, they are likely to have overall security responsibility but lack the depth of knowledge in each discipline covered by the CISSP.
3. Promotion - Becoming a CISSP may be the path of least resistance for IT security pros looking to climb the corporate ladder. Gaining the certification demonstrates that an employee is devoted to their career, and serious about advancing. All things being equal, a CISSP has a leg-up over their competition come promotion time.
4. Specialization. For an IT security pro looking at crossing over to a new specialty area, the CISSP may be an on-ramp. A risk management analyst in a large IT shop may not be the most attractive candidate for a hot MSSP looking for Security Operations Center (SOC) staff. That same person - with CISSP education covering SOC - is suddenly in contention for the SOC job.
Ready to become a CISSP? Follow these steps.
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