PSAA — Practical SOC Analyst Associate

TCM Security's entry-level SOC analyst certification with a 100% practical exam format — candidates investigate simulated security incidents and produce a professional report, assessed by human reviewers. No multiple choice. Includes the full SOC 101 training course (30+ hours) in the $249 price with one free retake. Never expires once earned. Not DoD 8140 approved but widely respected in the practitioner community for genuine skill validation. At $249 including training it competes directly with BTL1 ($500 for exam only) as an excellent entry-level practical credential. The report-writing component makes it stand out — most beginner certs don't require professional documentation.

Issuer	TCM Security
Level	beginner
Domains	Defensive Security / SOC
Practical weight	100%
Cost (USD)	249
Renewal	does not expire
Skills	phishing_analysis, network_traffic_analysis, endpoint_security_analysis, log_analysis, siem_investigation, threat_intelligence_application, incident_response_basics, digital_forensics_basics

Official certification page

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