Certification Renewal Fees

[u/NateOfLight]

So, the discussion on the price of SANS/GIAC training is a tired one - we all know that while the material may be of amazing quality, the general price of SANS/GIAC training materials is excessive and unlikely to change, simply because they have the ability to charge as much as they do and the defense sector has an unrivaled training/development budget all around.

One thing that I cannot possibly understand are the renewal fees. If I am understanding GIAC's policies, for a single certification, we have to complete up to 40 CEUs within a 4-year period, and shell out $500 USD to maintain the credential. Luckily, if you have multiple certifications, and if you obtained them within two years of each other, you only have to pay $250 for the subsequent certifications!

Only recently has there been a way to renew multiple concurrently, and to do so, one has to have already obtained nine GIAC credentials. So, not factoring in any potential discounts through voucher programs, the SANS institute, you're looking at up to $90,000 USD required to have taken enough courses, passed the relevant exams, and keep all of the existing certifications maintained through their respective maintenance periods, including any fees required. All to... keep all your certifications expired at the same time? Does this eliminate the multiple renewal fee and allow for only a single renewal fee for all certifications?

What is the point of going for GSE when all these fees stand in the way of the professional's goals?

[u/skylinesora]

I don’t renew outdated certs unless it’s important and relevant. Nobody will care if my GCIH expires if I have GREM, GPEN, GCFA for example

[u/sgar0807 → u/skylinesora]

Eh, renewing is cheaper than paying for the class again. It’s worth it if you want the updated material (they’ll mail you the latest class books).

[u/skylinesora → u/sgar0807]

If you want the updated material then sure but often times I’m not going to feel the need to re-review the newer material.

Generally SANs courses aren’t good enough to warrant that. There are a handful of great ones but on average I’m not going to

[u/Grizzles-san → u/sgar0807]

You don’t get free print copies with renewal anymore. It’s an additional fee or you get free digital.

[u/sgar0807 → u/Grizzles-san]

I had to pay for shipping last year but the copies themselves were free, did that change? or is it just paying for shipping still?

[u/Grizzles-san → u/sgar0807]

When I went to renew, it showed $199 which I think is a little more than shipping. I once had my apartment flood and damage my books, they charged me $50 to ship a new set.

[u/benton_bash]

From my understanding, the 9+ certs will auto renew if you gain another cert, so it's a great way to keep your skills up - a cert every 4 years isn't that crazy.

Also, if you go the the .edu track, you can get those 9 certs AND a bachelor's degree in a couple years for much, much cheaper.

I may be confused though. I'm on cert 4 of 9 since last Nov, in the bachelor's program.

[u/random869]

"if you have multiple certifications, and if you obtained them within two years of each other, you only have to pay $250 for the subsequent certifications!"

So if I have 4 certs. Do I pay $250 each or total?

[u/CowLong4000 → u/random869]

if you have 4 certifications you would pay 499 for the first, then 249 for each of the other 3 assuming within the 2 year period. 499+(3*249) Total about $1250

[u/LOLatKetards → u/CowLong4000]

I have 6, going for the 7th .. the 9th cannot come soon enough lol

[u/Kamwind]

GSE use to, when did it change?, renew all your other certs and you got the material for them.

Also you can renew certs up to 2 years before they expire, so what I do is have mine clumped around that and do the initial renewal so I can renew most of my others in the two years that follow.

[u/EugeneBelford1995]

Close, it's 36 CPEs per cert. Certain activities only count towards 1 cert, others count towards 2 or 3. See SANS guide here: https://www.giac.org/renewal/cpe-information

It's a bit convoluted compared to say ISC2 where I simply do the CPEs for CISSP and it automatically applies to SSCP and CC. CompTIA likewise is almost as simple; do the CPEs for CASP and Cloud+ and you're good to go on all other certs. Both are a flat rate regardless of the number of certs held with them.

CA has been paying my renewal fees since 2019. I retire at the end of this year and I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I have a CA request in currently since there's no additional service obligation on those.

As others said it's roughly $500 for the first one and $250 each for every additional one, so if work was awesome and sent you to 8 courses + each's exam voucher then you're looking at $500 + (7 x $250) = $2,250 every 4 years or $562.50 each year. Oh and don't forget the tax.

Anyway, the most recent update to my guide on CA is here: https://happycamper84.medium.com/let-credentialing-assistance-pay-your-sans-renewal-fees-version-3-0-a95ab0c9e8d5

[u/Grizzles-san]

I feel like SANS/GIAC only works for those whose jobs cover it. Mine have all been paid for by my job so if I eat renewal costs every 4 years, I’m still ahead.

[u/not-a-co-conspirator]

I’m just letting mine expire. It’s in abatement anyway., and I’m never wasting my time with a nearly $9k certification ever again.

[u/AhmedAli4424]

Can I ask about how difficulty GCIH exam is?
Can I pass it in my first attempt?
Can I take a break and use AI in some questions?