{"id":143,"date":"2013-12-16T16:52:44","date_gmt":"2013-12-16T22:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/?p=143"},"modified":"2021-08-30T13:10:48","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T19:10:48","slug":"cybersecurity-degree-vs-certification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/2013\/12\/16\/cybersecurity-degree-vs-certification\/","title":{"rendered":"Cybersecurity Degree vs. Certification"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s best for your career \u2013 a Cybersecurity certification or a degree in Information Technology (IT) security?<\/strong>
\n[Guest Author: Laura Linhart]<\/p>\n

A few years ago, this question would not have been as relevant as it is today.\u00a0 The CISSP\u00ae (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) sponsored by the International Information systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) first offered as a security certification in 1994, was the first information security certification to meet ISO standards.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Since then, the number and types of information or Cybersecurity certifications and professional organizations that offer these certifications has proliferated.<\/p>\n

The growth and evolution of information or Cybersecurity as a degree unto itself has also been significant in recent years.\u00a0 Today, many colleges or universities offer it is a field or major unto itself, offered as both undergraduate and graduate degrees.\u00a0 In previous years it was only available as a subset of another major such as data processing, computer networking or computer science.<\/p>\n

From a career or professional perspective, information security appears to be a stable and growing profession[2]<\/a> .\u00a0 As the profession continues to grow and evolve, the question of which is more relevant \u2013 a degree or certifications is now a consideration.\u00a0\u00a0 As with most things in life, the best answer is \u201cit depends\u201d.\u00a0 Where you are at in your career, life\u2019s journey (i.e., age) and your own ambitions are things to consider.<\/p>\n

Degree \u2013 to expand or gain knowledge.\u00a0 On the positive side, a degree is forever, and does not require any upkeep.\u00a0 It will get you in the HR screening process door if an IT degree is a particular job requirement.\u00a0 It indicates that you have the work ethic to complete something.<\/p>\n

Certification \u2013 to establish your credibility.\u00a0 Require continuing care and feeding (continuing certification requirements).\u00a0 Most also require years of experience in the specific area of certification. \u00a0\u00a0It indicates that you have the subject matter expertise.<\/p>\n

Another variable to consider is practical experience.\u00a0 In some situations, practical experience means the most.\u00a0 It indicates that you have the ability, and can apply and expand on what you know.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that there is no one answer that fits all.\u00a0 It depends on your particular circumstances.<\/p>\n

In reality, you will probably need both a degree and certification(s).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.isc2.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[2]<\/a>.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.isc2.org\/uploadedFiles\/(ISC)2_Public_Content\/2013%20Global%20Information%20Security%20Workforce%20Study%20Feb%202013.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s best for your career \u2013 a Cybersecurity certification or a degree in Information Technology (IT) security? [Guest Author: Laura Linhart] A few years ago, this question would not have been as relevant as it is today.\u00a0 The CISSP\u00ae (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) sponsored by the International Information systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[34,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-careers","category-security-education"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions\/144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurity.bellevue.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}