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Comment by saturdayplace | Hacker News Reader

What about the SANS SEC542 + GWAPT certification? It looks like Cody's course covers a couple areas that don't fall under the SANS one, but the high-level overview appears to be pretty similar.

Or, would you be willing to speak more generally about certifications, and which, if any actually DO get attention from hiring managers in the security field?

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We pay absolutely zero attention to certifications. I literally don't know what's in the SANS program.

Not taking Cody's classes wouldn't harm you here, or at any other high-end firm that I'm aware of. But actually taking it would signal a particular interest and engagement with appsec, which is something I would pay attention to.

If there is some other forcing function you have to get you to actually practice software security and find vulnerabilities, that too would be valuable.

I'm pretty familiar with the attitude among hiring managers that certifications generally don't signal anything useful; my boss and I also hold that position (I hold an MCTS that I was forced to get so my employer could get a better partnership status with Microsoft). So I'm curious why holding Cody's certificate might actually mean something where a more established cert would not.

Cody isn't offering a certification. But I know Cody and I know people that take his class are going to be working directly with him.

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