Palo Alto Networks is a leading organization in cybersecurity that provides organizations and companies with trusted intelligence and automation that aid them to advance securely.

At the same time, it not only helps organizations but individuals looking to pursue a cybersecurity career as well. This is evidenced by the fact that Palo Alto Networks offer a variety of certifications from entry-level to advanced.

What Is The Cybersecurity Certification Pathway Offered?

What's convenient is that Palo Alto Networks offers three levels in accordance with skills and expertise: security associate, administrator, and engineer. Obtaining these certifications not only prepares you to effectively protect any digital data but also gives you lifelong knowledge on how to prevent cyberattacks successfully and enable applications safely as well as validate your skills in using the Palo Alto Networks product portfolio. Furthermore, the evaluations for these certificates have no prerequisites and are valid for two years upon passing, therefore you can certify with this accreditation vendor at your own pace.

The stages of the cybersecurity pathway and their designations are discussed as follows:

• Security Associate Level

  The entry-level certification track consists of the (PCCET) Palo Alto Networks Certified Cybersecurity Entry-level Technician designation. This certificate validates your understanding of the basics of cybersecurity through the official 90-minute test that includes 75-85 multiple-choice, scenario-based, and matching questions. Moreover, five minutes are given before and after the exam, one to fill the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) form and the other to complete a survey.

  The domains tested for the PCCET certification are fundamental concepts of cybersecurity, the connected globe, key cloud technologies, and components of security operations.

  But Palo Alto Networks is not abandoning its candidates to their fate. To prepare for this final exam you can take the training courses – Introduction to Cybersecurity, Fundamentals of Network Security, Fundamentals of the Security Operations Center, as well as Fundamentals of Cloud Security.

Who Is It For?

The PCCET certification was created to give you a chance to showcase your knowledge of the latest cutting-edge technologies available to detect and prevent cyberattacks. What’s more, anyone can verify from students to technical professionals or any IT professional looking to secure an entry-level network security position.

• Security Administrator Level

  The certification for this level is (PCNSA) Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator. As the name suggests, if you are security administrators looking to demonstrate your knowledge of Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) feature sets and skills in deploying and operating core components in their product portfolio, it is the perfect certificate to earn.

  However, to get this qualification you will need to pass a 90-minute exam consisting of 50 questions that can be in the format of MCQ, matching, and scenarios.

  And to increase your chances of getting a passing grade, the Firewall Essentials: Configuration and Management (EDU-210) training course is recommended.

Who Is It For?

This designation is mainly aimed at individuals like system integrators or security administrators that work with deploying, operating, and managing Palo Alto Networks network security. As a result, for potential employers, the PCNSA certification will display that you know how to operate Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls and have the ability to protect networks from cyber threats.

Security Engineer Level

Finally, the last step of the Palo Alto Networks certification journey offers IT professionals such as cybersecurity architects, support engineers, as well as system engineers 3 advanced security certifications such as:

• (PCCSE) Prisma Certified Cloud Security Engineer certification is a mark of excellence that displays the in-depth skills and knowledge you have in all aspects of Prisma Cloud. Therefore, as a candidate with the PCCSE certificate, you can demonstrate to any recruiter the highest standard of deployment methodology and operation as well as your knowledge of Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud technology. The exam lasts for 70-80 minutes and includes 75-85 matching, multiple-choice, and scenarios with graphics questions, on the topics of visibility, security, and compliance, cloud workload protection platform, web application, and API security, data loss prevention, DevSecOps security, etc. Before sitting for the final exam you can complete the following training programs and courses: the (EDU-150) Prisma Cloud Monitoring and Securing, PCC training, and the (EDU-152) Prisma Cloud: Onboarding and Operationalizing to receive experience in cloud architecture, computing, and containers.
• (PCNSE) Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer accreditation proves your expertise and knowledge of implementing the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall PAN-OS 10.0 platform in any given environment. Thus, the PCNSE certificate is designed for network security engineers that partake in the designing, deployment, management, and operations aspect of Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls. The qualifying exam candidates need to take is a 90-minute evaluation consisting of 75 questions that can be in the format of scenarios with graphics, MCQ, and matching. To prepare for this evaluation you can take these training programs provided by Palo Alto Networks: the (330) Firewall: Troubleshooting, the (EDU-210) Firewall Essentials: Configuration and Management, and the (EDU-220) Panorama: Managing Firewalls at Scale courses. As well, it is recommended to have at least six months’ practical experience in deployment to raise your odds of passing on your first try.
• (PCSAE) Palo Alto Networks Certified Security Automation Engineer qualification validates your knowledge of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR functionality. In more detail, this certificate proves you can develop, analyze and administer the Cortex XSOAR security platform in terms of automation, orchestration, and response. But, to become certified you need to pass 75-85 multiple-choice, matching, and scenarios with graphics exam questions. At the same time, as this is an advanced-level accreditation it is recommended you have an equivalent of three years' experience related to security incident management and incident response processes before attempting this exam. This is the only way you can qualify your expertise in playbook development, automation and integrations, and related concepts within 80-90 minutes. Though, there are no prerequisites, candidates are required to pass the following training:
  • Cortex XSOAR SOC Analyst training
  • Cortex XSOAR Engineer-Building the Next Generation SOC training
  • Cortex XSOAR IT Admin training

Further Career Opportunities

As you can imagine, going through the Palo Alto Networks certification journey is not only a way to practice and validate your skills. It's also the door to a host of career and financial opportunities. For instance, according to the PayScale.com site, a PCNSE certification holder can earn $95,532 per year and qualify for positions such as Network Engineer, Network Architect, and Network Security Engineer. In other words, there's a lot to look forward to.