From the blog
Latest guides, tips, and hard truths
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What Smoking Brisket Taught Me About Studying for Certifications
Study the way you’d smoke a brisket: long and slow, with clean fuel. Steady sessions over weeks beat cramming, and current, trustworthy study material… -
I Earned Two New Certifications at Fifty. Here’s What’s Different Now
You’re not too old to get certified at fifty. I earned SecAI+ and AAISM in 2026, about eighteen years after A+ and Network+. The biggest difference no… -
How AI Actually Changed My Day Job: A Private Model That Finds Bugs
At the software analysis company where I work, we use a proprietary front end to a privately hosted language model to find bugs in software and in our… -
What My CISA Taught Me About Auditors: Write the Process Down
Auditors mostly want to see that your processes are documented and followed. After earning my CISA, I understood why: a written process can be checked… -
Want the Company to Pay for Your Certification? Here’s What I Look For
When someone on my team asks the company to pay for a certification, I look for two things: a commitment to staying in the job, and a commitment to re… -
When a Certification Was Part of the Job: Working a Navy Contract Under DoD 8570
On a defense contract, certifications can be a condition of doing the work at all. When I supported a Navy contract at an aerospace company, DoD 8570… -
Do Certifications Matter at a Software Company? At Mine, They Do
Yes. At the software analysis company where I work in management, certifications aren’t a hard requirement, but they’re the benchmark. The company wan… -
My Coworker Got an ISC2 Audit. It’s Not a Big Deal.
An ISC2 CPE audit is a random check, not an accusation. ISC2 emails you asking for proof of attendance or a brief description of the CPE activities it… -
I Have a Novell CNA. Here’s What a Dead Vendor Taught Me About Certifications.
A Novell CNA no longer counts for much: Novell retired it to legacy status, NetWare’s extended support ended in 2016, and Novell itself was absorbed t…