The Certification Trap
I woke up this morning and saw that yet another certification is now available. You can now be "XYZ" certified! The exam seems pricey, but hey, that will definitely show that I'm good at hacking, right?
This is the kind of message that bombards professionals in our field every day. The certification industry is booming, with new credentials popping up regularly, each promising to be the key to advancing your career. But have we stopped to consider what we’re really buying into?
The more we encourage the narrative that certifications are an "HR bypass," the more we solidify this problematic perception. By promoting certifications as a fast track to employment, we're inadvertently exacerbating the issue. In some countries, the cost of this so-called "bypass" can be as high as three months' salary, making it a significant financial burden.
But here's the truth: hacking and security are about skills, expertise, and real-world experience—not about how much money you can throw at a certification. When the industry starts to prioritize certification over merit, it undermines the very foundation of what makes a good security professional.
