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CertGPS
Level

Intermediate level

Intermediate certifications build on fundamental knowledge with more specialized skills. They're ideal for professionals with 2-5 years of experience looking to advance their careers or specialize in specific domains. These certs demonstrate hands-on capability and deeper technical expertise.

19 certifications

Next steps

Specialize in domain, lead projects, pursue advanced certifications or management path

Intermediate level certifications

EC-Council2

EC-Council

Intermediate

Certified Ethical Hacker

Tests recognition of attack techniques across nine domains in a 125-question exam, with an optional six-hour hands-on Practical leading to CEH Master

Exam
$950
Study
4-6 months

EC-Council

Intermediate

Certified Application Security Engineer - Java

Tests secure Java development across the whole lifecycle, from abuse cases and threat modeling to Spring Security, error handling and Tomcat hardening

Exam
$450
Study
3-5 months

ISC22

ISC2

Intermediate

Systems Security Certified Practitioner

Proves a year of hands-on security administration, from access control to cryptography, on a two-hour adaptive exam across seven evenly weighted domains

Exam
$249
Study
3-6 months

ISC2

Intermediate

Associate of ISC2 (CISSP Pathway)

The designation ISC2 grants for passing the CISSP exam before you have five years of experience, with six years to qualify

Exam
$749
Study
4-8 months

CompTIA2

CompTIA

Intermediate

CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst+

Tests a security analyst's ability to detect threats, prioritize vulnerabilities and handle incidents using real tool output, now on the CS0-004 exam

Exam
$439
Study
3-6 months

CompTIA

Intermediate

CompTIA PenTest+

Covers a full penetration test from scoping to report, including Active Directory, cloud and AI attacks, through scenario-based questions rather than a live lab

Exam
$439
Study
2-3 months

GIAC4

GIAC

Intermediate

GIAC Security Essentials

Proves hands-on defensive skill across Windows, Linux, networks and cloud in a four-hour open-book exam that includes CyberLive virtual machine tasks

Exam
$999
Study
4-6 months

GIAC

Intermediate

GIAC Certified Incident Handler

Proves you can detect, contain and investigate attacks by understanding the tools behind them, with hands-on CyberLive tasks in live virtual machines

Exam
$999
Study
4-6 months

GIAC

Intermediate

GIAC Certified Web Application Defender

Proves you can prevent and detect common web application flaws, from injection to OAuth and API abuse, the defender's counterpart to GWAPT

Exam
$999
Study
3-5 months

GIAC

Intermediate

GIAC Web Application Penetration Tester

Proves you can test web applications as an attacker would, on a GIAC exam that includes hands-on CyberLive tasks in live virtual machines

Exam
$999
Study
3-5 months

Microsoft3

Hack The Box1

Hack The Box

Intermediate

Certified Defensive Security Analyst

Proves you can investigate intrusions across several lab networks for seven days, then write an incident report an instructor grades

Exam
$210
Study
3-6 months

TCM Security1

TCM Security

Intermediate

Practical Network Penetration Tester

Five-day external-to-domain-controller pentest, followed by a written report and a live debrief with TCM Security assessors

Exam
$499
Study
3-6 months

Okta1

Okta

Intermediate

Okta Certified Professional

Proves day-to-day Okta administration through six hands-on use cases in a live Identity Engine org, with no multiple-choice questions

Exam
$250
Study
2-4 months

OffSec1

OffSec

Intermediate

OffSec Wireless Professional

A 3h45m proctored practical in which you recover wireless keys by hand and reach the access point in two of three live scenarios

Exam
$799
Study
2-4 months

INE Security2

INE Security

Intermediate

INE Security Certified Incident Responder

Practical incident response exam where you investigate a simulated corporate breach and answer scenario questions drawn from the evidence

Exam
$450
Study
3-5 months