Become (and stay) a CISSP on a Budget

Certification: ISC CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional

The international Information Systems Security Certification Consortium governs CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) which is an independent certification for information security. The certification is valid worldwide according to the reports of (ISC)2. The CISSP obtained the ANSI ISO/IEC Standard 17024:2003 accreditation in June 2004. Te certification is also approved by Department of Defense of US, for both of Information Assurance Technical (IAT) and Information Technical Managerial (IAM) categories. It is the baseline certification for the US National Security Agency’s ISSEP program.

An organization cannot be protected by technological solutions only; it has to have security professionals. These professionals will provide the organization a high standard of security to their customers, stake holders, employers and protect the organizational information. The Human Resource department in USA says that the security certification by CISSP is the biggest certification which one has, shows that he/she is qualified and can provide security to the the organization competently than other certifications. The US department stating that is correct in its own terms. The certified professionals who have the CISSP certification need to have five year of experience in the IT industry to secure their certification.

Becoming CISSP Certified

Getting CISSP certified is not an easy task. You should have to study accordingly, with a study plan.

Obtaining the experience: Before going for exam the candidate must have an experience of 5 years in two or more domains of the (ISC)2. The experience can be waived off for one year if the candidate has four year college degree and four year of experience. In case you don’t have the experience, you can become Associate of (ISC)2 by clearing the exam. After that you have six years to gain the experience and be certified by CISSP.
Prepare for the exam: First of all the candidate should download the outline of the exam. After that the candidate should look into the domains of CISSP CBK Domains with the webcasts available on the official site of CISSP.
Scheduling the test: The student should create their account at Pearson Vue and schedule their exam. After the scheduling of the exam you should complete the examination formalities y submitting the attested copies of your documents and professional experience and accepting the (ISC)2 Code of Ethics. You should review the questions given for the students before submitting the exam fee.
After the scheduling of the exam prepare for the exam, sit for the exam. Clear the paper to get certified.
After getting certified, you have to maintain your CISSP certification. That means getting recertified every three years.

Becoming a CISSP certified you need to work hard, study well, gain the required experience. This is the sought after certification but is an expensive certification hard to learn and maintain.

Preparing and maintaining CISSP budget

The cost of the materials for training and the cost of the annual maintenance of the CISSP certification can add a burden to your expenses. Here are some methods and options to save some of your bucks while preparing for the exam.

Buy materials from someone who cleared the paper earlier: This will sound you absurd that where you have to be current in the in the industry, you are asked to use second hand material. This is because; the used material will have the important points marked, can be had cheaper than the new editions. It’s not necessary to have the updated version; you just should need the right book rather than the latest material.
Use available materials that are free: You can find several sites that will provide you materials, sample papers, free lecture videos. By the help of these you can save little money.
Visiting near by library: Visit a library near you which may have materials on the CISSP exam. Having them for few weeks can help you prepare well and you can make sure which book is better for you.
Ask your employer: Ask your employer about CISSP, he might be interested in funding you to have access to CBT or other eBook resources.
Ask who has cleared the test: The persons who have cleared the test can suggest and review your study plan if you need to. Their suggestions and advice will help you plan well for your studies.

The maintenance of the CISSP certification is not at all easy task. You have to learn and study more to be updated and be certified. You need to earn CPEs (Continuing Professional Education); 120 credits are required for three years, you can submit minimum of 20 credits each year of the three year certification along with a fee of US$85 every year as maintenance fee. You can earn CPEs by following ways by less investment:

Listening to podcasts: Listen to the podcasts that are available to you, make notes and submit it for CPEs. The persons, who travel more and have long distance travel, have this as a good option.
Online training: There are several online portals that can be used to earn CPEs. You should have a screenshot or a copy of the certificate that you may receive on completion. This will be needed in case your CPEs are audited.
Webinars: there are several webinars that can be used for earning CPEs, and they are acceptable too. But they should be of non-sales and vendor-neutral in nature.
Reading books: You should read as much as you can. You can pick a book that covers the domains listed in CBK and study them to earn CPEs.

These are the ways by which one can have the certification as well as maintain the certification on a low cost budget. But in case you can spend more, go ahead and study with the updated materials, earn CPEs and be certified.

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