What Is the Cost of CompTIA A+?

In order to take the CompTIA A+ certification exams, you’ll need to buy an exam voucher. If your employer, school or training facility do not provide you with one, you can purchase exam vouchers from the CompTIA Store. You’ll use the unique code from your voucher to register for your test, either in-person at Pearson VUE testing center or online. In the United States, the cost is $226 per exam. Remember, you need to take and pass two exams to earn CompTIA A+, so you’ll need two exam vouchers.

This is where ROI comes in. What are your goals? When compared to a college degree, you can earn CompTIA A+ faster and gain the hands-on skills you need to dive right into tech support and start your IT career.

You Can Make More Money

CompTIA A+ sets you on a path of lifelong learning and experience that will give you the opportunity to thrive in your career and achieve your income goals.

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Productive Remote Workforces

Robert Rohrman: If every staff member in your company already had the ability to work from home, the COVID-19 challenge—for IT teams—was relatively small. But if your company didn’t, quick action was necessary.

There are multiple strategies on how to enable remote work. IT teams had to look at their companies holistically and then from the employee perspective. What did they need to do their jobs and what technologies were out there to do those things remotely? The IT staff also needed to consider security—what was a company willing to accept as a risk? Then they needed to pick a solution and implement it.

Seth: Training everyone to be an enabled endpoint, that was the first part of the equation. What about making sure everyone had a device that works for them?

Wendell Thacker: As an IT person, you think, how can I futureproof? You want to make sure people have the hardware or devices they need. This is the same advice I give family members that ask me for recommendations on a laptop or personal computer, it depends on what you're going to use it for. When you make that decision, you're saying, for example, this person is a web developer, they need a lot of RAM and a good processor speed as opposed to my grandma who needs to check email.

Edgar Flores: On top of that, you want to create a baseline, so most devices meet certain requirements. Companies that had a baseline for laptops, they weren't as overwhelmed as companies that didn’t.

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cybersecurity control measures

It is easier for a business to control its cybersecurity posture when employees are working in-house. Since most of the devices they use are provided by your company, implementing the necessary cybersecurity control measures is straightforward. Also, you could send out updates anytime with little friction.

In the case of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies, most businesses have implemented practices that have ensured that employee’s devices have the latest security updates. Sadly, controlling all of this isn’t as easy when employees are working from home.

It can be tough to send updates to all devices employees could use when logging into corporate networks. Even worse, some employees may connect to corporate accounts through Wi-Fi networks that aren’t secure enough. As soon as a hacker identifies such threats, your business is in trouble.

Business leaders can keep this threat at bay by creating and implementing policies that outline the kind of devices employees should use to access corporate data. These policies can also contain security best practices and outline how to handle software updates. Another valid option would be to implement data masking techniques like encryption.

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Learn a New Skill Set and Change Your Life

Lastly, and most importantly, the best part of certifications is the energizing thrill of picking up a new skill. IT is a growing and ever evolving field with IT tech firms among the 10 fastest growing industries in the U.S. Meanwhile, there’s still a severe lack of talent making it difficult to hire as many people as quickly as the demands arise. This is even more noted in the cyber security field.

IT skills are desperately needed, important, and can have a great impact on the world around you. Taking on these new skills means having an opportunity to enter into a career that will help you develop personally as well as professionally.

There is a Japanese concept known as ikigai which reflects on that which is needed and loved in the world or “the reason for which you wake up in the morning.” In the novel, “The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life,” co-author Hector Garcia has this to say about finding happiness and fulfillment in life.

“Your ikigai is at the intersection of what you are good at and what you love doing,” he says.

You never know where your purpose will come from. However, when it comes to a field as exciting and fast-growing as IT, you just might find yours.

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start on the CompTIA Cybersecurity Career

The pathway is intended to help people get into the field of cybersecurity. IT pros can enter at any point, depending on their IT experience, existing certifications or course of study. There are no required prerequisites for these CompTIA certifications. For example, if you have two years of IT security experience or equivalent knowledge, you can jump into the pathway at CompTIA Security+ to prove your knowledge. If you already have CompTIA Security+, you can jump in at CompTIA CSA+, etc. See the CompTIA Cybersecurity Career Pathway graphic to find your place on the pathway.
Do I need to take these certifications in order? Do I need to take all of them?

No. This is a recommended pathway, but it’s not a requirement. It depends on your job needs or interests. In general, the pathway follows a hierarchy of skills needed for IT security; each certification builds upon the skills from the previous one. You can find the recommended level of experience for each certification on the page, Which Certification Is Right for Me?
Can I take these exams with no IT or cybersecurity experience?

es, you can, however we recommend a minimum amount of hands-on experience before taking any of our certifications. (Each one has different recommendations, found in the Exam Details section of the certification webpage.) But hands-on experience doesn’t have to be on-the-job experience. It could mean any hands-on work, including practical experience gained while taking a class or through self-study or by helping friends, family or local nonprofits with their IT and cybersecurity issues. CompTIA certifications mirror the current job roles of IT professionals, so it makes sense to earn these certifications to validate the knowledge and hands-on skills currently being used in the workforce, whether you have job experience or not.

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New A+ Exams Released by Comptia

Comptia organization, a pioneer in promoting computer skills among youth in USA and worldwide, released new A+ exams on 15th Jan 2019. The exams will be replacing the current A+ exams, namely A+ Essentials exam (220-901) and A+ Practical exam (220-902). The new exams have been named as A+ Core1 (200-1001) and A+ Core2 (200-1002) and available from Jan 15th 2019.

Important features of new exams:

CompTIA A+ 220-1001 covers mobile devices, networking technology, hardware, virtualization and cloud computing and network troubleshooting.

CompTIA A+ 220-1002 covers installing and configuring operating systems, expanded security, software troubleshooting and operational procedures.

Important features of the exam: These are not much different from its predecessor except for syllabus.
Number of questions: Maximum of 90 questions per exam (same as 901/902)
Types of questions: Multiple choice questions (single and multiple response), drag and drops and performance-based (same as 901/902)
Duration of the exam: 90 Minutes per exam (same as 901/902)
Recommended experience: 9 to 12 months hands-on experience in the lab or field (same as 901/902)
Languages offered: English at launch​. German, Japanese, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese and Spanish in 2019 (added simplified chinese!)

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Private or Reserved Addressing comptia a+

Within each network class, there is designated IP space that is reserved for private or non-public use and, thus, cannot be routed over the global Internet. This private address space is defined under Request For Comments 1918, or more commonly called RFC 1918. The RFC is a group of memoranda issued by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that helps define Internet operating standards.

Class A Private Space: 10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255, with a subnet mask of 255.0.0.0 or /8

Class A Reserved Space: 127.0.0.0 – 127.255.255.255, with a subnet mask of 255.0.0.0 or /8 (reserved for loopback addressing)

Class B Private Space: 172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255, with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 or /16

Class C Private Space: 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 or /24
Other Classes

Class D networks are reserved for multicast addressing. This covers the range of 224.0.0.0 – 239.255.255.255. No subnet information is defined for this special range.

Class E networks are reserved for experimental purposes for future research and development. This covers the range of 240.0.0.0 – 255.255.255.254. No subnet information is defined for this special class either.


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Comptia A+ certification test format

To be successful in your A+ certification you need to know what kind of question formats you should expect on the A+ certification test. There are two main question types, multiple-choice and interactive questions. The multiple-choice in its turn are of two types multiple choice single answer and multiple choice with multiple answers. The interactive questions come in four different “flavors” (see below) but the, by far, most important is the performance-based questions (PBQ). These are the real hands-on questions where A+ tests your skills rather than just your knowledge.

These questions require more than one response. On any CompTIA exam, you can recognize this type by the square checkboxes next to each response. Your instructions may say (Choose two) or similar instruction to let you know how many choices are expected. If a question requires two correct answers it will present five choices. If a question requires three correct answers it will present six choices.
For a guided tour and review of CertBlaster 5.0 click here
Performance Based Questions (PBQ)

These are the “crown jewels” of the CompTIA A+ exam! The PBQs have you perform tasks in a simulator. These questions will really test your proficiency. You will be presented with a simulation of a computer, router or other device and asked to resolve a problem. In the simulator, you will take the steps necessary to identify and/or resolve the issue. Here is a PBQ that requires OS interaction. We took the first step in the CertBlaster question. We opened the Administrative Start menu to give you a bit of a feel of what these simulations can look like.

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after getting CompTIA Network+ certified

The CompTIA Network+ Certification exam is done; result is out and YES, you’re certified now! With this certification under your belt, the next question is – which profile would I fit in now and most importantly, which ones?

It is important for any certified Network+ technician to be willing to get engrossed in the dynamics of different types of networks at a fundamental level. The reason being the certification focused on the broad and common aspects of networking. Due to its validity and acceptance globally, and being vendor-neutral, having this certification opens up a plethora of career prospects across different networking platforms on account of being a certified Network+ technician.

The following are some of the many profiles one can work in after getting CompTIA Network+ certified:

a) Administrator

A networking administrator is accountable for dealing with daily networking problems and resolving the same as per agreed parameters of the business, quality being one of the most important aspects. CCNA, MCSA/MCSE, MCITP, MCDBA, GIAC GCWN etc are some of the certifications for IT administration. Becoming a certified Networking professional towards networking issues can also don the hat of a Network Administrator.

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CompTIA A+ Certification: What’s in It for Me?

It seems that new IT certifications are popping up every day. It makes it difficult for IT professionals and job seekers to sift through and determine which certifications to earn. A simple place to start is to consider whether a vendor-specific or vendor-neutral certification would best suit your interests and situation. If you are currently in a role that demands knowledge of a specific vendor’s technology, you may want to follow that path. For example, if you are working on Microsoft servers or Cisco® routers, there are certifications specific to those technologies. If you prefer to keep your options open to work on any vendor’s technology, then a vendor-neutral certification may be better suited to your interests.

The most recognized vendor-neutral certification for technical support and IT operational roles is CompTIA A+. It requires competency in nine domains, so employers know that you are a well-rounded professional that can take on a variety of roles. The domains are:
Mobile Devices
Networking
Hardware
Virtualization and Cloud Computing
Hardware and Network Troubleshooting
Operating Systems
Security
Software Troubleshooting
Operational Procedures

It prepares you for roles like desktop support, field technician, service desk analyst, systems engineer, and more. Workers with CompTIA certification are sought by employers like NCR, NTT Data, and Fry’s Electronics. A search on indeed.com and monster.com turned up a total of over 5,000 jobs in the United States where CompTIA A+ certification was either required, preferred, or “a plus” (no pun intended).


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Study Guide for CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-004)

The CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-004) exam is one of the most essential credentials to include in your academic records. Achieving this certification brings wonders to your career opportunities. Therefore it important to kick start your preparations and have the knowledge of all preparatory resources. This study guide provides detailed steps that give direction to your preparations.

For the CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-004) exam you must fulfil the following prerequisites
Firtsly, CompTIA A+ certification
Secondly, CompTIA Network+ certification
Also, Have at least 12 months of Linux admin experience
One of the important steps to prepare for the XK0-004 certification exam is to understand where to focus your energies. You should understand the objectives of the certification exam and find your personal strengths and weaknesses related to the skills, concepts, knowledge areas, and technologies to be tested. Create a study plan to prepare for the exam while covering all the exam objectives.

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benefit from CompTIA Certification

By becoming CompTIA Certified, you may be able to improve your career outlook within your current organization. Even if you aren’t crowned as the new department head, you could still fulfill important adviser or oversight roles on major contract projects for governments and other organizations. These projects look really good on resumes, so the training required to earn your certification is well worth it. Learn more about what goes into qualifying by reading this article.
Improving Your Areas of Deficiency

Of course, you don’t need high-level management ambitions to benefit from CompTIA Certification. CompTIA covers a huge range of security topics broken up into six major domains; in short, this training is a great way to cover subject matter you missed along the way.

Take one of the disciplines, Cryptography, for instance. There are scores of symmetric and asymmetric methods for encrypting data securely, and different methodologies possess their own unique strengths and weaknesses. In most cases, those who employ Cryptography on a regular basis within their own work only have in-depth experience with a few of its variants. Such deficiencies may limit their adaptability and usefulness within the workplace.

Although CompTIA Security certifications don’t force you to learn the mathematical theory behind every specific cryptography implementation, they do ensure that you’re more familiar with all of them. As a result, certificate holders can transition to new projects or employment situations that require the application of methods they’d be unfamiliar with otherwise.

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CompTIA A+: Essential Learning

CompTIA A+ is a certification for computer technicians. Entry level technicians learn preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, installation, and the basics of networking during the CompTIA A+ training course.

They will study ethical subjects such as professionalism. CompTIA is the computer industry’s largest creator of IT Certification examinations.
Benefits of CompTIA

The certifications are recognized all over the world as they help in building competent and capable IT professionals. The CompTIA Certification program was established in 1993, and since then, it has created more than 1 million qualified individuals.

The program is so well respected that in 2007 the American National Standards Institute accredited not one but three of CompTIA’s programs: A+, Network+, and Security+.

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Preparatory resources for the exam

You can refer to multiple books for preparation and can get them from libraries or book stores. Books form the most important part of the preparation. Make sure to choose the books that suits your level of understanding and has reliable & quality content. However, You can also refer to the e-books or the paper backs as prescribed by the CompTIA. Else, you can choose the books that is comfortable to your reading habits and which you understand well. Some of the books you can refer to are:
CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1002 Certification Study Guide
Also, CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide: Exam Core 1 220-1002 and Exam Core 2 220-1002
Furthermore, CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Tenth Edition (Exams 220-1002 & 220-1002)
Subsequently, CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-one Exam Guide: Exams 220 – 801 & 220 – 802, Premium Indian Edition
Lastly, CompTIA A+ Complete Study Guide: Exam Core 1 220–1001 and Exam Core 2 220–1002
However, CompTIA A+ 220-1002 is an exam out of the CompTIA A+ series which covers two exams: Core 1 (220-1001) and Core 2 (220-1002). To obtain the CompTIA A+ credential, the candidate has to pass both the above-mentioned exam. So, getting the credential with performance-based items to prove pros can think on their feet to perform critical IT support tasks in the moment can be a great boost to one’s career. Let us get underway to look about the details of the CompTIA A+ 220-1002 (core 2) exam.

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Employers Look for the CompTIA® Network+

If you want to get ahead in the IT world, you can do so in leaps and bounds by earning your CompTIA® Network+ Certification. This certification is for network installers, cable installers, network administrators and network technicians who want to improve their career skills.

It is widely recognized by IT companies and is a prerequisite for professionals who want to join Apple’s Consultants Network and firms like Cisco® and Hewlett Packard® who recognize it as a vital component of their internal certification paths.
Getting Started the Right Way with Network Certifications

The best way to approach your journey to the CompTIA Network+ Certification is to take an online class. Online courses let you work at your own pace, which is very useful if you’re currently employed. It’s also smart to have about nine months to a year of experience in the field and a basic CompTIA A+ Certification. These aren’t requirements per se, but they make it much easier to understand the material you’re going to encounter, and the same can be said of academic training.

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What is CompTIA CySA+ Certification?

CompTIA CySA+ is the only mid-level high-stakes cybersecurity analyst certification with performance-based questions comprising security analytics, intrusion detection and response. CompTIA CySA+ is the most updated security analyst certification that includes advanced persistent threats in a post-2014 cybersecurity environment.

CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) is an IT workforce certification that employs behavioral analytics to networks and devices to avoid, identify, and address cybersecurity threats.

This certification also includes constant high-level threats in a post-2014 cybersecurity environment.
CompTIA CySA+ Exam Details:

CompTIA CySA+ (CS0-002) Exam Structure:
Maximum of 85 questions.
Passing score 750 (with the scaling of 100-900).
165 minutes of total exam time.
Multiple choice questions.
Performance-based difficulty increment.
Language Options in CySA+ Exam
English
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Pricing for CySA+ (CS0-002) Exam

Price for CompTIA CySA+ (CS0-002) is $359 USD. Which is also considered economical according to other mid-level certifications, which cost around USD 800.

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preparing for an IT certification exam

No matter how experienced you are, preparing for an IT certification exam can be a daunting process, especially if you are pursuing a fulltime job with it.

Many IT professionals, especially those who are new in the industry, find it hard to prepare for the exam. The CompTIA A+ certification has been around for quite some time now, which creates the possibility of the study material being irrelevant or not up to date.

Therefore, those IT professionals who prepare for CompTIA A+ exam need to create an effective learning strategy and make use of online CompTIA A+ training in order to know about authentic learning material and clear their A+ certification exam easily within the first attempt.

Developing an effective learning strategy not only makes it easier to prepare for the exam but also helps you gain the confidence and assurance that you have completed all the topics that may appear on the test.

2. CompTIA A+ 220-902

The previously conducted CompTIA A+ 220-902 exam covers the basics of installation and configuration of operating systems along with the fundamentals of cloud computing and security practices.

3. CompTIA A+ 220-1001

To clear the CompTIA A+ 220-1001 exam, you need to have a fundamental knowledge of mobile devices, networking, troubleshooting principles and cloud technology.


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Jobs You can get with ComTIA Security+

Today’s world is known to be going through dramatic changes. Stepping out in the corporate world and starting a career can be daunting for individuals today. Professional qualification, skills, and knowledge play an important role when it comes to obtaining a job.

Certifications are a great way to kick start your career and getting a job in a field that you are passionate about. They provide recognition and proof for your specialized knowledge and skillset, which can be of significant benefit when it comes to landing jobs and starting your career.

The IT industry is booming and is said to further grow in the near future. Cybersecurity has become a job field of utmost importance in today’s world of technology. A CompTIA Security+ certification will help you gain expertise in various topics making you an IT security professional.

Company’s today are facing numerous amounts of security threats, the severity of those threats keeps increasing every day. This makes the skills gap between information security and qualified IT security personnel one of the largest of any technical specialty. Therefore, making Security+ one of CompTIA’s most demanded certifications. Some of the best certifications and most well-known certifications available to leap into the IT industry are CompTIA Certifications.


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Role and Responsibilities of Data Support Technician

Assists the clients and functions help desk emails.
Communicate with teams to resolve issues, fulfill the need for software, procedure, and services.
Support the analyst by recording the data in a spreadsheet file.
Execute operations by using the data visualization software method.
Identifying technical issues of hardware and software involving internet connectivity, emails, IPTV, and VOIP, etc.
Assist with resolving troubleshoots and workstations.
Creates new software and hardware systems and resolving technical issues during a project.
Forwarding issues to suitable resources.
Analyze and prioritize issues according to their intensity.
Resolves to troubleshoot through remote access.

Salary

The salary offered to a Data Support Technician is around $54,076 per annum, which can increase up to 100k or more depending on the experience and skills of the technician.


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computer networking certification

CompTIA Network+ Certification is a computer networking certification. The certification deals with IT infrastructure coverage, troubleshoot issues, configuration, and controlling wireless networks of companies across the globe. The certification intends to develop skills regarding the development and execution of practical systems.
CompTIA has designed and categorized its certifications according to the level of knowledge and skills required by IT experts. These certifications are arranged in a sequence according to the level of difficulty. Even though CompTIA recommends to take Network+ before Security+. However, many experts suggest taking Security+ before Network+ has more advantages. Here’s a list of reasons to take Security+ before Network+.
DoD Recognition: Many government jobs nowadays require certified Security+ technicians. Government jobs require adequate knowledge regarding cybersecurity as it is dealing with confidential data. Hence, technicians with essential cybersecurity and DoD knowledge are preferred.
Roadmap to Cybersecurity Jobs: Many IT technicians and experts believe that Network+ and A+ certifications open the gate to cyber jobs. However, this is misread. To get better job opportunities in the cybersecurity field, it is important to have Security+ certification. It is the easiest way to get into the field.


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