RE: CISSP Question

["David Gillett" <gillettdavid () fhda edu>]

> So if you already have 4 years of experience in management, 
> or design, or consulting, what is the value of the CISSP? You 
> are already doing the job that most people are getting the 
> certification are aiming for. Now of course this is a 
> majority case, as there are people who get the cert for other 
> reasons. 

  There is a (common) underlying assumption here that people get
certified in order to get into a job that they couldn't without 
the certification.  It's a compelling reason, but that's not the
only value of a cert.

  With perhaps a single exception, each cert I've taken has 
involved roughly 50% review of knowledge I'm already using, 25% 
knowledge I need in my current job but haven't had, and perhaps
25% knowledge that I don't need yet but may be helpful in some 
future scenario, typically within 5 years.  I've never gotten
hired, promoted, or a raise based simply on achieving the cert,
but it has always made me better at my current job and helped 
position me for some future move.

  I think that many of the criticisms levelled at various certs
are rooted in the assumption that people are getting them as a 
ticket into a specific job; I agree that there is no cert that
I would recommend to anyone on *that* basis.

David Gillett