Understanding Endorser and Relevant Work Experience Requirements

[SarahC]

Greetings ISC2 community!

I recently passed my CC cert and became a member of ISC2.  I'm eager to start in on another cert (probably SSCP or CGRC).  But I have a question about the endorsement requirements first. 

I see here (https://www.isc2.org/endorsement) that after passing an exam, there are nine months to complete the certification application.  There are two parts that concern me.

1. How do you "provide and endorser"?  I do not personally know another ISC2-certifided professional. I have reached out to the closest ISC2 chapter, but I'm not sure how active they are, as their website isn't functioning. 

2. What are the specifics of providing relevant work experience?  How do I know if my current job role and duties provide the specific relevant work experience for either SSCP or CGRC? 

Thank you for your assistance! 

[Brewdawg]

On SSCP and other certifications there is a checkbox on the endorser page to have ISC2 be the endorser for you.  Then you can enter any qualifying education that would serve to waive up to a year of experience.  After that you can enter any relevant work experience that you want them to consider as part of your endorsement.  Then there will be an option to start entering work history.  As long as the job satisfies experience in I believe 2 domains, or multiple positions satisfy that requirement then you should be good to go.

[SarahC]

Thank you!  Much appreciated!

[CyberLead]

@SarahC,

These are great questions and you're not alone in asking them. I believe @Brewdawg answered your specific concern about endorsement and work experience.  To address the point you raised about pursuing another certification, such as the SSCP or CGRC, there's a few things you should understand before investing your time and money into training, books, or other sources of information.

How I advise folks in this respect is very individualized, one size does not fit all, so I won't attempt to craft recommendations for you here. If you'd like, you can reach out to me for more information.  In the interest of full disclosure, I am an ISC2 Authorized Instructor and also teach many courses for Learning Tree International.  I'm not going to try and "sell" training from these organizations, but rather I can offer insight into which certifications may be more appropriate for you at this point in your career journey and some free or low-cost options.

If you're interested in chatting you can reach me at: LDiernisse@Instructor.ISC2.org or Lloyd@Diernisse.com (my personal email).  You'll get a quicker response through my personal email because I check it more frequently.

[SarahC]

Thank you, Lloyd!  I'll be reaching out in the next few weeks.