If you’re considering becoming a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) and the closest you’ve come to studying law is listening to your favorite true crime podcast, you’ve landed on the right article.
The CIPP certification is focused on privacy laws and regulations, which is why it’s highly sought after by lawyers. However, it can be beneficial for any privacy professional to obtain CIPP certification, whether you have a legal background or not. We’re looking at you, software engineers, accountants, content marketers, and consultants. With the right tools and resources to prepare you for the exam, you too can add CIPP certification to your resume.
About the CIPP Certification
The CIPP certification is offered by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). The IAPP offers several certifications for privacy professionals, including separate CIPP exams based upon region or jurisdiction. The CIPP/US certification is often the first certification a privacy professional in the United States will obtain. The CIPP/E certification, on the other hand, is a great gateway into the privacy profession for European residents.
Many privacy professionals see this certification as a good place to start, as it can equip you with foundational knowledge on privacy, helping you better understand the regulatory environment you work in. You’ll learn about topics such as the legal requirements for handling and transferring data, jurisdictional laws, and regulations and enforcement models.
We know what you’re thinking—those sounds like a bunch of fancy legal words (some call that legalese). But let’s talk about how this could benefit you.
Benefits to CIPP Certification as a Non-Legal Professional
No matter your background or expertise, the CIPP certification is a great opportunity to round out your privacy experience. By pursuing this certification, you can remain competitive in the industry, likely receive higher compensation, and better collaborate with your lawyer and non-lawyer colleagues alike.
Stay Competitive in the Industry
There’s a great demand for privacy professionals today, particularly for those who are certified. You’ll often find organizations listing IAPP certification, like the CIPP, as required or preferred in job descriptions. This is true for candidates from consulting to human resources who will be handling user or employee personal data.
From a 2023 IAPP Privacy Professionals Salary Survey, at least 77% of the nearly 1,500 survey respondents hold at least one IAPP qualification.
Now, let’s take a look at the numbers for the non-legal privacy professionals who hold a CIPP certification. Out of those surveyed who hold an IAPP certification, 42% of privacy engineers and 57% of privacy managers have obtained their CIPP certification.
These privacy professionals took advantage of the opportunity to broaden and deepen their understanding of privacy, and this career development likely paid off.
Higher Salary Potential
As previously mentioned, there’s a great demand for certified privacy professionals. Much like toilet paper during Covid, people are usually willing to pay more for something in such high demand.
Let’s revisit that 2023 IAPP Privacy Professionals Salary Survey. On average, privacy professionals with no IAPP certifications earned $126,300 (USD). Those with a CIPP certification made an average of $155,900.
That’s a potential salary increase of almost $30,000 by having CIPP on your resume. And while money talks, CIPP certification will also improve your, well, talk.
Collaborate More Effectively
Think about your organization and who you interact with on a daily basis, or even a weekly and monthly basis. It’s likely a long list of colleagues in a variety of roles with varying levels of expertise.
The knowledge you gain by obtaining the CIPP certification will help you more effectively communicate with people across your organization, especially lawyers and other key stakeholders at your company.
More effective communication leads to better collaboration and ultimately better work. If you’re a software engineer going into a meeting with a lawyer, you’ll likely be able to find the best solution faster with a CIPP certification under your belt, as you’ll have a better understanding of privacy laws and regulations. The end result, you build better products with privacy protections built in.
You’ll also have greater credibility in that meeting with the lawyer. With CIPP next to your name, you’ve demonstrated your foundational understanding of the global concepts of privacy protection.
How to Prepare for the CIPP as a Non-Legal Professional
Now that you understand the benefits to obtaining your CIPP as a non-legal professional, are you ready to take the next step?
Those true crime podcasts won’t cut it when it comes to preparing for the exam. You’ll want to find the right tools and resources to help you study, like those that we offer here at Privacy Bootcamp.
Our CIPP students have come from a wide range of backgrounds, including accounting, consulting, IT, human resources, and software engineering. So, you can feel confident that no matter what your area of expertise is, we’ve got your back. We’ve developed CIPP courses specifically with the non-legal professionals like you in mind.
Study on your own time, at your own pace. Our CIPP/US course includes:
- An e-textbook with 90+ guided learning modules
- 1,200+ digital flashcards
- 600+ practice exam questions
- 15+ interactive exercises
- Statutory charts that summarize more than 30 laws and regulations
- A quick reference “cheat sheet” highlighting the most important information from each study module
- Practice exams modeled after the actual exam software
If you’re interested in the CIPP/E, we offer a course to help you prepare for that exam, too. That course includes:
- An e-textbook with 120+ guided learning modules
- 800+ digital flashcards
- 650+ practice exam questions
- 10 interactive exercises
- A quick reference “cheat sheet”
- A live-exam environment modeled after the actual exam software used by IAPP
Our comprehensive test preparation can set you up for success going into your CIPP exam, so you can start enjoying the benefits of CIPP certification as a non-legal professional.
