Top Isaca Certifications

ISACA is one of the best platforms providing IT professionals of different levels of expertise with widely recognized certifications making them skilled in various fields. You can aim for the high and get the knowledge and competencies in your desired area as well as verify your abilities. This will help you stand out and grow your career to another level. Some of the certificates are observed below.

Outline of the ISACA Certification Path

The most popular certificates offered by ISACA include Information System Auditor, Risk and Information Systems Control, Information Security Manager, Governance of Enterprise IT, CSX-Cybersecurity Practitioner, Data Privacy Solutions Engineer, and Information Technology Certified Associate. Other options are COBIT, CSA, IT Risk Fundamentals, CSX and CCAK. With any of these accreditations, you are going to boost your skills but for better results, it is highly necessary to choose the most appropriate certificate that comes in line with your career interests and expectations.

Top ISACA Certifications

• Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT

  This certification offered by ISACA is among the best for demonstrating knowledge of governance and ensures you will act as a trusted advisor for your enterprise. The aspiring candidates should take the CGEIT exam to earn it. That is why it is crucial to master the following domains beforehand: governance of enterprise IT, benefit realization, IT resources, and risk optimization.

  The CGEIT accredited professionals can add a lot of value to the organizations and help them align business strategies and goals for IT operations and governance. Considering this, candidates should meet some competence requirements to be eligible for the test. Thus, they need five or more years of experience in privacy architecture, privacy governance, and data lifecycle.

  The CGEIT exam is only presented in English and lasts for 3.5 hours. During this period, one has to answer 150 questions that are offered in the form of multiple-choice items. To help applicants prepare for the evaluation, ISACA provides its official study resources.

• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

  This certification targets professionals who want to validate their expertise and get knowledge about auditing, controlling, and assessing the organization's information technology as well as business systems. It provides individuals with the foundational knowledge that they require to get success within their IT career. With it, one verifies an ability to apply the risk-based approach to planning, executing, and reporting the audit engagement and regulate the external auditors and customers.

  To pass the CISA exam, you should first master the following objectives: information system auditing process, governance and management of IT, information systems and business alliance as well as protection of information assets. The candidates are required to have 5 years of experience in the IS or IT audit, assurance, control, and security.

  The CISA test is presented in German, Simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Korean, and Hebrew. During it, you will come across 150 questions that should be answered in 4 hours.

• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

  This certification is important for the candidates who are responsible for information security governance, incident management, program development, and risk management. It helps one to validate management skills and move from team player to manager. This certificate also adds credibility and confidence to the professional’s resume and allows to get better job opportunities. However, note that all candidates are required to have 5 or more years of experience in the information security management field.

  No matter if you are new to this field or striving hard for years, this accreditation will verify your expertise once you pass the associated CISM exam. For this, you need to have in-depth knowledge about information security governance, information security program development and management, IS incident management, and information risk management. You can prepare for the test by taking the free 10-questions CISM quiz from the ISACA portal. The test comes in English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish. The time limit is 4 hours. The exam registration fee is $750 for the non-members and $575 for the ISACA members.

• Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC)

  This certification is designed for the specialists who want to indicate their expertise in identifying, managing, and implementing information system control as well as working with an enterprise IT risk. It is one of the best certificates for those professionals who want to engage themselves in the risk management and control field. It will boost your career by providing you with the relevant knowledge and credibility in your interactions with external and internal stakeholders, regulators, and peers.

  The applicants need to pass the CRISC exam to get the certification. When it comes to prerequisites, three or more years of experience in IT risks management and IS control are needed. Speaking of the syllabus, one has to master the following domains: IT risk identification, IT risk assessment, risk and control monitoring and reporting, and risk response and mitigation. The test is presented in English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese, is 4 hours long, and includes 150 multiple-choice questions. You can prepare for it with the help of the CRISC test prep solutions and then take it online or in the in-person center. Once you pay the enrollment fee, the registration is valid for one year.

• Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE)

  The CDPSE is most appropriate for individuals who are experienced in the governance, lifecycle of data privacy, and architecture at a technical level. The candidate needs to have 3 or more years of experience in domains like privacy governance, privacy lifecycle, and privacy architecture. The CDPSE exam is only presented in English and the applicants get 3.5 hours to attempt its 120 questions. The audience targeted by this certificate includes data analysts, data scientists, IT project managers and others.

Salaries Offered to the ISACA Certified Professionals

You will get a market competitive salary when you achieve any of the certifications mentioned above. For instance, according to PayScale, the salary of the Certified Information Auditor is $110K whereas the Governance of Enterprise IT professional earns income as good as $140k. The certified Risk and Information System Control specialist has an income of around $124k per year. Still, those who achieve the certificates not only get high-paying jobs but also the opportunity to get higher on the career ladder and gain new prospects.