Many of our students train and study hard to pass a course and earn a certification, but they do not know that those certifications also expire. Earning the certification is only one step of becoming a cybersecurity expert and retaining the certification is the next step. Retaining certifications can be done very easily by just continuing education for many of the different vendors, but you must also enroll in each vendor individual membership program which is accompanied with an annual fee. In this article, I will go over all of the requirements of retaining certifications and how to ensure all your cybersecurity and IT certifications remain valid.
To retain certifications, you must earn credits that pertain to the certification that you hold and the vendor that gave that certification to you. We have found the easiest way to retain your certifications and that is by taking a SecureNinja boot camp course to complete those credit requirements. SecureNinja boot camps cover all the continuing education credits in this article and guarantee that your certifications do not expire or get suspended. For more information on our continuing education bundle call 703-535-8600 today and take advantage of our excellent promotions.
CompTIA Continuing Education Units (CEU)
CompTIA’s continuing education program has many different annual fees and is specific to the certification that you hold. CompTIA certifications such as A +, Network +, Security +, PenTest +, Cloud+, CYsA +, and CASP + all expire three years after the date you earn them and must be renewed before that expiration date so that they remain valid. Below is a chart that shows the annual membership fees and how much they add up within a three-year period.
On top of the membership fee, you must also find a way to earn the CEU credits by continuing education. CompTIA has a very easy program with continuing education so pursuing higher advanced level certifications will keep your old certifications active if new certifications are achieved within the three-year period. CompTIA gives many different options to receive continuing education credits by completing different activities such as writing a blog, attending webinars, and passing the latest edition of the exam. CompTIA provides a full list of activities and which ones will give you credits on their website here.
ISACA Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
ISACA also has its own membership fee and it is different based on whether you choose to join ISACA’s membership program. The annual maintenance fee for ISACA members is $45 and the fee for ISACA non-members is $85. ISACA certifications are valid for three years and ISACA also requires that certification holders report a minimum of 20 CPE credits a year, but to retain certifications you must attain 120 CPE credits within a three-year reporting period. Like CompTIA ISACA also allows many different activities like attending webinars and virtual conferences, completing online training, or attending a physical conference. These activities must be documented and submitted to ISACA to gain credit and a full list of activities can be accessed on their website here.
EC Council Continuing Education (ECE)
EC Council’s membership fee is $80 a year and they also follow a three-year renewal cycle. EC Council requires candidates to keep knowledge up to date by completing 40 ECE credits annually and submit a total of 120 ECE credits every three years to retain all of you EC Council certifications. Like the other certification vendors, EC Council also allows you the choice of doing many different activities such as volunteering, attending webinars or seminars, or continuing education by taking any IT related course. These activities must be documented and submitted to EC Council to gain credit and a full guide to their ECE policy can be accessed on their website here.
ISC2 Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
ISC2 just recently changed how they deal with CPE credits and increased their membership fee from $85 to $125 annually; however, this will benefit those with multiple certifications from ISC2 because instead of paying $85 per certification you will pay $125 for all the certifications. ISC2 certifications must be renewed on a three-year basis by earning a minimum of 40 CPE credits a year and submit a total of 120 CPE credits to retain your certification. ISC2 also gives you the chance to earn CPE credits by completing different activities such as participating in webinars, writing blog posts, or attending conferences or volunteering at different events. These activities must be documented and submitted to ISC2 to gain credit and a full guide to their CPE policy can be accessed on their website here.
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