CASP+ vs CISSP: Which Cybersecurity Certification Is Better in 2023?

Cybersecurity is a rapidly growing industry worldwide as cyber threats become increasingly advanced. The financial impact can be devastating, and more companies must invest in cybersecurity experts to protect their interests. Cybersecurity professionals can complete training and certifications to develop the most advanced skills and knowledge.

This year, two in-demand certifications are the Certified Information Security Systems Professional (CISSP) and CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+). These courses could be an excellent option if you seek ways to advance your career and make yourself more competitive through new cybersecurity knowledge and skills.

CASP vs CISSP: Eligibility Requirements & Exam Details

CASP+ is an appropriate certification for those cybersecurity professionals who perform the work, while CISSP is for those who manage the work. Understanding the differences between the CASP+ and CISSP courses and exams will help you choose the best training for the next phase of your career.

CASP+ Eligibility Requirements and Exam Details

CompTIA's Security+ is considered a foundational certification for cybersecurity professionals. This course targets IT professionals with the technical knowledge and skills required to conceptualize, design, and engineer secure solutions across complex enterprise environments. Students should have a minimum of 10 years of experience, including at least five years of hands-on technical security experience. While this is not a formal requirement, prior knowledge and expertise working as a security professional will help you pass the exam.

During the CASP+ exam, students answer questions about enterprise security, risk management, incident response, research, and analysis, integration of computing, communications, and business discipline. The exam is 90 minutes long and consists of up to 90 questions of multiple-choice and drag-and-drop.

CISSP Eligibility Requirements and Exam Details

CISSP is intended for experienced IT security-related practitioners, auditors, consultants, investigators, or instructors, including network or security analysts and engineers, network administrators, information security specialists, and risk management professionals, who are pursuing CISSP training and certification to acquire the credibility and mobility to advance within their current computer security careers or to migrate to a related occupation. Through the study of all eight CISSP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) domains, students will validate their knowledge by meeting the necessary preparation requirements to qualify to sit for the CISSP certification exam. Additional CISSP certification requirements include a minimum of five years of direct professional work experience in two or more fields related to the eight CBK security domains or a college degree and four years of experience.

During the CISSP certification exam, students answer questions regarding the eight domains, including security and risk management, asset security, security engineering, communications and network security, identity and access management, security assessment and testing, and security operations and software development security. The exam is four hours long and consists of a minimum of 125 questions but at most 175 questions comprised of multiple-choice questions and advanced innovative items.

Is CASP harder than CISSP?

Those pursuing or already in cybersecurity management roles are better positioned to succeed at CISSP training and achieve a passing score on the CISSP certification exam. CISSP requires proof of work in the industry that needs to be validated by a sponsor. These prerequisites make it more time-consuming. The ease of the exam would be based on your experience and ability to understand how to prepare for the exams.

Job Roles & Salary Potential

A CASP+ professional earns up to $100,800 on average. Typical job roles that benefit from a CASP+ certification include Security Engineer, Network Engineer, and Cybersecurity Analyst.

Meanwhile, CISSP professionals earn an average salary of $80,000 as a Security Analyst or $110,000 as a Security Architect. Other cybersecurity professionals that benefit from a CISSP certification include Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Security Consultant, and Information Technology Manager.

Cost & Benefits

CASP+ is the ideal certification program for professionals in the technical field, especially those in cybersecurity who aspire to make their career in technology instead of management and managing the technology. This certification teaches advanced security concepts, principles, and implementations that pertain to enterprise-level security. The cost of United Training's 5-day CASP+ course is $3,295.00.

The CISSP certification was developed by an organization called (ISC)2, which stands for International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium. This certification helps one attain hands-on experience managing and implementing any security program. Also, it provides a vision to design the framework of security policies. Organizations hunt for IT professionals with CISSP certification as they have adequate knowledge about cybersecurity and can undergo CISSP training without any hustle. These certifications help you land high-paying jobs and make you stand tall among other candidates appearing for the job. The cost of United Training's 5-day CISSP course is $3,395.00.

CASP vs CISSP: Which Cybersecurity Certification is Better

Neither of these two courses is intrinsically better than the other. While they are both targeted at IT and cybersecurity professionals, they have different purposes. Which certification is better for you depends on your job role and career aspirations. CASP+ is geared towards the subject matter expert performing the work, while CISSP is for management that needs to talk with the expert performing the work.

Summary

The CASP+ and CISSP certifications are valuable for cybersecurity practitioners looking to gain new industry knowledge and skills to further their careers. The CASP+ course provides foundational knowledge and is best for those who want to work directly with technology. The CISSP certification is best for those IT professionals ready to build management strategies and implement a successful cybersecurity program.

Reach out to United Training if you have any questions about whether CASP+ or CISSP is the right certification for you.