Ep19: Is a Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate Worth it?

Marc: 00:00:00

So you're wondering, is the Google Cyber Security Certificate worth it?

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I started out with a career in IT, which

gave me the foundation that I needed.

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And then I started studying for the

CompTIA Security Plus Certificate,

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which I found to be kind of hard.

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After that, I went straight to

the CISSP, which I found to be

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very hard, and I really studied

for that, but more on a schedule.

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So do you need this type of

cybersecurity certificate?

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The problem is if you're looking

at Google or Microsoft or anything,

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and it's very specific, they're

creating their own standards.

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They're creating their own

certificates for those organizations.

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And that isn't as widely accepted.

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You're probably going to

see a little bit of CompTIA.

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You're definitely going to see.

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The ISC type stuff, especially the CISSP,

and if you're going to spend your time

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doing that, I would suggest you study for

those resources because they're going to

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give you the jargon and the knowledge that

you need at least to be able to speak to

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recruiters and interviewers, even if you

have no intention of ever taking the test.

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And as far as certificates

go, are they necessary?

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Are they valid?

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I've not run across anybody who

has definitively said we need

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you to have this certificate.

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I've had that it's a nice to

have, and I've had to mention it,

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and I've put it on my resume of

course, but it isn't something

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that's going to make or break you.

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There's so many other

things to landing that.

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Information or cyber security job.

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So let's take a look at the website here.

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First of all, it's on Coursera, love

Coursera, but it's going to cost you a

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seven day free trial and then 49 a month.

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Now maybe you'll finish this in

six months, or maybe you'll finish

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it in two months, or maybe you'll

start it and forget it and leave

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it going for a year worth paying

that much for just a certificate.

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And especially if you're

looking for just a.

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base bit of knowledge, there's other

places you can go, and I'm going to drop

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all that in the description for you.

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So if we keep going down here, there's

cool stuff about how much money you

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could potentially make, going through

the course material, getting on fast

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track with employers, and then showing

you the employers, and then preparing

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for the CompTIA Security Plus exam.

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Well, why don't you just go prepare

for that, just right off the bat.

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And then if you look down a little

bit further, you get some frequently

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asked questions, which is cool.

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It talks about this Google Cyber

Certificate, uh, Employer Consortium.

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Interesting that it only says these

companies span multiple sectors

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and are committed to considering

Google Career Certificate graduates,

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considering for entry level jobs.

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And then, of course, there's a place

that you can go after completion

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where you can apply for opportunities

from employers with open jobs.

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Or, you could just do that for free

on Indeed and LinkedIn and a billion

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other places where you can get jobs.

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So if you try to look at this

consortium here, You know, it's

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just finding skilled talent.

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So it's sort of like, just a

place for employers to go to look

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for people who have maybe this

cert or just in general talent.

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Not something I'd really do.

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If you're gonna spend

the money, this is 31.

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Just go sign up for the Security

Plus and start reading the book.

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Yeah, I know, a book.

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It is a place to start.

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You can do it anywhere

without internet access.

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And it really will get you into

that jargon and the learning and you

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actually can study this book and you

actually can study and pass the test.

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And CompTIA does have a name behind it.

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Google has a name behind

it, don't get me wrong.

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This will have a name behind it that

you're probably going to find on...

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Job applications or places that

are looking to hire people.

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The other one I'd highly

recommend is the ISC CISSP.

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Again, 54 bucks.

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It's huge.

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It's thick.

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It's gonna cover all the domains.

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The Google Certificate has

seven or eight modules.

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This has everything

that you're gonna want.

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It's not gonna be online, but it will

cover everything for you, and you're

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gonna get that jargon and the language.

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It's super important and lastly

if you go over to certmic.

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com Not being endorsed here, but I did

use it and he's got things for security

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plus and the CISSP and of course

There's gonna be recommended resources.

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So shout out if you already have LinkedIn

learning there are courses that you can

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take for the CISSP and Cybersecurity

in general and if you are part of a

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any sort of a public library like I

am in the Bay Area It's a little bit

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hidden and tricky, but you actually

can get access to LinkedIn learning

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without being a LinkedIn premium member.

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It's just a little weird to do

it, but it's totally doable.

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And when you go down here, I

did buy some of these guides

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to be fair, they were helpful.

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But this is really the key, is

signing up for that free study course.

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Because...

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He will take you step by step,

you'll get an email on which

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chapter and which section you're

supposed to review and read.

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So when you get this big, thick,

huge manual that's really daunting,

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he's going to go through and

take you what you need to read.

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And it kind of chunks it out so you have

an actual study program and a guide and

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a way to get through this material that

you normally wouldn't have otherwise.

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So, is that Google Cyber

Security Certificate worth it?

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Honestly, if you like learning and

you just want to get certified and

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you just like taking stuff, I think

there's a lot of value in that, right?

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I'm not against any type of education.

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But there are other resources

that I've just mentioned that are

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going to be much cheaper for you.

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They're going to be...

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You're going to have a lot

longer longevity for you.

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And they're going to be more widely

adopted and accepted within the industry.

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And that's where I would spend my time.

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I would get CompTIA.

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I would try to get my CSSP.

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If I didn't get those, if I got CompTIA,

and then you said, Hey, I want to

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go take a Google Cyber Certificate.

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Go for it.

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Absolutely.

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But it is not going to make or break

you, and employers are not actively

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necessarily looking for that.

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I could come up with my own curriculum,

put up a really fancy website, and call

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it whatever, Cyber Security Certificate,

and have people buy my stuff from my

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modules, and that would be meaningless

as well in the industry for that.

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So, In my mind, no, it's not

something I would pursue if I was

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looking to go into this industry.

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And I didn't.

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I went with CompTIA and

then I went my CSSP.

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And I did do the CertMic stuff

because it really helped narrow down

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what I needed to learn and study and

slowly read in this giant manual.

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And if you want LinkedIn Learning,

check out if you can get that for

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free through your local library.

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So I'll put all this in put as

much as I can in the description.

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I think it's going to help you.

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And that's sort of my take on this.

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But again, caveat, I didn't buy it.

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I don't intend to.

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I don't intend to go through just

yet another certificate program.

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And if I was new to the industry,

which I was when I started looking,

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I would go about it differently.

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If you liked this video,

please like, and subscribe.

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And if you don't like this video,

please like, and subscribe.

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Remember I told you

there was a secret way.

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I kind of threw it out there.

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Like there was a way to do

this through the library.

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Okay, it's a little convoluted, but

whatever state you're in, if you have

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a public library card, go search for

your public library within your state,

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like I'm looking here for the San

Francisco Public Library, and it's sort

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of buried in here, but if I looked up

LinkedIn Learning SF Public Library,

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or Los Angeles Public Library, or New

York Public Library, you know, all the

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websites are going to be different.

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But if you notice down here,

oh, a LinkedIn Learning.

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And if you type in this when prompted,

and then you're going to put in your

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library ID and your pin, because you're

going to need a pin for that card, you're

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going to get access to LinkedIn Learning.

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It's completely different

than your LinkedIn account.

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So if you're a premium member, well,

you already have access to this.

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If you're a regular member like

me, you don't have access to this.

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But you can get access to this if you

go through and get a library card.

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At the public library, and then search

online for that particular library and

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go this convoluted route, you absolutely,

positively can get some of this.

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So for LinkedIn Learning here, I

actually can go in and get all the

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full courses and everything that I want

through access to the public library.

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But again, it's going to be different

depending on your state and where you are.

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You're going to need a card.

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You're going to need a pin

associated with that card.

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It's not, it's easy to do, but

most people aren't going to do it.

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They're just going to pay for it, or

they're going to go off and do some

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other certification and spend a lot more.

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But there's a lot of great

stuff on LinkedIn Learning, and

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you can get access for free.