Being certified is the foolproof method to enhance your career a skills in the Information Technology industry. If you are one of those who considers certification as their career investment, then you must know which certifications are high in demand in 2017:
1. ISC)² CISSP: The (ISC)²’s CISSP certification is an industry recognized credential and is designed to certify the competency of IT professionals to design, engineer, implement, and manage the overall information security program of an organization. The CISSP exam tests the candidate’s understanding and knowledge in eight domains of the CISSP CBK, which are, Security and Risk Management, Asset Security, Security Engineering, Communications and Network Security, Identity and Access Management, Security Assessment and Testing, Security Operations, and Software Development Security.
According to (ISC)², as of October 2016, only 89,932 people hold the certification worldwide. Earlier this month, the PayScale.com surveyed a group of 3,872 CISSPs and found that their average yearly salary ranged from USD 54,820 to USD 152,311 depending on the candidate’s location, years of experience and job title.
2. Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC): The CRISC certification exam incorporates four major risk subject areas: identification, assessment, control monitoring and reporting, and response and mitigation. If the professional is focused on working in this area or if he has experience in the area and wants to be certified, he must go for CRISC exam.
According to the data from Global Knowledge’s 2017 IT Skills and Salary Survey, the average annual salary of Information Systems Control certified is USD 131,298.
3. Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA): ISACA CISA certification exam is intended for candidates interested in information systems audit, control, and security. This exam validates candidate’s experience and knowledge in the field of information assets protection; IT governance and management; systems audit; control and security and so on. CISA certification is a great benchmark for those who provide valuable services to an organization’s IT, legal, and accounting departments.
CISA is among the highest-paying IT certifications based on the 2016 IT Skills and Salary Report conducted by Global Knowledge, with an average yearly salary of USD 112,931.
4. Project Management Professional (PMP): PMP Certification is every IT professional’s choice because it helps them apply their knowledge across a variety of industries. The skills of professionals to apply project management principles provides them a solid foot in almost every industry and opens the opportunity for management level positions. As the demand for skilled project managers has increased, candidates who hold the PMP credential are well positioned to provide the professional skills necessary to lead project teams and achieve successful project results.
As per the 7th edition of PMI’s Project Management Salary Survey, which polled over 30,000 project managers from 29 different countries, the median annual salary for a Project Management Practitioner was USD 92,000.
5. EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH): Recent cyber attacks like ransomware, other cyber security threats have made various organizations to look for certified ethical hackers to penetrate networks and computer systems so that they find and fix security vulnerabilities. CEH Certification helps you in recognizing vulnerabilities and weaknesses within an organization or business’ network. The only difference is that instead of exploiting these security gaps, you will use the knowledge to safeguard an organization or business network and patch if there are any potential exposures.
According to the Payscale.com, the average annual salary of a Certified Ethical Hacker is USD 89,000.
So, get geared up now for any of the above-mentioned certification areas to enhance your career prospects and boost-up your pay-grade!
