id: certification_path
name: Certification Path
description: >
  Career-oriented milestones from foundational Security+ through intermediate
  analyst credentials (CySA+ or similar) toward CISSP-level professional
  certification. Study milestones, not exam guarantees.
audience: individual
levels:
  - id: security_plus
    name: CompTIA Security+
    description: >
      Foundational cybersecurity credential covering threats, architecture,
      operations, and governance basics.
    items:
      - id: cert_sp_1
        title: Core domains overview complete
        description: Read through threats, architecture, implementation, operations, and governance domains.
      - id: cert_sp_2
        title: Hands-on labs (networking & crypto)
        description: Practice subnetting, TLS basics, and hashing/encryption demos.
      - id: cert_sp_3
        title: Practice exam baseline
        description: Score a diagnostic practice exam and identify weak domains.
      - id: cert_sp_4
        title: Weak-domain deep dive
        description: Focus study plan on the two lowest-scoring domains.
      - id: cert_sp_5
        title: Exam scheduled / attempted
        description: Book the exam date or complete a full timed practice under exam conditions.

  - id: intermediate_analyst
    name: CySA+ / Intermediate Analyst
    description: >
      Intermediate milestone — CompTIA CySA+, equivalent SOC analyst path, or
      similar blue-team focused credential.
    items:
      - id: cert_ca_1
        title: SIEM & log analysis practice
        description: Investigate sample incidents using logs or a home-lab SIEM.
      - id: cert_ca_2
        title: Vulnerability analysis workflow
        description: Triage scan results and recommend remediation priority.
      - id: cert_ca_3
        title: Threat intelligence basics
        description: Map a real campaign to ATT&CK techniques and defensive controls.
      - id: cert_ca_4
        title: Practice / exam milestone
        description: Complete CySA+ (or equivalent) practice series or sit the exam.
      - id: cert_ca_5
        title: Portfolio artifact
        description: Write one incident report or detection use-case write-up for interviews.

  - id: cissp
    name: CISSP (or equivalent)
    description: >
      Professional-level milestone oriented around CISSP domains — management,
      architecture, and risk leadership rather than pure tooling.
    items:
      - id: cert_cp_1
        title: Domain map & gap analysis
        description: Rate familiarity across the eight CISSP domains; plan study blocks.
      - id: cert_cp_2
        title: Experience / endorsement path
        description: Document qualifying experience and identify a potential endorser.
      - id: cert_cp_3
        title: Risk & governance depth
        description: Study risk management, policies, and legal/regulatory frameworks in depth.
      - id: cert_cp_4
        title: Architecture & crypto review
        description: Refresh security architecture, network, and cryptography domains.
      - id: cert_cp_5
        title: Capstone practice / exam attempt
        description: Complete a full CISSP practice exam set or schedule the official exam.