SSCP Certification Experience Requirement

[lomar]

 I'm a final year student at University pursuing a Bsc. in Computing (4 years program) and I'm currently prepping for the SSCP exam in a couple weeks. 

I need some clarification as it relates to the 1-year experience requirement. Now, seeing that I'm a final year student set to complete the degree this coming June and graduate with the degree in November and I'll be taking the SSCP exam in April, Is it that I won't be able to use my degree as the 1-year experience prerequisite until November?

[denbesten]

You have a risk to consider.  (ISC)² requires endorsement to complete within 9 months, of which they need at least 6 weeks.  Since you will not have graduated with your degree until 7 months after sitting for the exam, you risk running out of time. If that happens, the official rule is that you must retake the exam and pay another $249.

To mitigate the risk, you might consider submitting for Associate of (ISC)² in April and then submitting for your SSCP endorsement in November. This would give you 2 years to fix anything that might go wrong.

[lomar]

Okay, Thanks.

[Early_Adopter]

A (potentially obvious - but we don't have all the details) question, but why not wait until you either get the degree result or get the experience?

Even if you go for associate, there is a cost inherent maintaining that and the clock is the less generous two years. For the ideal timeline, you could take the SSCP exam right at the end, and it's a job done.

Unless of course it's factored into your curriculum, and then well I'd expect your University to ensure that they have a robust path to get students certified, and this should include options for an internship or work placement that counts as experience - (I'm assuming that some students may need to retake the final year, and they might need roles to fund that effort. Something like ongoing work placements would be a pretty good hedge to suggest to the faculty).

[mouandaguy]

Why not start by the CompTia security? and then you attack CISSP later

[lomar]

I might just do that

[lomar]

I might just do that

[mouandaguy]

Good

[amandavanceISC2]

@lomar Thank you for your inquiry and early congrats on your degree! As others have mentioned, there is a nine-month window for you to submit your endorsement application after you pass the exam; however, the nine-month time frame is for you to submit the application. The time it takes (ISC)² to review your application is not included in the nine months.

To hold the SSCP, you either need to have one year of cumulative, paid work experience in at least one of the seven domains, or hold a degree in one of the pre-approved degree programs (or a program originating from a cyber-security program). If you are not due to have your degree until November, and you do not have the required work experience, you can opt to become an Associate of (ISC)² for the few months while you wait for the degree, or you can simply wait for the degree and submit your endorsement as soon as you have the degree. As stated above, you do have nine months to submit the endorsement and based on your time frame, you will have seven months between the exam and your degree, leaving you with two month to submit your endorsement.

Please feel free to send a DM if you have any questions.

Best Regards,

Amanda Vance

[lomar]

Took your advice, I'm now CompTia Security+ Certified
Cheers