How many CCMA's do we have here

[Routerkid1]

How many CCMA Alum's do we have. I am #23

[rhmeyering]

One more CCMA Alumni #17

[cciesec2006]

Originally Posted by rhmeyering

One more CCMA Alumni #17

What is the average salary in the US for a CCMA? Does CCMA typically
make more than CCIE Security?

[BarryStiefel]

Originally Posted by Routerkid1

How many CCMA Alum's do we have. I am #23

Valeri Loukine (username Varera) is a CCMA.

Congratulations to all of you!

[Thorpuse]

For those of you who are CCMA's, is there actually any tangible benefit to having the certification? I had a long a frustrating discussion with Check Point to actually explain the value of this cert, I'd like to find out if there really is a tangible benefit to the expense and effort for this, beyond vanity.

Apologies for the semi-thread hijack that this may cause...

[varera]

Originally Posted by BarryStiefel

Valeri Loukine (username Varera) is a CCMA.

Congratulations to all of you!

I was about to answer by myself, thanks :-)

[varera]

Originally Posted by Thorpuse

For those of you who are CCMA's, is there actually any tangible benefit to having the certification? I had a long a frustrating discussion with Check Point to actually explain the value of this cert, I'd like to find out if there really is a tangible benefit to the expense and effort for this, beyond vanity.

Apologies for the semi-thread hijack that this may cause...

I had to make this certification ONLY because my company wanted me to.
I do not feel any, and I mean ANY difference between CCSE+ and CCMA. Not even a salary raise :-)

Seriously, I do not see any added value from CP side.

[varera]

Originally Posted by Routerkid1

How many CCMA Alum's do we have. I am #23

Congradulations, you are very resent :-)

[cciesec2006]

Originally Posted by varera

Congradulations, you are very resent :-)

Congratulations to everyone who achieve the CCMA status.

That being said, Vavera just confirmed my suspicion that the CCMA adds
almost no value to one career.

A former colleague of mine asked me recently for my advise whether he should
pursue the CCMA certification. He is 25 years old with about two years in the
network/security field. He also holds the CCIE Security. He makes about
$155k/year in US dollars. He works for a Value-Added Reseller (VAR) so
certification is a must.

I am wondering if someone with a CCMA certification and a couple of years
of experience can make as much as someone listed above.

[varera]

Originally Posted by cciesec2006

That being said, Vavera just confirmed my suspicion that the CCMA adds
almost no value to one career.

well, it is looking nice in CV though :-)

[northlandboy]

25 years old, only two years experience, earning $155k, already has CCIE and is looking at the CCMA? OK now you're making me feel a bit lame. I'm guessing he doesn't get a great social life though.

That is quite a high salary, especially for someone only 25 years old, and I don't think it's really going to make much difference for him to get the CCMA.

Personally I'd be wondering a little bit about a very high end certification that you could get with a couple of years experience - I'd probably rather hire the candidate with broader experience, but that's just my take.

Given that it's a relatively new certification, I don't think you're (yet) going to see much of a measurable effect on your career. If all you're looking for is an immediate raise, then go and look at something else, if that's the most important thing to you. If I was focusing on becoming a Check Point expert, then I'd be looking at doing this cert, for my own learning as much as anything. Further down the track you could see benefits for it, if you were targetting Check Point expert roles - but for my home market, there is an extremely limited market for pure Check Point experts.

One of the other things of course with getting all sorts of certs is that they become a PITA to keep renewing. I think I'm going to start letting a couple of mine lapse...

[Thorpuse]

I think the point about benefits is a serious one though. The cert costs $1500USD (that's a lot, especially when you convert it to ANZ pesos...) and the only advertised benefit is "A dedicated e-mail alias for Check Point Certified Master Architects is currently being set up". Oh wow, so I can $1500USD (Plus travel to the US and accommodation at my own expense) just so I can get another mailing list to be spammed on.....

For 2 years(!) the CCMA benefits page has either been a request for comments for what would be a good benefit or, as it says now, "Currently, we are in process to define benefits. Check back for updates". I'm with northlandboy in that certifications shouldn't be about salary, but Check Point still needs to provide a value proposition around this.

Let's phrase the question differently - did anyone get this certification for any reason except that their employer, being a VAR who needed it for their Partner Status, arranged and paid for it? Because outside of that, I can't see any compelling reason beyond vanity to take this.

P.S. 2 years experience and on $155k? Wow... are they still hiring?? :P

[Routerkid1]

Originally Posted by cciesec2006

Congratulations to everyone who achieve the CCMA status.

That being said, Vavera just confirmed my suspicion that the CCMA adds
almost no value to one career.

A former colleague of mine asked me recently for my advise whether he should
pursue the CCMA certification. He is 25 years old with about two years in the
network/security field. He also holds the CCIE Security. He makes about
$155k/year in US dollars. He works for a Value-Added Reseller (VAR) so
certification is a must.

I am wondering if someone with a CCMA certification and a couple of years
of experience can make as much as someone listed above.

The CCMA adds a ton of value for the companies who need Check Point expert's. If you have the skills to get the job done I do not see any reason why you are not making 100K plus. I agree 155k is a lot of money but that depends on where you live. Here in Texas you can live like a king but in Cali you are just getting by.

[Thorpuse]

Originally Posted by Routerkid1

The CCMA adds a ton of value for the companies who need Check Point expert's.

Can you provide some examples or evidence of this? I'm not doubting you (well, maybe a little) but I'd like to be able to quantify this value with some details.

[Routerkid1]

One big example I see is renewal cost to CP. Lets say you have a large bank with a yearly cost of 1.2 millon for 24x7 support. Should that company have two CCMA's on staff at 100-150K a year and opt to go with 5x12 support from CP. The Savings can be 500k or more.

[cciesec2006]

Originally Posted by Routerkid1

One big example I see is renewal cost to CP. Lets say you have a large bank with a yearly cost of 1.2 millon for 24x7 support. Should that company have two CCMA's on staff at 100-150K a year and opt to go with 5x12 support from CP. The Savings can be 500k or more.

I work for a BIG financial institution and I can tell you that NOBODY here
has ever heard of Checkpoint CCMA, except myself, and that we're also a
checkpoint shop when it comes to Firewalls. My boss actually mistaken the
CCMA for CCNA, he thought it was a typo.

Having been in the IT industry for the past ten years, my personal opinion is
that having CCMA does not translate in a promotion or even a salary raise but
that's just my opinion. I can tell you that after passing the CCIE security
lab, my salary went up almost 50% from my previous job.

Regarding the 25 years old guy I mentioned earlier. He was my protege.
I met him four years ago at the CCIE security testing facility and we
happened to work for the same company. We both failed the lab at that
time but became close friend after that and I treated him like my younger
brother. He worked in help-desk Security NOC at the time making about
50k back in 2006.

Shortly I passed the CCIE Security lab, I trained him and he also passed
the IE security lab shortly after that. After that, I got him a job working
for a Professional service company for a salary of 135k and that was in 2007.
He left that job in 4 months ago for his current job of 155k/year.

By the way, he is Jewish so he is very smart and talented and he lives
in Maryland.

[Thorpuse]

Originally Posted by Routerkid1

One big example I see is renewal cost to CP. Lets say you have a large bank with a yearly cost of 1.2 millon for 24x7 support. Should that company have two CCMA's on staff at 100-150K a year and opt to go with 5x12 support from CP. The Savings can be 500k or more.

You're joking, aren't you? Have you actually seen a company do this?

[Routerkid1]

Well, I will disagree with you guys and leave it at that. The best way to get a raise in IT is to find a new job. You need to demand what you are worth.

[cciesec2006]

Originally Posted by Routerkid1

Well, I will disagree with you guys and leave it at that. The best way to get a raise in IT is to find a new job. You need to demand what you are worth.

FYI, even CCMA still needs to open ticket with CP TAC. Even CCIE Security
still needs to open TAC case with Cisco. There is no work-around for that.

You may be an expert but you do not have access to the source code of
the applications. Even CCMAs are at the mercy of vendors.

[Routerkid1]

Originally Posted by cciesec2006

FYI, even CCMA still needs to open ticket with CP TAC. Even CCIE Security
still needs to open TAC case with Cisco. There is no work-around for that.

You may be an expert but you do not have access to the source code of
the applications. Even CCMAs are at the mercy of vendors.

Yes, True, It does help to have connections as well.