ASIS International’s Certified Protection Professional (CPP) certification is highly beneficial for security professionals seeking leadership roles. It has its flaws but, anecdotally, I have seen it mentioned in job ads more often than any other designation. When I passed the requisite exam in early February and promised to offer my thoughts, the reaction from future test-takers was welcoming. So here they are. To paraphrase the Law & Order TV franchise, “this is my story. DUN DUN.”
Let us set the scene. My study materials consisted of the Protection of Assets (POA) set, minus one book that I could not get my hands on. I also had the full deck of official ASIS flash cards and used the unofficial Brandon Gregg flash card compilation. For study strategy, I drew on Travis Lishok’s guide, though I stretched it out over a few extra months to account for a busy fall work season and my inability to stay awake while reading the POA volumes.