Is the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) Worth It?
Strengths
- Aggregate role-level salary near $65,000 (proxy estimate, not cert-specific)
- Achievable exam with 80% community-reported pass rate
Considerations
- Has prerequisites — not suitable for complete beginners
Who Should Get the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)?
This certification is a good fit if you are:
- Anyone targeting roles that list ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) as preferred or required
Exam Details
Exam CodeCC
0 Duration2 hours
Questions100
Passing Score700/1000
ProviderISC2
Difficulty3/10
Salary Data
Professionals holding the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) certification earn between $50,000 and $80,000 annually, with an average of $65,000. For context, the CISSP averages $152,000.
Job market demand trend: Growing
Disclaimer: Salary figures are US-median estimates compiled from BLS wage statistics, Glassdoor, and job-posting aggregates. They are estimates only, not financial advice or a guarantee of earnings. Actual compensation varies by location, experience, employer, and negotiation.
Prerequisites
- No experience required
Skills Covered
Security PrinciplesAccess ControlsNetwork SecuritySecurity OperationsIncident Response Fundamentals
Best Study Resources
Official (Free)
ISC2 Free CC Online Self-Paced Training
BookISC2 CC Study Guide — Official
CourseMike Chapple — CC Video Course
Comparisons Featuring ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
More Cybersecurity Certifications
View all →CISSP
ISC2 · Advanced
$152K avg 50% pass
AWS Certified Security — Specialty
Amazon Web Services · Advanced
$148K avg 48% pass
CISM
ISACA · Advanced
$148K avg 55% pass
CCSP
ISC2 · Advanced
$138K avg 50% pass
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the ISC2 CC exam really free?
Yes. ISC2 offers both the self-paced training course and the exam voucher at no cost. This initiative was launched to help close the cybersecurity workforce gap and lower barriers to entry.
How does ISC2 CC compare to CompTIA Security+?
CC is easier and free, making it ideal for absolute beginners. Security+ is more comprehensive, more widely recognized in job postings, and covers a broader range of topics. Many professionals earn CC first, then pursue Security+.
What career opportunities does the CC certification open?
CC can help you land entry-level roles such as Junior Security Analyst, IT Security Support, Help Desk with security focus, and Security Operations Center (SOC) Tier 1 positions. It also provides a foundation for pursuing SSCP and eventually CISSP.
How long should I study for the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) exam?
Most successful candidates report approximately 30 hours of study time. At 10-15 hours per week, plan for 4-6 weeks. Prior hands-on experience can reduce this. Focus on both theory and practical skills.
How hard is the ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) certification exam?
The ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) is rated 3/10 on our difficulty scale (entry-level tier). With a community-reported pass rate of 80%, candidates should ensure thorough preparation. The exam has 100 questions with a passing score of 700/1000. Hands-on practice is essential for success.
Explore other options in cybersecurity: CISSP, AWS Certified Security — Specialty, and more in our Cybersecurity Certifications hub.
Sources for every data point
Each quantitative claim on this page is mapped to a verifiable source. Official vendor pages and government datasets are preferred; community estimates and editorial extrapolations are flagged explicitly.
| Data point | Source | Tier | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exam duration | ISC2 — official exam guide Official ISC2 CC certification page (verifies the certification exists). The specific value for `duration` may not appear in the fetched page text — verify against the ISC2 exam outline when promoting from pattern-generated. | Official | verified 29d ago |
| Exam code | ISC2 — official certification page Official ISC2 CC certification page (verifies the certification exists). The specific value for `examCode` may not appear in the fetched page text — verify against the ISC2 exam outline when promoting from pattern-generated. | Official | verified 29d ago |
| Passing score | ISC2 — official exam guide Official ISC2 CC certification page (verifies the certification exists). The specific value for `passingScore` may not appear in the fetched page text — verify against the ISC2 exam outline when promoting from pattern-generated. | Official | verified 29d ago |
| Exam price | ISC2 — official certification page Official ISC2 CC certification page (verifies the certification exists). The specific value for `price` may not appear in the fetched page text — verify against the ISC2 exam outline when promoting from pattern-generated. | Official | verified 29d ago |
| Question count | ISC2 — official exam guide Official ISC2 CC certification page (verifies the certification exists). The specific value for `questions` may not appear in the fetched page text — verify against the ISC2 exam outline when promoting from pattern-generated. | Official | verified 29d ago |
| Job listings | LinkedIn — active US postings mentioning "ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)" Count sampled quarterly; fluctuates daily. | Aggregate | verified 29d ago |
| Average salary | Glassdoor — ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) role salary (US) Glassdoor blocks programmatic access (HTTP 403). The URL renders for human visitors but cannot be auto-verified. | Aggregate | verified 29d ago |
| Average salary | Payscale Information Security Analyst salary (proxy role) Payscale does not have an ISC2 CC cert-specific salary page (returns 404); this is the role-aligned proxy (Information Security Analyst) per ChatGPT ronda 6 rule. NOT presented as "CC certification salary"; CC is entry-level so actual figures may be lower than the role-level aggregate. | Aggregate | verified 19d ago |
| Salary range | Glassdoor + Payscale — ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) salary distribution Glassdoor blocks programmatic access (HTTP 403). The URL renders for human visitors but cannot be auto-verified. | Aggregate | verified 29d ago |
| Salary range | Payscale Information Security Analyst salary range (proxy role) 10th-90th percentile derived from Information Security Analyst role-level Payscale data as proxy. ISC2 CC has no cert-specific Payscale page. | Aggregate | verified 19d ago |
| Pass rate | TechExams.net Security forum (CC discussion context) ISC2 does not publish official pass rates for CC. Number is community consensus from threads on this forum. Treat as community-reported estimate, not vendor figure. | Community | verified 29d ago |
| Study hours | TechExams.net Security forum (CC discussion context) Study-hour estimate aggregated from candidate reports in this forum threads. CC is entry-level so variance is high. | Community | verified 29d ago |
| Demand trend | LinkedIn + Indeed — multi-quarter listing comparison Editorial summary of YoY listing change. | Editorial estimate | verified 29d ago |
Data Sources & Transparency
- Salary data — Bureau of Labor Statistics, Glassdoor, and job posting aggregates (US median)
- Job listings — LinkedIn, Indeed, and Dice active postings (sampled quarterly)
- Pass rates — Community-reported estimates from Reddit, TechExams, and certification forums
- Exam details — ISC2 official certification documentation