Industry certifications validate your skills and open doors. Here is the recommended progression.
Certification progression by level:
Beginner:
- CompTIA Security+ — broad foundation, vendor-neutral, widely recognised
- Google Cybersecurity Certificate — hands-on, beginner-friendly
Intermediate:
- eJPT (eLearnSecurity) — practical penetration testing
- CompTIA CySA+ — defensive, threat detection
- CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) — popular but exam-heavy
Advanced (Practical):
- OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional) — 24h hands-on exam, gold standard for pentest
- CRTE / CRTO — red team, Active Directory attacks
- PNPT (TCM Security) — practical, affordable, report-based exam
Cloud Security:
- AWS Security Specialty
- Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer
- CCSP (ISC2) — cloud security architecture
Defensive / Management:
- CISSP (ISC2) — management-level, 5 years experience required
- CISM — information security management
- SOC Analyst: CompTIA CySA+, Blue Team Labs Online
Beginner:
- CompTIA Security+ — broad foundation, vendor-neutral, widely recognised
- Google Cybersecurity Certificate — hands-on, beginner-friendly
Intermediate:
- eJPT (eLearnSecurity) — practical penetration testing
- CompTIA CySA+ — defensive, threat detection
- CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) — popular but exam-heavy
Advanced (Practical):
- OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional) — 24h hands-on exam, gold standard for pentest
- CRTE / CRTO — red team, Active Directory attacks
- PNPT (TCM Security) — practical, affordable, report-based exam
Cloud Security:
- AWS Security Specialty
- Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer
- CCSP (ISC2) — cloud security architecture
Defensive / Management:
- CISSP (ISC2) — management-level, 5 years experience required
- CISM — information security management
- SOC Analyst: CompTIA CySA+, Blue Team Labs Online