Figuring Out ISACA Certifications for Cybersecurity Careers: ⑧ CET
In this eigth (and last!) piece of the “Figuring Out ISACA Certifications for Cybersecurity Careers”, I’m introducing the certificate titled Certified in Emerging Technology (CET). You can skip towards the end for more information on prerequisites and salaries you can earn with CET.
ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association®) is one of the world’s leading education and certification center for IT professions including cybersecurity. Started in 1967 by a small group of individuals, ISACA has become a “… centralized source of information and guidance in computer systems as well as an education foundation to undertake large-scale research efforts to expand the knowledge and value of the IT governance and control field.” Accepted widely across sectors, ISACA offers a myriad of education programs in addition to powerful certificates.
Here are eight cybersecurity certificates offered by ISACA, with some of the certifications being cumulative ‘composites’ of several certificates:
- Information Technology Certified Associate (ITCA) (Read about it here)
- Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) (Read about it here)
- Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) (Read about it here)
- Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) (Read about it here)
- Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) (Read about it here)
- Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) (Read about it here)
- CSX Cybersecurity Practitioner (CSX-P) (Read about it here)
- Certified in Emerging Technology (CET)
Let’s take a look at the last certificate on the list: Certified in Emerging Technology (CET). According to the information provided by ISACA, the CET is mostly for IT professionals looking to build knowledge or validate skillset around emerging technology in order to accelerate their careers.
Similar to beginner-level ITCA, the CET is actually a composite certificate that is obtained by receiving four knowledge- and performance-enhancing ISACA certificates that stack up. These four certificates are:
- Cloud Fundamentals
- Blockchain Fundamentals
- IoT Fundamentals
- Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals
These certificates entail hybrid testing where both performative and knowledge-based exams are taken. You can take them at your pace, there is no set order. Once having passed the four exams above, the CET certificate requires no additional work experience. However, CET-holders are required to maintain the certification on an annual basis by earning and reporting CPE credit hours and paying an annual maintenance fee to ISACA.
What is CET useful for? CET is a way of affirming that you have what it takes to apply in-demand emerging technology expertise to your roles in IT audit, risk, security, cybersecurity, governance, privacy and/or business growth. The hands-on performance learning techniques build and reinforces vital practical skills required to leverage emerging technology such as blockchain and AI.
As the next best thing to real-world experience, CET validates that you’re ready to advise, assess and implement today’s leading-edge emerging technologies and deliver their rewards to your enterprise or clients. (ISACA 2022)
Is CET worth the investment? After all, you will be spending a significant amount of time and resources to receive the four fundamental certificates, so this is an important question. As an answer, you can check out the career switch potential of the CET certificate. By obtaining CET, you can work as:
- AI Integration Architect (Average annual US base salary in 2022: $180,400)
- IoT Architect or IoT Engineer (Average annual US base salary in 2022: $133,992)
- Cloud Architect or Cloud Engineer (Average annual US base salary in 2022: $121,301)
- Blockchain Analyst or Blockchain Developer (Average annual US base salary in 2022: $109,753)
- Software Engineer (Average annual US base salary in 2022: $108,249)
- Emerging Technology Specialist (Average annual US base salary in 2022: $95,231)
- AI Success Manager (Average annual US base salary in 2022: $75,953)
Since IT professionals at any level can easily get a nice bump up in annual salaries with potential career switches into emerging technology fields, the CET is worth pursuing for many of us interested in cybersecurity careers.
Source: History of ISACA, ISACA Credentialing, Glassdoor, Payscale, Indeed, Talent.com
Note: CET is a recently launched certificate, therefore the rules and exam content may change. Please check ISACA’s website before getting started. I highly recommend reading the other pieces in this series; ITCA, CISA, CRISC, CISM, CDPSE, CGEIT, and CSX-P.
