Future-Proof Your Cyber Career: Essential Certifications for Professional Development
The Blue Mantis team carries many Cybersecurity industry certifications. Since security is deep and wide, there are many specific certifications that individuals can seek to show expertise in a precise area to boost their expertise. These include Cloud Security (e.g. AWS, Azure), Microsoft Security, Network Security, Offensive Security and many others.
These specialty certifications should come after achieving some core foundational certs that help get hiring managers attention and help boost a cybersecurity professionals’ career. One of the areas I believe form a strong foundation is networking. So, I like to see some network skills with certifications like Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) or more generally the CompTIA Network+. Experience in IT using these fundamentals is a major plus, even if it is on a help desk troubleshooting end-user issues.
Specific to cybersecurity, top entry certifications we look for include the CompTIA Security+, ISC2 System Security Certified Professional (SSCP) and the GIAC Information Security Fundamentals (GISF).
If you are really looking to propel your career to the next level, the crème-de-la-crème certification would be the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) for those going the technical hands-on route. For those heading more into the Governance, Risk and Compliance or Security Management route, ISACA’s Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) is highly recommended. Lastly, those seeking professions as auditors or assessment experts, ISACA’s Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Combine all three to supercharge your career and your ability to navigate across a wide spectrum of security roles.
Lastly, if you are seeking a career in specialty areas like Penetration Testing, an area that Blue Mantis Excels in, the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is an entry level cert to get you started. More advanced Penetration testing certs include Offsec’s OSCP & OSEP certs as well as some great GIAC (SANS institute) offensive security certifications such as GPEN, GCPN, GRTP.
The Blue Mantis teams hold the above certifications.
