Most of the businesses in today’s era have gone digital and along with it, cybercrime cases have reached new heights. The proofs are several cyber-attacks that occur around the globe, and no one can escape whether individual, small business, medium, or any established brand. High-level cyber-security is important as it helps to earn the trust of clients and customers and hence gets better business opportunities.
This is the reason why there is more need for expert cyber-security professionals who are well-versed with the updated knowledge and information.
Several certifications are available to aid you to become an expert, among which the CompTIA PenTest+ certification is the one. It can help you to proceed in your career and secure a good job. CompTIA PenTest+ is intermediate-level that focuses on pen testing, vulnerability assessment, and management techniques that are valuable against cyber-attacks.
Want to know more about CompTIA PenTest+ certification? Is it really worth it? Read this article carefully, and you will find out the answers to all the questions present in your mind!
Is CompTIA PenTest+ a Good Certification?
Depend on your career goals and experience, you can choose whether or not CompTIA PenTest+ is worthy of your efforts, time, and cost.
Compliant with ISO 17024 standards and approved by the US DoD, this course is specifically designed for the penetration testing discipline that fully covers all the steps of this testing encompassing scoping, planning, and reporting.
Before proceeding further, it is good to know about penetration testing first.
It is a type of ethical hacking where cyber-security professionals test, identify, and highlight the vulnerabilities in the security systems of a company or an organization. They could be in-house employees or a third party who imitates the actions and strategies taken by the attacker to assess the hackability of the system, applications, or network.
So, basically, after earning this certificate you get to know better about different kinds of cyber-attacks that might be successful and the tools that are used to carry out those attacks. CompTIA PenTest+ is an inexpensive certification course that is widely respected. It’s not necessary that every professional related to the cyber-security field has taken courses or certificates to reach their position. But you can polish your skills to attain a bigger role by acquiring credentials like the PenTest+.
Certificates are the approved ways of validating the skills. With CompTIA PenTest+ there will be new doors of opportunities open for you because you will then be able to show your offensive security skills and apply confidently for the new position.
About CompTIA PenTest+ Exam
CompTIA PenTest+ is a 165-minute exam with 85 questions in which the minimum scoring required is 750 out of 900. (Means you need to secure 83%) to pass! It’s not an overly difficult exam, you can become successful in it as long as you study!
Multiple-choice combines with performance-based questions that are hands-on, dragged and dropped, and scenario-based. The fundamental system and networking experience are not required to pass this exam but to become a good security expert (and, of course, to do great in exams), having hands-on experience and knowing about basics is a plus as it is suggested to have three to four years of information security experience for the Pentest+ Exam.
Is the CompTIA PenTest+ Exam Hard? It is a commonly asked question related to the difficulty of the exam.
So the fact is, it’s not considered a very difficult exam but according to most of the entry to intermediate-level cyber-security professionals, it is a challenging one that can be passed with proper preparation. On the other hand, highly experienced professionals should pass the test with the least preparation.
Courses
To clear the exam with ease, courses have always been the best option. Want to go for PenTest+? Then you should register for the online courses offered by various verified digital platforms. In this way, you can gain access to the study material with ease, help you to achieve your goal successfully.
You can sign up to:
- Udemy
- Pluralsight
- Douglashollis
These are amazing platforms that help me pursue my career in technology.
Who Can Take the PenTest+?
IT professionals and aspiring cyber-security professionals should take the CompTIA PenTest+ exam in order to polish their skills. These may include:
- Systems Administrators
- Security Analysts
- Network Security Operations
- Network Engineers
- Software Engineers
- Application Security Vulnerability
- Vulnerability Assessment Analyst
- Experienced penetration testers
- Have a defensive cyber-security job
The current cost of CompTIA PenTest+ is $370, and after reading its benefits, you are convinced that it is worth the money you spend on it!
The time required for the reparation of the CompTIA PenTest+ exam may vary. If you are new to cyber-security or penetration testing in general, then it might take several months of study to prepare. Even for seasoned professionals, it may take a significant amount of time.
The CompTIA PenTest+ certification is valid for three years from the date you get it. You can renew the certification by qualifying for higher CompTIA certification, higher IT-Industry certifications, by the latest release of a CompTIA PenTest+ exam, or by taking a recertification exam.
How much Can You Make With CompTIA PenTest+ Certification?
The field of cyber-security offers various job paths with good pay. This reputed certificate can help you in getting intermediate-level cyber-security positions and attract potential employers.
Here are a few jobs related to CompTIA PenTest+ and expected salaries:
- A cyber-security consultant earns around $91,000.
- A cyber-security analyst can expect around $96,000.
- Penetration & Vulnerability Tester can be anywhere for almost $104,000.
Benefits of Earning CompTIA PenTest+ Certification
Data leak or security breach can affect the reputation of the business which may lead to loss of customers and also cost more in monetary terms. In the past few years, cybercrime damages exceed trillions of dollars, making it more imperative to keep sensitive data safe. Therefore, companies constantly try to hire qualified individuals.
Cyber-security courses and certifications enhance the skills of professionals that result in the quick discovery of security issues and finding accurate solutions to the problem. Moreover, it’s a great way of landing a better job or successfully attaining the goals of your current job.
Here are just a few reasons why experts suggest CompTIA PenTest+ Certification for career growth.
1. Diverse Curriculum
CompTIA PenTest+ Certification is a certification that covers all the areas in which a penetration tester must be familiar. It helps in improving your skills through practical cyber-security and management training that includes multiple-choice questions and performance-based questions so you can also expect to learn effective management and reporting along with vulnerability identification.
This certificate validates your skills and best practices that are required to modify the assessment framework so you can cooperate to find the pitfalls but also recommend strategies to revamp IT security.
Following are the topics covered in CompTIA PenTest+ Certification:
- Planning and scoping
- Information gathering and vulnerability identification
- Attacks and exploits
- Penetration testing tools
- Reporting and communication
2. Make you a Potential Candidate
Nowadays, job competition has become tough in almost every field. That is why it is crucial that you have some advantage over other applicants. If two have the same educational background then there might be an increased possibility that the manager would give a second look at the resume of the certified candidate.
With the certificates mentioned in your resume, you will get an edge over other candidates when appearing for a job interview or help you with career advancement in the current organization. The certificate depicts that you have the knowledge, particular skills, and experience in a specific job. For the employer, it analyzes that the individual has a firm grasp of skills, abilities, and command in a specific field.
Not just your knowledge and skills, but it also shows that you are a well-trained person who is also committed to growth in the profession.
3. Assess the Security Policies
In best practices, cyber-security must understand the attack strategy. CompTIA PenTest+ makes you think in an offensive way. According to an expert, both offensive and defensive skills are essential for determining vulnerabilities. With the attacking mindset of a hacker, the penetration tester assists the companies to uncover the weak points in the security of IT systems.
It is mandatory that the security policies of an organization defend the systems in a company to ensure the safety of critical information and sensitive data. This comprehensive certificate measures your perception to create necessary practices and best attack strategies.
4. Comprehensive and Unique Certification
CompTIA PenTest+ is the only penetration testing that encompasses evaluation based on hands-on and performance to verify that each candidate possesses vital knowledge to carry out tasks related to systems.
Not just the knowledge but it also includes management skills used to plan, identify, and manage security weaknesses. It is considered unique because the individuals are required to demonstrate their hands-on skills and knowledge to test devices in the environments such as the cloud and mobile along with conventional desktops and servers.
5. Makes Skilled Team
Cyber-security is a vital issue for organizations across industries as a little negligence may lead to big trouble. But not all IT and security professionals are equipped with the necessary abilities to protect company security structure.
It’s a fact that many IT organizations accept that their workforce is not capable of taking crucial steps for the complete security of the systems and require more advanced hacking and security skills that involve rational thinking, problem-solving ability, and security analysis. Pentesters with advanced knowledge ensure the building of a competent team that effectively secure the security domain and bridge the gaps.
6. Designed by Industry Experts
This certificate is designed by security professionals and experts having years of experience in handling minor to major security issues at an organizational level. Their skills and experience made them ideal to design CompTIA PenTest+ and assure the functionality of the certification.
Most of them have passed advanced exams in their careers and therefore are fully capable of providing valuable insights about the knowledge and skills level expected for specified security roles.
Skills Validated by CompTIA PenTest+ Certification
The training and preparation you get from CompTIA PenTest+ Certification include the following skills:
1. Vulnerability Identification and Collection of Data:
It is the basic and for most professionals the interesting part of the training. In this domain, you will learn how to carry out the vulnerability scan and assess the final result.
2. Planning and Scope:
It includes how to plan for the evaluations you require to perform the task.
3. Tools Used for Penetration Testing:
It encompasses the tools that are utilized to detect and analyze such as Ruby, Bash, Python, and Powershell.
4. Exploit and Attack:
The basic skill of a pentester is knowing how to hack. This part of the certification is focused on the exploitation techniques and the ability of an individual to perform post-exploitation techniques.
5. Reporting:
Proper reporting of findings is an essential part of Pentester’s job that should be done in a systematic manner.
Training from CompTIA PenTest+ demonstrates the capability in various areas:
- Provide an ability to test a system or network for well-known security problems.
- Enhance the knowledge about high-level IT risks and vulnerabilities.
- Become capable of categorizing and set risk levels aligned with the business and compliance requirements.
- Make you capable of exploring risk areas.
- Make you capable of using the testing tools in the right way.
- Data evaluation skills
- Clear and summarized reporting and communication skills
Wrapping Up
The penetration tester has become a globally valued profession due to increased cyber-attacks. Not just large organizations but small and medium-size businesses also suffer from this problem. To make the systems secure from data breaches, CompTIA PenTest+ certification is considered a reputed certification that can take your career to the next level.
A certified penetration tester gains expertise in identifying vulnerabilities, simulating hacking techniques, and assessing the company’s security architecture to make the system protected.
After reading the article I am sure that you understood the worth of the CompTIA PenTest+ certification and its benefits for your profession!
