exam preparation Archives - Enterprise Training Solutions Blog

Improve the Environment and Your Career with a LEED Certification

When planning your career path, it takes foresight to predict what the future might hold in store. For facilities management professionals, the future is green.

Acquiring LEED certification is one of best ways to evolve with the industry (and environment) at large and put you in a position to keep your career path trending upwards.

The certification is recognized globally across 165 countries and over 2.2 million square feet of buildings are receiving LEED certification every day.

Even the International Labor Organization has projected that over 6.5 million job opportunities are going to be generated as a result of green construction projects by 2030.

As more companies and nations rally to handle the environmental crisis, which is one of the greatest threats we face today, any LEED-certified professional will likely be guaranteed work for many years to come.

This is true for anyone involved in building construction and management – whether you’re a construction worker, architect, or facilities manager.

To understand precisely why LEED certification can have such an impact on your career, it’s important to have industry context and to understand what LEED certification is.

What Does LEED Certification Stand For?

The acronym stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The certification program is used as a form of quality control; assessing a building’s design and construction based on a number of factors including:

Energy efficiency
Building materials
Access to public transportation
Responsible land usage
Air quality
Water usage

The program itself is sponsored by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). If a building project participates in the program, they can be awarded four different levels of LEED certification, depending on how many points they score on the exam:

40-49 points = LEED Certified Buildings
50-59 points = LEED Silver Buildings
60-79 points = LEED Gold Buildings
80+ points = LEED Platinum Buildings

Why LEED Certification Can Improve Your Career

LEED is significant because it operates as a third-party verification system, meaning every project involved with a LEED-certified professional is vetted through an extra layer of accountability.

In other words, even if a construction and design agency guarantees that a project will adhere to high standards regarding sustainability, LEED certification makes sure those standards are in fact being met.

There are many tangible reasons to acquire LEED certification, not least among them being financial benefits.

Between 2015-2018, the USGBC reported that LEED-certified buildings saved an estimated $1.5 billion in energy costs: $145.9 million in water, $715.2 million in maintenance, and $54.2 million in waste!

The USGBC also reported that buildings that are LEED-certified are worth 4% more than buildings that are not. In the end, having the certification serves to benefit everyone involved in building projects, from the project managers to the tenants themselves.

The certification itself is the most difficult of its kind to acquire, which is why those who do become LEED-certified are recognized as a cut above those who don’t.

In fact, having a record of LEED-certified projects on your resume can quickly grow your reputation as a thought leader within the construction and facilities management industries as well as the movement towards a sustainable future.

So, what steps should you take to get there?

Getting LEED Certified

To acquire your LEED certification, you must pass the official LEED certification exam provided by the Green Business Certification, Inc. Instead of a one-size-fits-all exam, you have the option to take five different tests:

Building Design & Construction
Operations & Maintenance
Interior Design & Construction
Neighborhood Development

Technically speaking, there isn’t a prerequisite class required to take these tests, but it’s highly recommended to come prepared since they’re difficult to pass.

While there are a number of colleges and universities that offer LEED certification courses, it can be difficult for you to find the time necessary to go back to school as a working professional.

A solution does exist, however, and you’re reading it at this very moment.

Enterprise Training is an official USGBC education provider, and we offer on-demand courses dedicated to LEED certification which you can consume at your pace from the comfort of your own home.

As an ETS Learner, you’ll also receive access to over 60 state and national affiliations and accreditations courses, the completion certificates, and the ability to print course materials for later reference.

If you’re interested in becoming LEED certified to improve your career while building a more sustainable world, start your free trial of Enterprise Training today.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!

Schedule Free Consultation

What Is CISSP Certification and How Do You Get It?

CISSP certification is #1 on the list of the 8 most in-demand IT certifications, according to CIO.com.

And Burning Glass reported that “the demand for certified cybersecurity talent is outstripping supply. In the U.S., employers posted 49,493 jobs requesting a CISSP, recruiting from a pool of only 65,362 CISSP holders nationwide.”

This spells out huge opportunities for motivated IT professionals who want to work in the private sector and public sector because even the Department of Defense considers CISSP certification one of the lead qualifiers for getting hired in their department.

If you’re interested in earning this prestigious certification, let’s look at what CISSP is, how to get certified, and how to start preparing for the CISSP exam today.

What is CISSP Certification?

CISSP certification was developed by (ISC)² to be the world’s most-valued cybersecurity certification. According to (ISC)², employers prefer CISSP 3 to 1 over any other credential.

CISSP demonstrates that the certified holder can design, engineer, implement, and run an information security program.

It’s also one of the requirements for employment in IT Security roles at the DoD.

A wide array of IT professionals choose to get CISSP certified, including:

CIOs.
IT directors.
Security systems engineers.
And many more.

Once certified, (ISC)² provides a number of member benefits.

From digital badges that let you show off your newly acquired skill set to a free subscription to the bi-monthly newsletter InfoSecurity Professional Magazine. CISSP certification benefits extend beyond just a new job title.

But before you can access these benefits, you’ll have to pass the exam.

What is the CISSP Exam?

You take a look at the CISSP exam outline here.

The exam will take you 6 hours to complete and contains 250 questions. Some are in multiple choice, and some are in “advanced innovative” formats, which are drag-and-drop and “hotspot” type of questions. Here’s a preview of these types of questions from the InfoSec Institute.

There are 8 “domains” that you’ll be tested on, each carrying a different weight in the final score. For example, Security and Risk Management accounts for 15% of your final exam grade, as compared to Asset Security which only accounts for 10%. Knowing this will help you prioritize your study materials.

What Are the CISSP Requirements to Pass the Exam and Get Certified?

The CISSP Requirements to become certified are fairly straightforward.

Out of 1000 points, you have to pass the CISSP exam with a score of 700 or higher.

You also need at least 5 years of full-time work experience in at least 2 of these 8 domains:

Security and Risk Management
Asset Security
Security Architecture and Engineering
Communication and Network Security
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Security Assessment and Testing
Security Operations
Software Development Security

You can either receive this work experience prior to taking the exam or after. However, if you take the exam without meeting the required 5 years of work experience in at least 2 domains, you will NOT be certified.

Instead, you’ll receive the title Associate of (ISC)². You can leverage this title to gain greater employment and use it become a member of (ISC)² with all the benefits included. Then once you meet the other requirements, you’ll receive your certification.

How Much Does CISSP Cost?

The cost of the CISSP exam is $699.

Once you pass the exam, you have to maintain your membership. Every 3 years, you’ll be required to pay $85 and log 120 continuing professional education (CPE) credits.

How Can You Get Instant Access to CISSP Online Training and Start Preparing for the Exam Today?

If you want to prepare for the CISSP exam and get CISSP certified, then you need access to on-demand online training you can take anytime, anywhere.

To set yourself up for success, you need a whole suite of videos, courses, and ebooks you can use to upgrade your skills and knowledge.

Resources like:

Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK Fourth Edition.
CISSP: Communication & Network Security Design.
CISSP: Identity and Access Management.
And many more.

Here’s a preview of what these classes are like so you know what to expect.

And if you want to access all of the available CISSP resources, go ahead and start your free trial of Enterprise Training below.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!

Schedule Free Consultation

How to Become DoD 8140 Compliant and Boost Your IT Career

To get a job in information assurance you’ll need to be DoD 8140 compliant.

Are you an IT professional trying to work for the Department of Defense (DoD) or other Government agency?

Then you’ll need to be officially certified. And you’ll need to know about the recent changes in regulations.

The newest directive to be released from Washington is Department of Defense Directive 8140, also known as DoDD 8140 or DoD 8140.

Its purpose is to update and expand the established policies and responsibilities managing the DoD cyberspace workforce which were introduced in the 2005 manual on information assurance (IA), DoD 8570.

DoD 8140 is pretty much the most important document to understand if you want to get a job or keep your job in IA with the Government.

We’ll show you exactly what DoD 8140 and DoD 8570 are, what they mean, what you need to know about the changes, and how to confidently move forward and succeed in your career.

What is DoD 8140 and DoD 8570?

DoD 8570 was created in 2005 to prevent the influx of unqualified and inexperienced professionals from performing highly technical and challenging information assurance jobs within Government agencies.

It laid out the requirements for all IA professionals hoping to competently perform their respective roles.

But, since the technology used to access and interface with DoD networks has dramatically changed since 2005 – with the introduction of smartphones, cloud, and wireless – the Government needed a new framework.

DoD 8140 was designed to replace DoD 8570 and is an essential step toward the better organization and clearer delineation of job functions and tasks.

Essentially, DoD 8140 provides the newest guidelines and builds upon the established policies of DoD 8570.

What Does DoD 8140 Mean for Your IT Career?

The DoD 8570 Manual gave all personnel 4 years to become compliant with the required commercial certifications, such as CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Network+, etc.

Under the new rules of DoD 8140, all personnel are required to become compliant within 6 months of employment.

That means you better know what certifications you need and how you’re going to study for them before you even get a job.

But there won’t be a DoD 8140 manual until 2018 or later…

How Can You Become DoD 8140 (DoD 8570) Compliant?

The only way to become DoD 8140 compliant is by adhering to the updated standards of the DoD 8570 Manual.

Thankfully, this is pretty straightforward.

Here’s a summary of the workforce qualifications for DoD 8570 and DoD 8140:

dod 8140 summary of workforce qualification requirements

Here are the DoD approved baseline certifications:

dod 8140 baseline certifications

If you want to obtain any of these IA baseline certifications, you’ll have to follow a few specific steps:

Contact your Information Assurance Manager (IAM) and follow your Component’s procedures to identify your position, level, and certification requirements.
Obtain training for the IA certification you want to complete.
Request a certification voucher from your IAM.
Once you pass your certification, register it in the Defense Workforce Certification Application (DWCA).
Notify your IA manager once you’ve completed your training and received your certification.

Steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 are clear-cut and rely on you going through the appropriate IASE channels.

But step 2 requires a little extra effort on your part.

You have to find high-quality training that gives you the IT exam preparation materials you need to obtain an IA baseline certification.

Without it, there’s no way to meet the 6-month certification requirement, and there’s no way to move forward in your career.

If you want proven training materials for nearly all of the IA baseline certifications and beyond, we can help.

Become DoD 8140 Compliant and Accelerate Your IT Career

From CompTIA A+ to Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), we have all the course materials, study guides, ebooks, and video courses you need to learn at your own pace, on your own time. We cover nearly all of the baseline IA certifications, and our staff is ready and willing to help you find the information you need to succeed today, and into the future.

Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!

Schedule Free Consultation