CompTIA Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and CISSP are three of the most recognised cybersecurity certifications, but they sit at three different points on a career ladder — an entry-level fundamentals badge, an intermediate offensive-security credential, and an advanced management-level standard that formally requires five years of experience.
Quick Overview
What you’ll learn:
- How Security+, CEH and CISSP compare on cost, difficulty and experience requirements
- Which certification fits a beginner, an intermediate practitioner and a senior security leader
- What each exam actually tests, beyond the marketing description
- A realistic sequencing strategy if your goal is eventually to reach CISSP
Who this article is for:
- IT professionals starting a career in cybersecurity
- Security analysts and engineers deciding which certification to pursue next
- Hiring managers evaluating what a candidate’s certification actually signals
Reading time: 5 minutes
Cybersecurity Certifications Compared: CISSP vs CEH vs Security+
The (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study has tracked a persistent global shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals for years running, which is one of the reasons certifications carry real weight in this field — they’re a fast, standardised way for an employer to verify baseline competence in a market where demand for security talent consistently outpaces supply.
| Criterion | CompTIA Security+ | CEH | CISSP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuing body | CompTIA | EC-Council | (ISC)2 |
| Level | Entry / Intermediate | Intermediate | Advanced |
| Experience required | ~2 years recommended | ~2 years in security | 5 years required |
| Focus | Security fundamentals | Offensive security | Management and governance |
| Typical next role | SOC Analyst, IT Admin | Pentester, Red Team | Security Architect, CISO |
| Validity | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
CompTIA Security+: The Entry-Level Foundation
Security+ is the standard starting point for a cybersecurity career, and it’s often the minimum bar required for public-sector IT roles (in the US it’s an explicit requirement under DoD Directive 8570 for many government IT positions). The exam covers threats and vulnerabilities, identity and access management, cryptography fundamentals, network and application security, incident response basics, and governance/risk/compliance concepts — broad rather than deep, which is the point at this stage of a career. It doesn’t require deep technical specialisation, but it does require a working understanding of how the major security mechanisms fit together.
CEH: Thinking Like an Attacker
CEH takes the opposite angle from Security+: instead of defensive fundamentals, it teaches the attacker’s methodology — reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, and the tools and techniques a penetration tester actually uses. It’s the natural next step for someone moving from a defensive SOC role into offensive security or red-teaming, and it carries real weight specifically in penetration-testing and red-team hiring, where employers want evidence a candidate understands the attacker’s playbook, not just the defender’s.
CISSP: The Management-Level Standard
CISSP is (ISC)2’s flagship credential and is widely treated as the gold standard for senior security roles — architect, security manager, CISO-track positions. Unlike Security+ and CEH, CISSP formally requires five years of cumulative paid work experience in at least two of its eight domains before the credential is awarded (candidates can pass the exam earlier and hold “Associate of (ISC)2” status while accruing the required experience). The exam itself tests breadth across security and risk management, asset security, security architecture, communication and network security, identity and access management, security assessment, security operations, and software development security — a governance and management view of the field rather than a hands-on technical one.
Which One Should You Get First?
The natural sequencing for most people follows the ladder: Security+ to establish fundamentals and qualify for junior analyst or admin roles, then either CEH if the career goal is offensive security and penetration testing, or a cloud/associate-level security certification if the goal is cloud security engineering, and finally CISSP once five years of qualifying experience have accumulated and the target role shifts toward architecture or management. Skipping straight to CISSP without the underlying experience isn’t just inadvisable — it’s not possible, since the experience requirement is a formal condition of full certification.
Read Also
- DevOps vs Cloud Architect vs Security Analyst: 2026 Salary Comparison in Poland — how these certifications translate into salary at each seniority level
- IT Training for Banks: What Makes the Financial Sector Different — a sector where CISSP and ISO 27001 experience are frequently non-negotiable
Build Your Skills
Building the entry-level foundation starts with the CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Exam Preparation course. Check the programme and sign up to build your skills with EITT’s experts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I go straight for CISSP without Security+ or CEH first?
Technically yes, if you already have five years of qualifying experience in at least two of CISSP’s eight domains — the certification doesn’t formally require holding Security+ or CEH first, but most people arrive at CISSP-level experience by way of roles that Security+ or CEH helped them get into.
Which certification is hardest to pass?
CISSP is widely considered the hardest, not because any single question is highly technical, but because it demands broad, management-level judgment across eight domains and years of practical context to answer correctly; CEH is challenging mainly due to the sheer volume of tools and techniques it covers; Security+ is the most approachable of the three.
Is CEH worth it if I want to stay in a defensive (blue team) role?
CEH’s main value is understanding attacker methodology, which is useful even in defensive roles, but if your career goal is purely blue-team and defensive, a cloud security or SOC-focused certification may be a more direct match for the skills you’ll actually use day to day.
Do these certifications expire?
Yes — all three require renewal roughly every three years, either through continuing-education credits (CEUs for Security+, ECE for CEH, CPE for CISSP) or by passing a higher-level exam, so budgeting for renewal is part of the real cost of holding any of them.