The script is for an episode titled "Ep19: Is a Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate Worth it?" where the speaker, Marc, shares his perspectives on the value of attaining a Google Cyber Security Certificate. He discusses how Google's certificate differs from other recognized credentials in the industry like the CompTIA Security Plus Certificate and CISSP. He also provides suggestions on study resources and paths to these certifications such as studying from books, using online guides, and accessing free courses through LinkedIn Learning via public libraries. The major takeaway is that while education is valuable, he doesn't consider Google's certificate to be universally acknowledged in the industry as compared with CompTIA or CISSP, although if someone wanted to get it in addition to these, that would not be a problem.

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Marc: 00:00:00

So you're wondering, is the Google Cyber Security Certificate worth it?

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I started out with a career in IT, which

gave me the foundation that I needed.

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And then I started studying for the

CompTIA Security Plus Certificate,

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which I found to be kind of hard.

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After that, I went straight to

the CISSP, which I found to be

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very hard, and I really studied

for that, but more on a schedule.

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So do you need this type of

cybersecurity certificate?

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The problem is if you're looking

at Google or Microsoft or anything,

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and it's very specific, they're

creating their own standards.

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They're creating their own

certificates for those organizations.

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And that isn't as widely accepted.

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You're probably going to

see a little bit of CompTIA.

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You're definitely going to see.

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The ISC type stuff, especially the CISSP,

and if you're going to spend your time

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doing that, I would suggest you study for

those resources because they're going to

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give you the jargon and the knowledge that

you need at least to be able to speak to

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recruiters and interviewers, even if you

have no intention of ever taking the test.

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And as far as certificates

go, are they necessary?

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Are they valid?

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I've not run across anybody who

has definitively said we need

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you to have this certificate.

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I've had that it's a nice to

have, and I've had to mention it,

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and I've put it on my resume of

course, but it isn't something

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that's going to make or break you.

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There's so many other

things to landing that.

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Information or cyber security job.

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So let's take a look at the website here.

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First of all, it's on Coursera, love

Coursera, but it's going to cost you a

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seven day free trial and then 49 a month.

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Now maybe you'll finish this in

six months, or maybe you'll finish

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it in two months, or maybe you'll

start it and forget it and leave

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it going for a year worth paying

that much for just a certificate.

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And especially if you're

looking for just a.

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base bit of knowledge, there's other

places you can go, and I'm going to drop

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all that in the description for you.

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So if we keep going down here, there's

cool stuff about how much money you

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could potentially make, going through

the course material, getting on fast

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track with employers, and then showing

you the employers, and then preparing

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for the CompTIA Security Plus exam.

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Well, why don't you just go prepare

for that, just right off the bat.

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And then if you look down a little

bit further, you get some frequently

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asked questions, which is cool.

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It talks about this Google Cyber

Certificate, uh, Employer Consortium.

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Interesting that it only says these

companies span multiple sectors

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and are committed to considering

Google Career Certificate graduates,

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considering for entry level jobs.

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And then, of course, there's a place

that you can go after completion

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where you can apply for opportunities

from employers with open jobs.

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Or, you could just do that for free

on Indeed and LinkedIn and a billion

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other places where you can get jobs.

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So if you try to look at this

consortium here, You know, it's

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just finding skilled talent.

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So it's sort of like, just a

place for employers to go to look

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for people who have maybe this

cert or just in general talent.

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Not something I'd really do.

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If you're gonna spend

the money, this is 31.

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Just go sign up for the Security

Plus and start reading the book.

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Yeah, I know, a book.

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It is a place to start.

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You can do it anywhere

without internet access.

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And it really will get you into

that jargon and the learning and you

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actually can study this book and you

actually can study and pass the test.

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And CompTIA does have a name behind it.

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Google has a name behind

it, don't get me wrong.

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This will have a name behind it that

you're probably going to find on...

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Job applications or places that

are looking to hire people.

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The other one I'd highly

recommend is the ISC CISSP.

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Again, 54 bucks.

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It's huge.

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It's thick.

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It's gonna cover all the domains.

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The Google Certificate has

seven or eight modules.

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This has everything

that you're gonna want.

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It's not gonna be online, but it will

cover everything for you, and you're

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gonna get that jargon and the language.

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It's super important and lastly

if you go over to certmic.

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com Not being endorsed here, but I did

use it and he's got things for security

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plus and the CISSP and of course

There's gonna be recommended resources.

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So shout out if you already have LinkedIn

learning there are courses that you can

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take for the CISSP and Cybersecurity

in general and if you are part of a

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any sort of a public library like I

am in the Bay Area It's a little bit

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hidden and tricky, but you actually

can get access to LinkedIn learning

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without being a LinkedIn premium member.

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It's just a little weird to do

it, but it's totally doable.

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And when you go down here, I

did buy some of these guides

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to be fair, they were helpful.

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But this is really the key, is

signing up for that free study course.

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Because...

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He will take you step by step,

you'll get an email on which

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chapter and which section you're

supposed to review and read.

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So when you get this big, thick,

huge manual that's really daunting,

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he's going to go through and

take you what you need to read.

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And it kind of chunks it out so you have

an actual study program and a guide and

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a way to get through this material that

you normally wouldn't have otherwise.

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So, is that Google Cyber

Security Certificate worth it?

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Honestly, if you like learning and

you just want to get certified and

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you just like taking stuff, I think

there's a lot of value in that, right?

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I'm not against any type of education.

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But there are other resources

that I've just mentioned that are

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going to be much cheaper for you.

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They're going to be...

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You're going to have a lot

longer longevity for you.

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And they're going to be more widely

adopted and accepted within the industry.

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And that's where I would spend my time.

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I would get CompTIA.

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I would try to get my CSSP.

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If I didn't get those, if I got CompTIA,

and then you said, Hey, I want to

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go take a Google Cyber Certificate.

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Go for it.

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Absolutely.

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But it is not going to make or break

you, and employers are not actively

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necessarily looking for that.

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I could come up with my own curriculum,

put up a really fancy website, and call

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it whatever, Cyber Security Certificate,

and have people buy my stuff from my

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modules, and that would be meaningless

as well in the industry for that.

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So, In my mind, no, it's not

something I would pursue if I was

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looking to go into this industry.

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And I didn't.

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I went with CompTIA and

then I went my CSSP.

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And I did do the CertMic stuff

because it really helped narrow down

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what I needed to learn and study and

slowly read in this giant manual.

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And if you want LinkedIn Learning,

check out if you can get that for

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free through your local library.

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So I'll put all this in put as

much as I can in the description.

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I think it's going to help you.

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And that's sort of my take on this.

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But again, caveat, I didn't buy it.

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I don't intend to.

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I don't intend to go through just

yet another certificate program.

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And if I was new to the industry,

which I was when I started looking,

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I would go about it differently.

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If you liked this video,

please like, and subscribe.

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And if you don't like this video,

please like, and subscribe.

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Remember I told you

there was a secret way.

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I kind of threw it out there.

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Like there was a way to do

this through the library.

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Okay, it's a little convoluted, but

whatever state you're in, if you have

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a public library card, go search for

your public library within your state,

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like I'm looking here for the San

Francisco Public Library, and it's sort

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of buried in here, but if I looked up

LinkedIn Learning SF Public Library,

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or Los Angeles Public Library, or New

York Public Library, you know, all the

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websites are going to be different.

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But if you notice down here,

oh, a LinkedIn Learning.

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And if you type in this when prompted,

and then you're going to put in your

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library ID and your pin, because you're

going to need a pin for that card, you're

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going to get access to LinkedIn Learning.

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It's completely different

than your LinkedIn account.

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So if you're a premium member, well,

you already have access to this.

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If you're a regular member like

me, you don't have access to this.

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But you can get access to this if you

go through and get a library card.

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At the public library, and then search

online for that particular library and

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go this convoluted route, you absolutely,

positively can get some of this.

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So for LinkedIn Learning here, I

actually can go in and get all the

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full courses and everything that I want

through access to the public library.

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But again, it's going to be different

depending on your state and where you are.

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You're going to need a card.

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You're going to need a pin

associated with that card.

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It's not, it's easy to do, but

most people aren't going to do it.

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They're just going to pay for it, or

they're going to go off and do some

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other certification and spend a lot more.

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But there's a lot of great

stuff on LinkedIn Learning, and

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you can get access for free.