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Could you recommend cheap certifications to get your foot in the door of the industry.

Keith Loughnane
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    What careers or areas are you interested in pursuing? Maybe with some more information someone can suggest a program that will help you. – adric Aug 16 '12 at 22:22
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    What IS your skillset? Do you want certs in your skillset or in other areas? IT Security-related, I assume? Vendor-specific or vendor-neutral? – schroeder Aug 16 '12 at 23:22
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    Good certifications are not cheap. You get what you pay for. If you're looking for a foot-in-the-door, try something like [CompTIA Security+](http://certification.comptia.org/getcertified/certifications/security.aspx), which tests the absolute basics. The exam is 286 EUR, but the eLearning course for it is 450 USD. You don't technically need to do the course first, but it's advisable since it'll give you an idea of what subjects the exam covers. – Polynomial Aug 17 '12 at 07:34
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    This question has been down voted and closed but I would like to thank all of you none the less. I understand your concerns regarding getting a quality education in the area, that's what this would unlock, a 200 euro cert would unlock thousands in education and certs from my employer but I still understand, you want a certain bar. – Keith Loughnane Aug 20 '12 at 22:00
  • Regarding my skill set, I guess I'm just trying to prove an interest. But my actual skills are in OS theory, C, C++, ObjectiveC programming, Shell Scripting, General networking and administration. Security wise: Wireless security (who isn't?), I can do PGP on paper, I know the theory of buffer overflows, format strings etc. I think I could run an entry level pen-test. – Keith Loughnane Aug 20 '12 at 22:06
  • An example of why I wanted this: today our company did some work for a (not network/IT) security company. One of your guys came across them running multiple AV's on their desktop machines in an effort to be secure but had little perimeter security. I would have liked to go in and sort them out but without anything to prove I knew anything that wouldn't happen. It's difficult to describe why but some people do put stock in these thing, and they do help get your career going. – Keith Loughnane Aug 20 '12 at 22:12

2 Answers2

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I think this question is similar to the following questions, some of which I've answered -

To be honest, I wouldn't waste my time on most certifications that are in that price range because most of them are worthless (granted there are many that are more expensive that are also worthless). One that I would consider is looking at the new certifications developed by the guys at SecurityTube, which are in that price range. These guys are respected in the industry and their courses/certifications have received very favourable reviews.

I'd check these links out below, maybe consider buying books out of the 2-300 euros and get involved in the community (through Owasp, ISSA, your local security groups/forums etc) as I suspect you'll learn more and to be honest, many folk progress their career rather than through chalking up an endless list of certs. Possibly then as you become more involved, you'll have a larger budget and can go for a better certification that can progress your career.

Community
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Mark Hillick
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You're not going to get a lot for that kind of budget. There's also a risk, that if you go buy a certification test without some training first, then failing the certification may backfire. If it's just to impress your boss - then really you should be finding out what would impress him/her.

Brainbench offer online testing around $50 / test.

There are good learning resources on the ccure site as well as the topic Mark Hillick linked to.

symcbean
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