In the IT industry, the difference between having a job or a promotion and remaining unemployed is having the right set of certifications.
The CEH certification and the CISSP certification are the two most in-demand certifications. Both certifications are not only a testament of an accumulation of skills and experience in the IT department but also proof of a niche skillset to safeguard security programs from cybercriminals.
Knowing the difference between a CEH certification and a CISSP certification will help you tremendously in starting or establishing your career in the IT industry.
What is CEH Certification?
You would need to enrol in a Singapore Certified Ethical Hacker Course to attain a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Certification. You will then be able to take a job as an ethical hacker.
What does this mean? You’ll be responsible for discovering vulnerabilities within the security program by conducting penetrative experiments a few times a year.
What is CISSP Certification?
If hacking is not your preferred route, you can work towards obtaining a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification instead.
While ethical hackers are tasked to discover vulnerabilities and loopholes in a cybersecurity program, your responsibility will be a tad different. You’ll instead be responsible for designing, implementing and maintaining the organisation’s cybersecurity program.
Which Is Better For Your Career?
The best part about these two types of certifications is that they’ll come in handy regardless of which field you want to work within the IT industry.
The IT industry has grown steadily over the past few years. It’s only going to continue to grow in the years to come. As such, the demand for skilled and certified IT professionals has yet to plateau.
Since the supply cannot keep up with the demand in the market, you won’t have to worry about not landing a job regardless of which of these two certifications you’ll get.
What Should You Consider When Choosing?
There are a few factors to take into consideration before you decide which of the two certifications you should pursue. One of which would be your current experience and knowledge to apply for these certifications. Another would be your monetary resources, and lastly, it would be your future goals.
Typically, in other industries, you’ll also want to consider if your career path is in high demand. However, because of the current and future projected growth of the IT industry, the market seems like a moot point – a career path that requires either one of the CEH and CISSP certifications will be in demand for at least the next decade.
You should take note that there are differing prerequisites to pursue these two certificates. Those who are keen to pursue CISSP training need to meet the prerequisite of either holding a 4-year college degree equivalent or having a total of five years experience working fulltime in 2 or more of the 8 domains of the (ISC)2 CISSP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK). CEH courses have no such prerequisites.
The original cost of CISSP training is SGD$1819.00 while the price of the CEH certificates is SGD$2675.00. The costs may be daunting, however there will be subsidies of up to 90% of course fees for Singaporeans & PRs. On top of that, Singaporean students may also utilise their $500 SkillsFuture Credit to further offset the fees for CISSP training or CEH courses in Singapore.
Thus, there is a lot to consider before pursuing any of these two certificates. If you can afford to take both certifications, then do it. There are significantly many career paths in the IT industry that require you to possess both certifications at a minimum. Whichever one you pick, there’s no wrong choice as you will gain significantly either way.
