The (ISC)² CISSP and CCSP certifications have recently racked up more recognition from global staffing firm Robert Half. The company’s 2021 Technology Salary Guide looked at the trends and skills impacting technology professionals, as well as the most in-demand IT certifications today. The (ISC)² programs were two of the top 15 in demand certifications highlighted in a CRN story on the topic .

Why Are CISSP and CCSP So In Demand?

The COVID-19 pandemic shined an even brighter spotlight on the global cybersecurity workforce shortage. While the industry is making strides to fill the talent gap, the pandemic placed greater emphasis on the need for skilled technology professionals to support critical operations and strategic initiatives, as well as understand the cloud. According to the report by Robert Half, “with more employees working remotely, security experts are needed to help the business defend an extended security perimeter and comply with stringent regulatory mandates.”

The CISSP is the most globally-recognized certification in the information security market, and already has acquired an incredible list of accolades, including being named the most valuable security certification for 2021. This research came from the Information Security Careers Network (ISCN), which surveyed more than 90,000 cybersecurity professionals on LinkedIn.

The broad spectrum of topics covered by the CISSP exam aligns with the Common Body of Knowledge (CBK^®), a comprehensive framework of all the relevant subjects a security professional should be familiar with, including skills, techniques and best practices.

Meanwhile, the CCSP cloud security certification is the fastest-growing certification in the (ISC)²  portfolio. It ensures that an IT security professional has the advanced technical skills and knowledge to design, manage and secure data, applications and infrastructure in the cloud using best practices, policies and procedures.

Paying Well for Expertise 

Salaries for workers who hold these certifications, including the CISSP and CCSP, can be five to 10% higher than for those without similar certifications, according to the Robert Half report. Another recent CRN story broke down the top 10 fastest-growing IT jobs by salary in the United States, according to the 2021 Dice Tech Salary Report. Cybersecurity analysts saw the largest growth in salary of any occupation in America, increasing 16.3% from 2019 to 2020.

Dice projects that security analyst salaries will increase 28.5% over the next 10 years. In addition, cybersecurity engineers saw their average salary increase 4.3% in 2020. The demand for skilled talent to identify and remediate security holes further illustrates the importance of cybersecurity certifications.

This data supplements (ISC)² salary research, benchmarking surveys and other third-party studies of CISSP salary estimates .

(ISC)² information security certifications are recognized as the global standard for excellence, and they offer employers reassurance that their staff have the expertise they need and are equipped with the latest skills to stay up to date on threats and technologies. To learn more about (ISC)² certifications, visit: https://www.isc2.org/Certifications .