Top 10 IT Certifications for Security Professionals

It isn't news that with the threat of cyber warfare becoming as real as the spider web in your wallet the Department of Defense is looking to spend serious amount of dough to solidify their systems in order to protect their "classified" data from cyber-jihadis. In such a case, offence becomes a secondary move and defence crawls up to the top on the to-do list. Departments that are the most vulnerable to threats and attacks have started to consider hiring professionals to secure their networks. And the most preferred professionals for the job tend to be the ones with security clearances and even better, IT certifications or both.



Official government security clearance is a qualification that is highly regarded and accepted among most departments, including the Department of Defence allowing you to work on the most sensitive (and lucrative) projects. This also means that you will get a pay raise like you never thought possible. It is believed that average pay for cleared and certified professionals is between 10 - 20% higher. In Washington D.C a professional with the same qualifications can get about a 20% bump on his/her salary. If that's not enough, you will also be able to add '007' to your fake spy name!

We go beyond the curtain to find out which certifications are the most preferred within the Official Government offices and which of them can help you land your dream job. Adding to the value of being a certified IT professional is Department of Defense Directive 8570 or DoD Directive 8570 providing guidance and procedures for the training, certification and management of all government employees who conduct Information Assurance functions in an assigned duty positions. These individuals are responsible for carrying out approved certification for their particular job classification.

Below is a list of the top 10 IT Certifications for Security Cleared Professionals:

1. Network Defenders

2. Comp TIA's Security+ Certification: Comprising of 21% of the Security-Cleared IT Professionals.

3. A+ and Network+: Comprising of 10% of the Security-Cleared IT Professionals.

4. Information Technology and Infrastructure Library: Comprises of 7% of the IT professionals and this is valued for Tech Management.

5. Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP): Comprises of 6% of the professionals and requires five years of experience in info security.

6. Project Management Professional: Comprises of 5% of professionals and proves that you can lead projects to a successful conclusion.

7. Microsoft Certifications: Highly sought by System Engineers and System Analysts and lets Developers and System Architects show off their talents.

8. Cisco Certified Network Associates: Comprises of 4% of the professionals and shows that one has the ability to install, configure, run, troubleshoot medium-sized routed/switched networks.

9. Microsoft Certifications: Highly sought by System Engineers and System Analysts and lets Developers and System Architects show off their talents.

10. Microsoft Certifications: Highly sought by System Engineers and System Analysts and lets Developers and System Architects show off their talents.

38% of the professionals agree that these certifications have helped them land their dream jobs and salary bumps. If you are looking to become a wealthy gun then we suggest taking any of these tests and your good to go for the rest of your life.

Cheers!

About The Author

This article is written by Sindhia Javed Junejo. She is one of the core members of RHA team.