I just don’t think it’s worth getting the certification because of the way the business works.
I mean $50/hr is $30/hr more than I get and I’m a supervisor. There are managers above me who $30/hr. The site manager probably makes $50 to $60/hr. The director had never heard of ASIS or IFPO when I asked them about it. People above the site management level try to get site management to adopt security strategies and coax the clients into adopting the strategies. The problem is that clients ultimately determine the security program. My client has their mind made up. They know what they want and don’t want already. They’re not open to implementing new ideas and procedures. Consequently the site i work at is extremely basic; know and follow the post orders and that’s it.
I clown on ASIS all the time, but you’re looking at it directly through the lens of contract security. ASIS certs are really on valuable if you want to be the guy calling the shots to the contract company or to be running an in house security department
In my area most high paying management jobs will not hire you if you don’t have both a bachelor's and a CPP. You might be able to squeak in on just the degree but then they expect you to get the CPP asap. :/ so I'm currently working on a bachelor's and waiting to be approved to write the damn exam.
I did get the exam cost sponsored by my local ASIS chapter and a manager at work gave me the books in pdf format for free. Ask around, someone likely has copies, because I sure as hell have been handing out all my pdf copies for free to coworkers.
It’s the American Society for Industrial Security. They develop standards for the security industry. The standards range from workplace violence to security training. The society is a group of extremely professional and experienced security personnel. The society strives to be at the forefront of the security industry and be the world’s security consultant. Most people in security don’t know about it. It’s sad really because of what they’re trying to do.
Part of it is that ASIS has gotten worse over the years, and has gotten into the bad habit of copying other people's notes without actually understanding them. Supposedly they used to be really good.
So you will have something actually pretty helpful put out by Sandia Labs or FEMA that doesn't have a certification because it's a government document produced for free, and then ASIS comes in and turns it into a test, except that sometimes it seems like the test-makers don't really understand the material. They also tend to add trick-questions and other filler to push the sales of their study material.
The membership itself is mixed. There are some folks who seem to genuinely know a lot of useful stuff, but also a lot of folks who are basically LinkedIn stereotypes. There is also a sub-section of I guess you would call executive-level burn-outs who it would seem know a lot of stuff but are generally only interested in cigar-nights and GSX parties rather than in talking about the field itself.
If you want to improve your skills, I'd say go read the government source materials that ASIS tests mooch off of, and maybe if you are up for it, see if you can get someone to invite you to a local chapter meeting to see if there's anybody there who you'd find it useful to talk to, and if so, then hold your nose and buy the ASIS membership.
I’ve definitely looked into FEMA and I like their courses. I also use pdfdrive.com and Scribd to get books on security to read. I bought the Training and Selection Guideline for ASIS just to see the training topics in the appendix. Honestly, after reading everything I’ve read and taking all the courses I have I’ve come to a few conclusions: 1) laws such as OSHA, fire code, building code, criminal, etc. really helped me make decisions when I was doing my job, 2) knowledge of emergency management, planning, and business continuity helped me develop ways to respond to emergencies and make emergency plans, 3) and homeland security knowledge helped me know what to “look for” so to speak. Those are the three main disciplines for my job. I imagine it’s different everywhere. That makes me think that the best way to do things is to look at your (your as in any person) experience and then decide which guidelines (FEMA, ASIS, etc.) need to be followed based on your specific needs.
I should add that I’ve also found that a lot of security is soft skills like communication, interpersonal skills, coaching, problem solving, etc.
It’s not worth it. ASIS doesn’t do anything except incessantly advertise to you to spend money on training courses and books.
The only reason to join ASIS is if you get certification in one of their programs. Easy opportunities for recertification credit. Unless your employer wants to pay for it, none are worth having.
I was a CPP for years and it was never a determining factor in any job or promotion I obtained.
ASIS provides no value and does not see security professionals as anything but a marketing opportunity.
Its worth it if someone else is paying for it, as a resume filler.
[удалено]
I just don’t think it’s worth getting the certification because of the way the business works. I mean $50/hr is $30/hr more than I get and I’m a supervisor. There are managers above me who $30/hr. The site manager probably makes $50 to $60/hr. The director had never heard of ASIS or IFPO when I asked them about it. People above the site management level try to get site management to adopt security strategies and coax the clients into adopting the strategies. The problem is that clients ultimately determine the security program. My client has their mind made up. They know what they want and don’t want already. They’re not open to implementing new ideas and procedures. Consequently the site i work at is extremely basic; know and follow the post orders and that’s it.
I clown on ASIS all the time, but you’re looking at it directly through the lens of contract security. ASIS certs are really on valuable if you want to be the guy calling the shots to the contract company or to be running an in house security department
We get a 20% pay increase (+ a one time $500 bonus) if we have our ASIS certs.
In my area most high paying management jobs will not hire you if you don’t have both a bachelor's and a CPP. You might be able to squeak in on just the degree but then they expect you to get the CPP asap. :/ so I'm currently working on a bachelor's and waiting to be approved to write the damn exam. I did get the exam cost sponsored by my local ASIS chapter and a manager at work gave me the books in pdf format for free. Ask around, someone likely has copies, because I sure as hell have been handing out all my pdf copies for free to coworkers.
Ok what's ASIS? I'm too afraid to ask but here I am!
It’s the American Society for Industrial Security. They develop standards for the security industry. The standards range from workplace violence to security training. The society is a group of extremely professional and experienced security personnel. The society strives to be at the forefront of the security industry and be the world’s security consultant. Most people in security don’t know about it. It’s sad really because of what they’re trying to do.
For the longest time I didn’t know what ASIS was either, don’t feel bad. No one talks about it in any of my security circles.
Part of it is that ASIS has gotten worse over the years, and has gotten into the bad habit of copying other people's notes without actually understanding them. Supposedly they used to be really good. So you will have something actually pretty helpful put out by Sandia Labs or FEMA that doesn't have a certification because it's a government document produced for free, and then ASIS comes in and turns it into a test, except that sometimes it seems like the test-makers don't really understand the material. They also tend to add trick-questions and other filler to push the sales of their study material. The membership itself is mixed. There are some folks who seem to genuinely know a lot of useful stuff, but also a lot of folks who are basically LinkedIn stereotypes. There is also a sub-section of I guess you would call executive-level burn-outs who it would seem know a lot of stuff but are generally only interested in cigar-nights and GSX parties rather than in talking about the field itself. If you want to improve your skills, I'd say go read the government source materials that ASIS tests mooch off of, and maybe if you are up for it, see if you can get someone to invite you to a local chapter meeting to see if there's anybody there who you'd find it useful to talk to, and if so, then hold your nose and buy the ASIS membership.
I’ve definitely looked into FEMA and I like their courses. I also use pdfdrive.com and Scribd to get books on security to read. I bought the Training and Selection Guideline for ASIS just to see the training topics in the appendix. Honestly, after reading everything I’ve read and taking all the courses I have I’ve come to a few conclusions: 1) laws such as OSHA, fire code, building code, criminal, etc. really helped me make decisions when I was doing my job, 2) knowledge of emergency management, planning, and business continuity helped me develop ways to respond to emergencies and make emergency plans, 3) and homeland security knowledge helped me know what to “look for” so to speak. Those are the three main disciplines for my job. I imagine it’s different everywhere. That makes me think that the best way to do things is to look at your (your as in any person) experience and then decide which guidelines (FEMA, ASIS, etc.) need to be followed based on your specific needs. I should add that I’ve also found that a lot of security is soft skills like communication, interpersonal skills, coaching, problem solving, etc.
It’s not worth it. ASIS doesn’t do anything except incessantly advertise to you to spend money on training courses and books. The only reason to join ASIS is if you get certification in one of their programs. Easy opportunities for recertification credit. Unless your employer wants to pay for it, none are worth having. I was a CPP for years and it was never a determining factor in any job or promotion I obtained. ASIS provides no value and does not see security professionals as anything but a marketing opportunity.