I had the same idea

I didn't manage to get any of my cert goals dealt with this year. Most of next year is going to be focused on going back to college (at 34).

I have changed up my 2012,

I am not going for GCFA, I will be taking a digital forensics masters course instead

I want to go for CISA, CISSP and GSEC (to get GSE)

If I'm lucky, and get all the classes the first time around, I should be out in 5 years. sigh.

I only did eCPPT, CISM, and GCIH this year. I was hoping to also have OSCP and OSWP, but I just wasn't able to squeeze them in. I'm telling myself I subconsciously procrastinated to space out those CPEs

I'm definitely going to take those on in 2012 I already have the materials and hate having things hanging over me. It looks like OSWP was updated since I last looked, so I'll have to get the upgrade materials for that one.

I'm debating CRISC because that'll round out the ISACA hat trick (I don't care about CGEIT). I also need to do GCIA and another GIAC cert or paper to become GSE-eligible.

I'm also focusing on finishing my degree. I just need to test out of a language (working on Japanese), and I'm done. I moved out of state for work and have been traveling a lot, and I just haven't been able to knock out those last two courses.

Edit: What the hell OP? You can't just throw out a question like that and not give a response yourself

You know you can challenge the exams, right? While $899 isn't cheap, it's still much more affordable than $4k. You just need to put in all the work of learning the material on your own

For someone who has a good handle on the material and is just looking for the credential, it's a pretty good option.

Well my boss helped me make this decision. CCNP,CCNP:S and CCIE:S written it is for this year. Maybe a training course. We will see.