Hi there! I’m pleased to share that I have passed Certified in Cybersecurity certification by ISC2 since November 2022. So I want to share my experience along with the resources for anyone who is planning to get it. It took me soooo long to finish this blog post, but here I am, haha 🤷♀️
Before I talk about the resources and other things, let’s get to know a bit about the Certified in Cybersecurity!
The Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) is a foundational cybersecurity certification by ISC2 designed to help recipients build pathways to a career in cybersecurity. This is an entry-level certification and no work experience requirement to earn. ISC2 says this certification is ideal for IT professionals, career changers, students, or recent graduates. Now, ISC2 is offering the free One Million Certified in Cybersecurity, and online self-paced training. There are 5 domains covered in the CC:
For more information, you can check the exam outline.
For your context a bit about my journey, I decided to explore and focus my career path in cybersecurity since mid-2021. I joined a bootcamp while I was working as a software engineer consultant. I learned fundamentals and gained hands-on experience. During that time, I was looking into CompTIA Security+ while thinking of obtaining as preparing for entering the industry; in the meantime, I found CC and checked it out. The objectives and domains covered in the CC pretty much overlap the ones of Security+. I thought I would use it as a milestone for Security+ and to support my confidence in return.
ISC2 offers a free exam voucher for one million certification in CC (Certified in Cybersecurity) up until the end of 2022 or while it lasts. I redeemed my free exam at https://my.isc2.org/s/Candidate-Benefits/1MCC-exam-instructions. ISC2 also provides a free self-paced training course for ISC2 candidates, noting that the first year fee will be waived, check out for more at https://www.isc2.org/candidate. Thus, I applied for an ISC2 candidate, and once it was approved, I then applied for a free self-paced training course.
I aimed to get it all done within a month. As the first step after registering for the free online learning course from ISC2, I then checked out the content to gauge how long I would need to finish and be ready for the exam. I was confident about my original timeline, so I booked my exam to be 3 weeks away, which is Nov 9th, 2022.
I reviewed a lot of YouTube videos, and other people who had already passed the exam. Most said “only the online learning content is not enough!” I was prepared to go beyond that. Fast forward, I decided to use other resources to support my study.
I blocked 3 hours a day for studying on the online portal. An hour for skimming through CompTIA Security+ books. Another hour for 101 Security+ lab.
| Hours | Topics |
|---|---|
| 3 | CC - ISC2 Online Learning |
| 1 | Other CompTIA Security+ Books |
I finished the online learning within 2 weeks. The other week, I went through all the tests again and reviewed the parts I wasn’t confident about. Meanwhile, kept learning other related topics.