Solved Need some guidance in planning which cert to take up next.

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Hello all,
Atharva here. Currently pursuing second year engineering in Computer Science and parallelly doing honors in Cybersecurity, in 2024 I wish to come to the United States to pursue my MS in Cybersecurity. Regarding certifications, I have already passed the CompTIA Network+ and will be giving the exam for CompTIA Security+ in a few days. Wanted to plan which certification to get next in lieu of the bigger picture which is my aim to pursue my MS, I mean something that would help me strengthen my University application. Any suggestions on what I can take next?
Is SSCP a good option? Or should I go for Cysa+? Or anything else?
Would really appreciate some constructive inputs.
Thank you!!

Hello,
I'd really appreciate inputs from anyone...I just sort of need that roadmap guidance...
Thanks!!

@Atharva-Bet said in Need some guidance in planning which cert to take up next.:

Hello all,
Atharva here. Currently pursuing second year engineering in Computer Science and parallelly doing honors in Cybersecurity, in 2024 I wish to come to the United States to pursue my MS in Cybersecurity. Regarding certifications, I have already passed the CompTIA Network+ and will be giving the exam for CompTIA Security+ in a few days. Wanted to plan which certification to get next in lieu of the bigger picture which is my aim to pursue my MS, I mean something that would help me strengthen my University application. Any suggestions on what I can take next?
Is SSCP a good option? Or should I go for Cysa+? Or anything else?
Would really appreciate some constructive inputs.
Thank you!!

@Atharva-Bet ,

This would depend on what your career goal would be. Can you tell us?

@Ronnie-Wong Hello Sir, For now, my aim is to actually get admitted to a good University in the fall of 2024 and I was sort of working on getting some certifications done just to strengthen my application profile. The Master's degree would be definitely all about cybersecurity. Post my education, I'd definitely appreciate some sort of hands-on technical cyber security job (blue/red team). From there I may start climbing the corporate ladder. For now, I don't have a tunnel vision on what specific type of job I may want. Maybe you can help me there too. But the main thing is to keep doing certifications till 2024, as many as possible. The question is, which ones?
Thanks!

@Atharva-Bet if you would like to "strengthen" your profile, I would suggest:

CompTIA Security+
CompTIA PenTest+ or CompTIA CySA+

@Atharva-Bet said in Need some guidance in planning which cert to take up next.:

@Ronnie-Wong Hello Sir, For now, my aim is to actually get admitted to a good University in the fall of 2024 and I was sort of working on getting some certifications done just to strengthen my application profile. The Master's degree would be definitely all about cybersecurity. Post my education, I'd definitely appreciate some sort of hands-on technical cyber security job (blue/red team). From there I may start climbing the corporate ladder. For now, I don't have a tunnel vision on what specific type of job I may want. Maybe you can help me there too. But the main thing is to keep doing certifications till 2024, as many as possible. The question is, which ones?
Thanks!

@Atharva-Bet,

Certifications are very focused towards skills and technology within a given time period. I mention this because a certification that was very popular at one point in time may not be as popular just a few years later because technology changes and it changes industry. There is no telling beside the the fundamentals what will be a good certification to have. E.g., I earned a certification back in 2005 called MCDST (Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician) to support Windows XP workstations and users. Though the skills may translate. There's no company around today that would say this would be a good one to have.

Focus upon a particular goal is not only good for you now but also before you spend money toward earning any one of them for the future in 1.5 years. If I were to recommend any it would always be a cybersecurity and keeping them up to date.

@Ronnie-Wong @wes-bryan Thank you sirs for the inputs. Really appreciate that. Had one question in my mind though. I know it is a little ambitious on my side, but if I really try hard, can I prepare for CISSP (associate) after passing CompTIA Security +? I know it must not be recommended but investment-wise (both in terms of finances and time), do you think that's possible or feasible or at least sounds like a good idea? Also maybe having a CISSP when applying for a master's in the USA may strengthen my profile?
Thanks!!

@adam-gordon Hello Sir would really appreciate your input on this query too...

@Atharva-Bet , I hope all is well. A CISSP is a credential that can be very helpful to you in your career, over time, as you progress, assuming that you are looking to take on more senior roles in management and/or as an architect.

It may offer you some benefit as you pursue a Masters degree, as you may get credit for certain certifications that you hold against your total number of required credits in the program, but that depends on the specifics of the program you are pursuing.

The most important thing(s) to consider as you weigh the benefit(s) of a certification are what it will help you to accomplish & why are you pursuing it... if those two things line up, and overlap/support one another, there is value in the investment of time & money to achieve it.

If, on the other hand, they do not overlap, then the value may not be readily apparent, nor useful.

Good Luck !!

Cheers,

Adam

Your best path is to stick with CompTIA security certifications until you enter the full-time workforce. Alternatively, go for vendor-specific certifications like the Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate.

The SSCP requires one year of paid work experience, but that may be waived after you get a computer science or cybersecurity bachelor's degree. If you are planning to go directly to graduate school after you receive your bachelor's degree, then you won't yet be eligible for the SSCP at the time you're applying for graduate school.

The CISSP requires 4-5 years of full-time work experience before you are eligible for the certification, so that's a bad choice if you're still at university.

There is no such thing as CISSP Associate. It's called "Associate of (ISC)²". Implying that you have a CISSP when you lack the required work experience is a violation of (ISC)²'s ethics policy.