“Two certs and three labs” is useful as a limit on preparation, not as a guaranteed formula for a job or salary.
The right amount of study depends on your starting experience and the responsibilities you want next. One person may need fewer exams and more applications. Another may need foundations before the labs are useful.
Keep the structure if it helps you finish. Test each credential and project against a real career purpose instead of treating the numbers as requirements.
The formula helps when it prevents endless preparation
A small set of deliverables can be easier to finish than an open-ended instruction to learn cybersecurity.
You can choose relevant material, complete a few projects, and use the results in applications. That is a reasonable structure when the scope matches your starting point.
But the structure is not evidence of readiness by itself.
A person can pass exams and follow three tutorials without being able to explain the configuration, investigate a failure, or describe how the work relates to an employer's responsibilities.
Give every proposed exam a reason to be in the plan
Before booking an exam, write a specific justification.
| Possible reason | Evidence to check |
|---|---|
| Suitable employers require it | Current postings for jobs you could realistically pursue |
| It organizes knowledge you need | The provider's current objectives compared with your gaps |
| It addresses a recurring weakness | Feedback or practical difficulties that identify the missing knowledge |
Then check current prerequisites, eligibility, and maintenance requirements with the provider. An old roadmap may no longer describe the credential accurately.
Two certifications are not inherently better than one. An experienced administrator might benefit more from demonstrating a missing integration skill. A newcomer might need structured foundational study before that same project makes sense.
The exam belongs in the plan because of what it helps you do or qualify for—not because the formula has an empty slot.
The three labs should demonstrate different responsibilities
A useful set might cover directory access, application sign-in, and identity lifecycle changes.
The projects should provide different evidence. Installing three products and capturing three dashboards does not necessarily demonstrate three capabilities.
For each project, define the requirement, your contribution, the tests, and the limits. You should be able to explain a result without reading the tutorial that produced it.
The three IAM lab areas worth considering before another course are a starting point for selecting work, not a claim that every employer will value the same combination equally.
Add the missing part: applications and explanation
A formula focused entirely on credentials and labs can leave out the work of presenting yourself.
Your resume still needs to connect your existing experience to the role. Your project pages need to be understandable. You need to practice explaining decisions, not just naming tools.
Suitable applications can begin while preparation continues. Waiting until every item is complete may postpone useful feedback about fit and positioning.
The plan should produce conversations and clearer options, not only a collection of completed learning tasks.
Test the plan against three different starting points
Imagine an experienced help desk technician who handles access requests, a systems administrator who already owns directory services, and someone with no IT background.
The same two exams and three labs would not solve the same problem for all three.
The technician may need a stronger explanation of identity concepts and an implementation project. The administrator may need cloud-specific evidence. The newcomer may need broader technical foundations and a different first job target.
These are examples to illustrate the decision, not fixed routes assigned to everyone with those titles.
Keep the useful structure and remove the guarantee
A better version of the formula is: choose a role, use only the credentials that support it, build a few distinct projects, and apply with evidence you can explain.
That retains the focus without pretending the market owes you an outcome after a checklist is complete.
The Six-Figure IAM Career Playbook provides three IAM lab areas within a broader role-selection and 90-day plan. The $9 book is useful when you want that structure and the reasoning behind it. It is not a promise that a fixed number of certifications and projects produces a fixed salary.