Ep23: Updated Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate

Marc: 00:00:00

This is an update to the Google Cybersecurity Certificate Program.

2

: 00:00:05

Now, previously I talked about it.

3

: 00:00:07

And I was sort of on the fence, like

if you're just going to study for

4

: 00:00:11

something, do the CISP or security plus.

5

: 00:00:16

However, if you are new to cyber

security, brand new, you want

6

: 00:00:21

to make a job transfer lateral.

7

: 00:00:23

Or if you're in it and you want to

somehow get into cyber security, but

8

: 00:00:27

you're not really sure how and needed

some kind of structured learning.

9

: 00:00:31

I would actually recommend.

10

: 00:00:33

This program at this point.

11

: 00:00:35

I know it seems weird,

but here's the thing.

12

: 00:00:38

There's a way to get it free and

I'm going to mention it again

13

: 00:00:41

.

And I've mentioned on the podcast as well, but if you are looking to go into.

14

: 00:00:46

Cyber security in any capacity.

15

: 00:00:48

Even if you're not in a, it related field.

16

: 00:00:51

Actually, I think this

program is quite well done.

17

: 00:00:55

There's some things it could do better.

18

: 00:00:57

Of course.

19

: 00:00:58

But on a very high level.

20

: 00:01:00

It does a great job of giving you an

overview of all the different fields and

21

: 00:01:06

domains and aspects of cybersecurity,

so that maybe you can pick one of those.

22

: 00:01:10

And that's sort of what

you would focus on.

23

: 00:01:12

But it's better than the CISSP in that.

24

: 00:01:15

That one really is a very difficult.

25

: 00:01:18

Course and class to study for can be done.

26

: 00:01:21

I did it.

27

: 00:01:22

But I also had an it background.

28

: 00:01:24

And that's the route that I took.

29

: 00:01:27

And the comp Tia certifications.

30

: 00:01:29

Are more popular.

31

: 00:01:31

But they're harder than this as well.

32

: 00:01:33

So if you're looking for something

sort of as an entry level,

33

: 00:01:36

I think this is actually a.

34

: 00:01:39

Brilliant.

35

: 00:01:40

Class to go forward out.

36

: 00:01:41

It's Encore, Sarah.

37

: 00:01:43

And the ability is $49 a month.

38

: 00:01:46

Depends on your level of skill.

39

: 00:01:49

Now, like I said, I have a CISSP, so

I'm going through this at a pretty good

40

: 00:01:53

pace because it's not foreign to me.

41

: 00:01:55

I understand the concepts.

42

: 00:01:56

It's a refresher.

43

: 00:01:58

It's easy.

44

: 00:02:00

But if I was brand new, Hmm, I think it

would be a little bit more difficult.

45

: 00:02:04

It would take a little bit more time to

understand these contests concepts, but

46

: 00:02:08

I've also been working in the field.

47

: 00:02:10

For five years as a security engineer.

48

: 00:02:13

So this isn't foreign to me, but I

would recommend that if you're looking

49

: 00:02:16

to transfer laterally transfer or

you're already in it, This is actually

50

: 00:02:20

a little bit better, laid out and

easier than the other programs.

51

: 00:02:24

That are out there and it is

on Coursera, which means you

52

: 00:02:26

can do it on a mobile device.

53

: 00:02:28

And obviously the website.

54

: 00:02:30

Now I mentioned you could get it for free.

55

: 00:02:32

So, how do you do that?

56

: 00:02:34

Okay.

57

: 00:02:35

If you get a public library card and you

may have heard that on other podcasts.

58

: 00:02:39

Then.

59

: 00:02:41

If that library.

60

: 00:02:42

Offers Coursera.

61

: 00:02:44

And they've made a deal with

Coursera, which the California

62

: 00:02:47

state public library has done.

63

: 00:02:49

Some of them, not all of them.

64

: 00:02:52

Then you'll find that in the

e-learning or digital section.

65

: 00:02:55

And they probably have a

select number of seats.

66

: 00:02:58

So in my case, There's a select

number of seats at the state.

67

: 00:03:02

And every 90 days they purge

people who haven't used it.

68

: 00:03:05

So I just kept clicking every day until

one day it said welcome to the program.

69

: 00:03:09

So I'm actually doing.

70

: 00:03:11

I'm on module six right

now, as I'm recording this.

71

: 00:03:14

I have the Google cyber

security certificate program.

72

: 00:03:17

And I'm getting that

through the public library.

73

: 00:03:20

And I'm getting all these

certificates with my name on it,

74

: 00:03:23

and it's quite a lot of hours.

75

: 00:03:26

So here's the other aspect

that you may not think if you

76

: 00:03:30

already have a certification.

77

: 00:03:32

And it requires you to get

CPE credits like the CISSP.

78

: 00:03:37

Bias.

79

: 00:03:37

See square does require that.

80

: 00:03:39

These are actually accepted.

81

: 00:03:42

And there are a lot of hours and

it's a great refresher course.

82

: 00:03:45

So even for me, if you look at it like,

oh, are you really learning anything?

83

: 00:03:49

And the answer is, yes, there's always

something to be learned in this.

84

: 00:03:51

I'm getting a lot of credits and I'm

pretty much squared up for the next year.

85

: 00:03:55

So that's a huge benefit to me.

86

: 00:03:57

It's a really nice way to get a

refresher course and a bunch of credits.

87

: 00:04:01

And go through this and then be

able to tell other people about it.

88

: 00:04:05

Now I, you could use this for

other, you know, jump jumping points

89

: 00:04:10

for other learning activities.

90

: 00:04:11

And I've seen that as well.

91

: 00:04:12

And that's totally true.

92

: 00:04:14

I'm.

93

: 00:04:14

I'm into learning.

94

: 00:04:15

So I think this is a, a great thing to do.

95

: 00:04:18

So it really depends.

96

: 00:04:19

It's it's got a little bit

something for everyone, right?

97

: 00:04:22

If you laterally transferring, or you

have absolutely no experience, what

98

: 00:04:26

a great way to get into the field.

99

: 00:04:27

If you have a lot of experience.

100

: 00:04:30

What a great way to get a bunch of

credits so you can, you know, keep

101

: 00:04:33

your current certifications going.

102

: 00:04:34

So I don't really think you lose.

103

: 00:04:36

And if you get a public library card and.

104

: 00:04:39

I don't know if this applies to

international, but if you, our library

105

: 00:04:44

does offer Coursera as an option.

106

: 00:04:46

What a great way to save money,

because it depends on how

107

: 00:04:49

long it's going to take you.

108

: 00:04:50

Right.

109

: 00:04:51

At the fastest pace that

I could possibly go.

110

: 00:04:54

It's still going to take me.

111

: 00:04:56

About three weeks to go through this,

just because it's a lot of time and a

112

: 00:04:59

lot of videos and a lot of things to do.

113

: 00:05:01

And okay.

114

: 00:05:02

That's $49 to me.

115

: 00:05:04

Great.

116

: 00:05:04

But if you don't have that

experience already, and this is a

117

: 00:05:08

little bit more difficult for you

and you do want to take your time.

118

: 00:05:10

Maybe it'll take you four

months or six months.

119

: 00:05:13

So you might be saving 249 to $300.

120

: 00:05:16

If your library offers it.

121

: 00:05:18

Either way, even if your

library didn't offer it.

122

: 00:05:21

It's still a really good

class to go through.

123

: 00:05:24

Initially, if you have an interest

in getting into cybersecurity, now

124

: 00:05:28

I'll put on something else out there.

125

: 00:05:31

Having this means that an employer

is just going to be like, oh my gosh,

126

: 00:05:34

this person has this certificate.

127

: 00:05:36

So I w I T totally should hire them.

128

: 00:05:38

No.

129

: 00:05:39

I don't really think so.

130

: 00:05:40

I.

131

: 00:05:42

You'll get two ways

from everything, right?

132

: 00:05:44

Some people say, you know,

having a certification.

133

: 00:05:47

Is really great.

134

: 00:05:48

It's like employers are

really looking for that.

135

: 00:05:50

And the other hand, there are

plenty of qualified people out

136

: 00:05:52

there in jobs right now that are

doing awesome and have no certs.

137

: 00:05:56

So, no, I don't think assert.

138

: 00:05:57

Does that, what it does do is give

you a structured learning path.

139

: 00:06:01

And it gives you a targeted goal and

it's something you can put on your resume

140

: 00:06:05

and it's something you can talk about.

141

: 00:06:06

And maybe employers are

looking for that and great.

142

: 00:06:09

It's a bullet point on a resume

and it gets you another keyword.

143

: 00:06:12

And maybe there'll not looking for that.

144

: 00:06:14

It really doesn't matter.

145

: 00:06:15

So is this certificate going to

get me anything from my employer?

146

: 00:06:19

No, no.

147

: 00:06:19

One's going to care, but it's going

to get me those credits, which I do

148

: 00:06:22

care about so that I can keep my C

I S S P, which they do care about.

149

: 00:06:27

So it's a win-win I don't.

150

: 00:06:29

See any of the way to this other than.

151

: 00:06:32

It's just a win.

152

: 00:06:33

And it isn't to say that you couldn't get

all the same technical information off of

153

: 00:06:39

Udemy or YouTube or somewhere else, but

it would take me more time to find that.

154

: 00:06:44

And this is more organized and

there's really good downloads.

155

: 00:06:48

Uh, some of the documents and

templates that you get to get

156

: 00:06:51

actually are really decent.

157

: 00:06:53

And if you're into building

chatbots, you can use some of those

158

: 00:06:55

documents to build your chat bot.

159

: 00:06:57

That's a security engineer just saying.

160

: 00:06:59

But there is benefits to this.

161

: 00:07:01

So.

162

: 00:07:02

To wrap it all up.

163

: 00:07:03

You can get it for free potentially.

164

: 00:07:06

I do think that it's worth taking,

regardless of if you've been in

165

: 00:07:09

the industry or not just as a

refresher course and for credits.

166

: 00:07:13

And if you have an interest in

cybersecurity and you have no experience,

167

: 00:07:17

this is a great way to get into it.

168

: 00:07:18

I think that's easier than other pathways.

169

: 00:07:22

And if you want to make a

lateral move in cybersecurity.

170

: 00:07:25

You'll have a lot of knowledge already

that makes us easier, but we'll

171

: 00:07:28

introduce you to cyber security.

172

: 00:07:30

And you get a certificate at the end.

173

: 00:07:32

And you can put that on LinkedIn and put

in your resume and maybe no one will care.

174

: 00:07:36

It doesn't really matter.

175

: 00:07:37

You're going, this is going to

propel you to get you to the next

176

: 00:07:40

level, to start creating that

portfolio to start showcasing.

177

: 00:07:45

What you have done and give you some.

178

: 00:07:47

Documentation and some templates that

you can use in order to practice that so

179

: 00:07:52

that you can have real world experience.

180

: 00:07:54

So with that, I actually would

encourage you to go check it out,

181

: 00:07:58

see if you can get it for free.

182

: 00:07:59

And if not, it's $49 and

there's other benefits to that.

183

: 00:08:03

But I think it's, it's interesting.

184

: 00:08:06

I'm just going to leave it at that.

185

: 00:08:07

At first, I was a little

bit jaded thinking.

186

: 00:08:10

I don't know if this is

something I really want to do.

187

: 00:08:12

Until I realized I could

get credits for it.

188

: 00:08:14

And it's just been to learn anyway and

picking up a couple things here and there.

189

: 00:08:19

But, uh, yeah.

190

: 00:08:20

So if you get a chance to take a

look at it, it's not a bad idea.

191

: 00:08:25

So, if you have any questions for

this podcast, check the show notes.

192

: 00:08:28

My contact information is in there.

193

: 00:08:30

Be safe.

194

: 00:08:31

And stay safe.