Best Cybersecurity Certifications in 2024: A Guide to Security+, CISSP, CEH, & Cloud Certs
The cybersecurity skills gap is your opportunity. But with dozens of certifications available, how do you choose the right one to launch, specialize, or lead in this high-demand field? The wrong cert can cost you thousands of dollars and months of study with little return.
This guide cuts through the noise. We break down the most valuable cybersecurity certifications for 2024, mapping them to specific career paths and experience levels. Whether you’re a beginner looking to break in or a seasoned pro aiming for the CISO suite, this is your roadmap to validating your skills and accelerating your career.
How to Choose the Right Certification
Before you invest, consider these three factors:
- Your Career Goals: Are you aiming for hands-on technical work, audit and compliance, or strategic leadership?
- Your Experience Level: Certifications have prerequisites. Be realistic about where you are in your journey.
- Market Demand & Recognition: Focus on certifications that employers know, trust, and explicitly ask for in job descriptions.
We’ve categorized the top certifications to help you decide.
Tier 1: Foundational & Entry-Level Certifications
These certs are perfect for those new to IT or cybersecurity, career-changers, or students.
CompTIA Security+
- Vendor: CompTIA
- Ideal For: Absolute beginners, help desk technicians moving into security, military personnel.
- Focus: Broad, vendor-neutral foundation in core security concepts. Covers network security, threats, vulnerabilities, identity management, access control, and cryptography.
- Why It’s Valuable: It’s the industry-standard entry-level cert. It’s DoD 8570 approved and is a common prerequisite for many IT and cyber roles. It proves you have the foundational knowledge every security professional needs.
- Difficulty: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2/5)
- Cost: ~$392 USD
- Best Next Cert: CySA+ (Cybersecurity Analyst), SSCP
Tier 2: Technical & Operational Certifications
These are for professionals who are hands-on-keyboard, performing technical security tasks.
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
- Vendor: EC-Council
- Ideal For: Penetration testers, vulnerability analysts, security consultants.
- Focus: The tools, techniques, and methodologies used by malicious hackers—but from an ethical, defensive perspective. Covers scanning, enumeration, exploitation, and social engineering.
- Why It’s Valuable: It’s one of the most recognized offensive security certs globally. It’s often a government and contractor requirement. However, it’s often criticized for being too tool-focused and less practical than its alternatives.
- Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)
- Cost: ~$1,199 USD (self-paced)
- Alternative: CompTIA PenTest+ is often considered a more practical and affordable alternative.
CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+)
- Vendor: CompTIA
- Ideal For: SOC Analysts, Threat Hunters, Vulnerability Management Analysts.
- Focus: Defensive, analytical skills. Teaches you how to proactively defend and continuously monitor networks using behavioral analytics. Heavy on reading logs and using security tools.
- Why It’s Valuable: It fills the gap between Security+ and expert-level certs. It’s highly practical and focuses on the “day-in-the-life” of a blue team analyst. Also DoD 8570 approved.
- Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)
- Cost: ~$392 USD
Tier 3: Architectural & Leadership Certifications
These are for experienced professionals who design, build, and manage security programs.
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
- Vendor: (ISC)²
- Ideal For: Security Managers, Directors, Consultants, Architects, and aspiring CISOs.
- Focus: A broad, deep mastery of all eight domains of cybersecurity. It’s not a technical how-to cert; it’s a managerial and architectural cert focused on policy, risk, and strategy.
- Why It’s Valuable: The “gold standard” of cybersecurity certifications. It’s globally recognized and often a non-negotiable requirement for senior-level roles. It signifies a commitment to the profession.
- Prerequisite: 5 years of cumulative, paid work experience in two or more of the eight domains.
- Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
- Cost: ~$749 USD
- Note: If you don’t have the experience, you can pass the exam and become an Associate of (ISC)².
Tier 4: Cloud Security Certifications
Cloud proficiency is no longer optional. These certs are critical for modern security pros.
Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)
- Vendor: (ISC)²
- Ideal For: Cloud Security Architects, Cloud Engineers, DevOps Security leads.
- Focus: Bridging the gap between deep security knowledge and robust cloud architecture. Covers cloud concepts, security, architecture, design, operations, and legal/compliance issues.
- Why It’s Valuable: Co-created by (ISC)² and the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), it’s the premier cloud security cert for professionals with advanced experience. It’s the cloud-focused big brother to the CISSP.
- Prerequisite: 5 years of IT experience, with 3 years in security and 1 year in cloud.
- Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5)
- Cost: ~$599 USD
AWS Certified Security – Specialty / Azure Security Engineer Associate
- Vendor: AWS / Microsoft
- Ideal For: Security professionals working specifically in AWS or Azure environments.
- Focus: Vendor-specific. Deep, hands-on knowledge of the native security tools and services within the respective cloud platform (e.g., AWS IAM, KMS, GuardDuty, Azure Sentinel, Key Vault, Defender).
- Why It’s Valuable: If your organization runs on AWS or Azure, this cert proves you can secure it effectively using the best native tools. Extremely practical and highly sought after.
- Prerequisite: Recommended to have foundational cloud certs first (e.g., AWS Cloud Practitioner, Azure Fundamentals).
- Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5)
- Cost: ~$300-$350 USD
Certification Comparison Table
| Certification | Level | Best For | Cost (Exam) | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CompTIA Security+ | Entry-Level | Foundational Knowledge | ~$392 | Medium |
| CEH | Intermediate | Penetration Testing | ~$1,199 | Medium |
| CySA+ | Intermediate | SOC Analysis | ~$392 | Medium |
| CISSP | Expert | Security Leadership | ~$749 | Very Hard |
| CCSP | Expert | Cloud Architecture | ~$599 | Hard |
| AWS Security | Intermediate | AWS-Specific Security | ~$350 | Hard |
How to Prepare and Succeed
- Study Strategically: Don’t just read. Use multiple sources: official books, video courses (e.g., Udemy, Cybrary), and hands-on labs.
- Get Hands-On Experience: Set up a home lab using VirtualBox. Practice with platforms like TryHackMe, Hack The Box, or range.cyber.opschronicle.com.
- Join a Community: Engage with forums on Reddit (e.g., r/cissp, r/compTIA) and Discord study groups. Peer support is invaluable.
- Take Practice Tests: Gauge your readiness and identify knowledge gaps with practice exams from reputable sources.
Conclusion: Certifications Are a Journey, Not a Destination
The right certification validates your skills, boosts your resume, and can significantly increase your earning potential. But it’s not a magic ticket. It must be backed by practical experience and a passion for continuous learning.
Start with a foundation like Security+, specialize with a technical cert like CySA+ or a cloud credential, and aim for the leadership pinnacle of CISSP or CCSP as your career evolves.
Ready to plan your path? Explore our Cybersecurity Career Roadmaps for a visual guide to where each certification fits. Then, deepen your skills with our Hands-On Labs to get the practical experience employers crave.