Certifications and degrees can be helpful for people trying to get into pentesting as well as other areas of information security, and having these credentials is especially helpful when you have little to no experience in the employment field that you are pursuing. Opinions differ, however, on the need for degrees and certifications—there are skilled and successful pentesters both with and without degrees or certifications.
Such credentials are not a substitute for pentesting knowledge or skills. With or without certifications or degrees, job applicants will have to go through an interview process and, in some cases, a hands-on technical assessment that tests their pentesting skills. Regardless of the direction you choose to go, make sure that you understand the technology rather just relying on your credentials or memorization.
Pentesting Certifications
You have options when it comes to pentesting, and some non-pentesting certifications could still be helpful for aspiring pentesters. Some certifications are well-known with pentesting while others are not. The well-known certifications are typically the ones with which human resources and management are familiar. These pentesting certifications are what we refer to as entry-level credentials.
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