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The corpus manifest above is generated from the page collection, so its counts cannot drift. What follows is the material that does not belong in a manifest.
Which track should I pursue?
Section titled “Which track should I pursue?”
Decision Matrix
If you can spend USD 250 and 6-8 weeks, start with CC. If your employer is paying or you need a DoD 8570 baseline, start with CEH.
| Lens | CC (ISC)2 | CEH EC-Council |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $199 (1MCC free offer closed 20 May 2026) | $1,199 - $2,499 depending on bundle |
| Time-to-cert | 2-6 weeks (entry-level, CAT format) | 8-16 weeks (mid-level, 125 MCQ + 6h practical) |
| Market value | Fastest path into (ISC)2 family; counts as 1-year experience waiver toward CISSP | Required for DoD 8570 CSSP Analyst; pen-testing roles |
| Format | CAT, 100-125 items, 2h, no item review | Linear, 125 MCQ, 4h |
| Best for | First infosec cert, governance/risk focus | Offensive security, pen-test career path |
CC builds the governance/risk foundation; CEH builds the offensive methodology. Most candidates do CC first (faster, cheaper, entry-level) and CEH after a year in role.
The 3 things that matter most
Section titled “The 3 things that matter most”- Sleep 7-9 hours the night before. The exam tests judgment, not memorisation. All-nighters destroy the recall you are trying to save.
- Memorise the must-know tables, not the prose. Both CC and CEH reward pattern recognition over comprehension. The cheatsheets are the tables; the crams are the prose.
- Read the last sentence of the question first, then the scenario. Prevents anchoring on the wrong concept. Multiple candidates flagged this as the single highest-leverage tactic.
How to use this KB
Section titled “How to use this KB”- Find - the manifest above is filterable by track and sortable by size or update date, so any page is one action away.
- Search (Cmd+K / Ctrl-K) - full-text search across every page via Pagefind, built in.
- Sidebar tree - navigable hierarchy, one section per cert track. Click a group to expand.
- Related + Backlinks - every page has a Related list and a Backlinks panel. Cross-track knowledge graph.
- Print cheatsheets - open a cheatsheet, hit Cmd+P, save as PDF. Print CSS hides the nav and fixes tables.
- Mobile-friendly - read on phone during commute. Sidebar collapses to a bottom sheet.
Before you book anything, re-verify
Section titled “Before you book anything, re-verify”This KB is dated. Cert outlines and exam formats change on a 1-3 year cycle. Re-verify before exam booking:
- CC exam format still CAT (or another change)
- CEH version (v13 is current; v14 may land mid-2027)
- Voucher / promo status
- Pearson VUE delivery format (in-person vs OnVUE)
- Pass mark and pretest item count