Last Updated: February 2026
Certification Comparison
CCSP (ISC2) – Advanced
$599 | 12-16 weeks | Vendor neutral | Salary impact: +$15-25K
AWS Security Specialty (SCS-C02) – Advanced
$300 | 10-14 weeks | AWS-specific | Salary impact: +$15-20K
AZ-500 (Microsoft) – Intermediate
$165 | 8-12 weeks | Azure security | Salary impact: +$10-18K
GCP Security Engineer – Intermediate
$200 | 10-12 weeks | GCP security | Salary impact: +$10-18K
CCSK (CSA) – Beginner
$395 | 4-6 weeks | Vendor neutral entry | Salary impact: +$5-10K
CompTIA Cloud+ – Beginner
$369 | 6-8 weeks | Entry point | Salary impact: +$5-8K
Career Progression
- Early: Security+/CCSK → AWS/AZ vendor cert
- Mid: Vendor cert → CCSP → second vendor
- Senior: CCSP + CISSP, multi-vendor, CISM for management
Start with our free security course and security toolkits.