Certifications in the IT and cyber fields tend to be the path for those looking to pave the way into a successful technical career.
As I was staffing for these types of contracts for industry, I ran into roadblocks at times. I would have an otherwise pretty qualified candidate, but they didn’t have the multitude of certifications the government required. That hard when adults still experience testing anxiety – even if their schooling was years ago.
The Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 8570 has been replaced by the DoD CIO as DoDD 8140. DoDD 8570 is now a piece of a bigger program that is under the DoDD 8140 umbrella. These directives essentially give regulation for the certification of federal employees and contractors who carry out Information Assurance (IA) roles. Security+ is one of those certifications.
I supported a contractor that had this requirement enacted by our government customer – so our employee hit the books, hit the boot camps, and prepared for exam time. Well, they failed not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES. That’s when my company decided to call it quits on this employee meeting the mission requirements.
One ClearanceJobsBlog subscriber was curious what will happen if they fail their exam:
Hello everyone/anyone,
I have to pass the security plus exam in order to get a cleared job (I already have my clearance). Soooo… Out of curiosity — What happens if I fail this exam? Not saying it is particularly hard/easy but just a what if scenario. Will I lose the contingent offer if I fail, or would I be given a second chance to “redeem” myself? Thanks.
WILL YOUR CONTINGENT OFFER BE RESCINDED?
This really depends on your relationship with the recruiter / hiring manager / PM, if you have the experience to back up a second chance on the exam if you fail, and how long the company has had the position open. The fact that you already have a clearance is certainly in your favor, since that seems to be the trouble in getting qualified IA candidates these days. Companies don’t want to wait the length of time it takes to sponsor an investigation. That being said, failing the exam the first time, studying up, and rescheduling a re-exam is a lot less time than it takes to obtain a clearance.
My advice? Study, study, study. Take practice exams, talk to mentors, and do your meditation techniques if you do experience testing anxiety. In the event that you do fail (and if the company is paying for anything associated with this certification) you can always pitch that you will cover the additional costs if you do fail the first go around.
