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Beginner's Guide to CISA Certification Exam



Introduction to CISA certification:

The Certified Information Systems Auditor or CISA is known to be a certification that has been issued by ISACA. This certification is suitable for those people who are in charge of ensuring whether an organization’s IT and business systems are well monitored, managed, and protected. To earn this exam, there are strict requirements that need to be followed plus the exam is extremely difficult to pass. But know that the CISA-designation or Certified Information Systems Auditor is among one of the most globally recognized certifications in the information security and systems field. And that is why this certification is high in demand and more than 129,000 individuals have earned this certification since its inception.


This certification is mostly held by those people who have titles such as auditor, consultants, cyber security professionals, IS analysts, IT project manager, and more.


With that, in the year 2015, CISA was listed as one of the top three highest paying certifications

by the Certification Magazine. Similarly, the 2015 IT skills and salary survey listed CISA as one of the top five highest paying certifications for the second year. Thus this shows that if you are planning to earn this certification then this information can help you a lot in making up your mind. And as per the requirements and guidelines and cost and other details are related, you need to keep reading this article to find out all about it.


CISA requirements:

CISA has a lot of requirements which are mandatory for you to meet if you want to earn this certification.

  • You need to gain a minimum of 5 years of work experience in your relevant field.

  • You need to agree to the code of ethics and code of continuing education.

  • Similarly, once you pass the exam, you are required to accrue 20 hours of continuing education per year. That is the case if you wish to retain your certification.

  • You have the option to substitute formal education for almost three years of your work experience. Some options are mentioned below:

    • An ACCA member status for a 2 year educational waiver.

    • CMA certification is required for a 2 year educational waiver.

    • Similarly, 60 to 120 credit hour education in the relevant field is required if you want to 2 year educational waiver.

    • Lastly, Masters Degree in Information Technology or security is required if you want a 1 year educational waiver.

To sum it all up, you need a minimum of two years of work experience in the relevant field and also a relevant degree and certification. With that, a relevant degree and a Master’s degree can also serve the purpose if you don’t have five years of work experience in your relevant field.


CISA certification cost:

Now comes the most valuable section that is, what is the cost of CISA certification. Well, the cost of CISA certification exam varies depending on whether you are an ISACA member or not. And here are the details of the certification cost.

  • You need to gain a minimum of 5 years of work experience in your relevant field.

  • You need to agree to the code of ethics and code of continuing education.

  • Similarly, once you pass the exam, you are required to accrue 20 hours of continuing education per year. That is the case if you wish to retain your certification.

  • You have the option to substitute formal education for almost three years of your work experience. Some options are mentioned below.

    • An ACCA member status for a 2 year educational waiver.

    • CMA certification is required for a 2 year educational waiver.

    • Similarly, 60 to 120 credit hour education in the relevant field is required if you want to 2 year educational waiver.

    • Lastly, Masters Degree in Information Technology or security is required if you want a 1 year educational waiver.

To sum it all up, you need a minimum of two years of work experience in the relevant field and also a relevant degree and certification. With that, a relevant degree and a Master’s degree can also serve the purpose if you don’t have five years of work experience in your relevant field.


CISA certification cost:

Now comes the most valuable section that is, what is the cost of CISA certification. Well, the cost of CISA certification exam varies depending on whether you are an ISACA member or not. And here are the details of the certification cost.

  • If you are an ISACA member, then the fee of CISA certification exam would be $440.

  • And if you are a non-member, then the fee is different that is, $625.

  • Mailed or faxed early registration will cost you $75 more.

  • Similarly, the final registration would cost non-members $675 whereas for members it will be $490.

  • With that, there will be a processing fee of $75 for applying via mail or fax rather than web for both members and non-members.

  • Going further, if you wish to change your exam then the cost would be $50. All the changes made have to be submitted before receiving an exam ticket.

  • And if you wish to cancel the exam then it will cost you $100 and the cancellation must be requested one month before the exam or sooner before the date of your exam.

  • Next, the deferrals cost is $50 before one month to the exam and $100 after one month.

  • Lastly, you are supposed to pay a processing fee of $50 when applying for the certification once you have passed the exam.


Benefits of CISA:

CISA certification is considered to be a foundation to a successful IT career and comes with a variety of benefits and some are mentioned below.

  • If you are an entry-level to mid career professional, this certification can help showcase your expertise and assert your ability to apply a risk-based approach to planning.

  • You will be able to easily execute and report on audit engagements.

  • Similarly, this certification will help you gain instant credibility while interacting with internal stakeholders, external auditors, regulators, and customers.

Therefore, we can say that earning this certification will help you perform in the most meticulous manner and further your career. If you're interested in best CISA certification and training courses, the visit here.


CISA jobs market:

In this section, we are going to talk about the CISA jobs market. To your knowledge, CISA job market is quite huge as it deals with a variety of fields. And those who are CISA certified tend to earn more than those who aren’t. So here are the details of the jobs CISA deals with. You can find a job in the following sectors in the market.

  • IT audit

  • Cloud security

  • Web application

  • Penetration testing

  • Network security

  • API security testing and vulnerability assessment

And as per the salary is concerned, then you should know that an average salary of a CISA-certified is from $52,459 to $122,325 per annum.


Conclusion:

So this was an overview of what CISA certification is, what it has to offer, what is the certification cost and much more about it. This beginner’s guide to CISA certification exam is suitable for all the beginners and those who want to know the cost of certification and whether it is high in demand or not. Therefore, read all about CISA certification in this article and don’t forget to stay safe, stay home, and never stop learning.

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