OK. I understand your sentiment. HOWEVER, a bumbling totally volunteer organization will not keep its standing in the world. (ISC)2 has recognition by the world's top accrediting bodies, they must maintain very high standards that keep getting harder for them to maintain every single year.
Refer to https://www.isc2.org/about/Accreditation-Recognition-and-Endorsement
and to https://www.ansi.org/accreditation/credentialing/personnel-certification/
and to https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/7-top-security-certifications-you-should-have/#gref
Frankly, the fee is nothing and I am semi-retired, on social security, and work only part time now and I would readily qualify for the CISSP (retired) label. However, I will keep paying my AMF and doing my CPEs and I will do it gladly.
I am a (ISC)2 Chapter Officer that does work for our (ISC)2 for free. I do so gladly as it is an honor. Other associations do not even come close to offering you the kind of online training and community support of (ISC)2, especially now.
Being part of professional associations are mandatory in most real professions and they charge MUCH more. We all like a raise and the full time staff at (ISC)2 deserves their pay as well. Again, I am a volunteer and I am not employed by (ISC)2 but I am a paying member.
I am in my sixties and I have been in industry, the military, the government and now academia and ALL of these sectors demand that the professionals put sweat equity back into their profession. I spent many years in each sector.
Keep in mind that the "CISSP-certified IT professionals earn an average salary of $116,573, making it the third-highest salary for IT professionals globally."
Refer to https://www.simplilearn.com/average-annual-salary-of-a-cissp-certified-professional-article
(this is consistent with the US Government's Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates)
Let's look at the dues others pay:
Refer to this article with a long list of associations for nearly all professions https://jobstars.com/professional-associations-organizations/
AMA - $420 annual dues (regular practice) refer to https://www.ama-assn.org/member-benefits/member-eligibility-dues/ama-membership-dues
(students and fully retired do get a brake but (ISC)2 is not that expensive h in comparison)
The mean salary of a doctor in the United States is $294,000/year according to a Medscape Report.
American Bar Association is similar to above "The five new ABA dues categories will be set at $75, $150, $250, $350 and $450, depending on years as a lawyer and type of practice area. Law students will still receive free membership."
https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2018/08/aba_leadership_appro/
Lawyers made a median salary of $120,910 in 2018. The best-paid 25 percent made $182,490 that year, while the lowest-paid 25 percent made $79,160.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers - Membership Dues & Fees
| Professional, Fellow, or Affiliate | $158 |
Average Mechanical Engineer Salary = $70,646
Source https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Mechanical_Engineer/Salary
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) - Membership Dues & Fees
5+ years post grad ($20.42 per mo) = annual = $245.00
Refer to https://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Membership_and_Communities/Join_ASCE/Membership_Types/membership-...
Average Civil Engineer Salary - $66,271
Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (Signal Officers)
Average Military Officer Salary - Average Base Pay $90,355/yr (Talking about very senior officers with over eight years of experience)
I could go on forever showing how $125.00 a year, even if you have multiple certifications, is a real bargain compared with other professions.
Until you have 40+ years belong to various professions with various due structures, then I humbly suggest you may lack a broad perspective.
I can tell you that as an IV&V systems analyst for a commercial corporation working on a major command and control system while also being the certified facility security officer (yes two jobs separate jobs rolled into one job) I made about 35K a year in 1992 before you really had the insistence of the government for certifications beyond those of the Defense Security Service for facility security officers. By the way our contract had us working a minimum of 45 hours a week.
Information security professionals back then were looked at as a nuisance and treated accordingly and organizations like (ISC)2, SANS, and CompTIA put us on a footing with other professionals and made it so that government and corporate policy required us to be taken seriously.
This was good for the world community since we as a profession are more able to deal with the threats we now face because we continually must prove that we stay current and we as a profession make it required that candidates pass a rigorous certification PROCESS and professional maintenance regime to stay qualified. I taught computer security, I was the COMSEC custodian, and I was a course director all at once when I was on active duty as a senior captain. Back before the 1990s, security professionals were looked at as "hey you" kind of jobs, even in the military.
Again, look at what other professions need to do before we trash our (ISC)2.
I am writing this to help everyone in our community keep things in perspective. Hopefully, this will motivate members to gladly support (ISC)2 and realize how good we have it, especially as we look around to what others are going through in their professional careers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Very Respectfully Posted for all Our Members who I really Respect,
Respectfully,
Francis (Frank) Mayer, CISSP EMERITUS
