CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association) is a non-profit enterprise formed in the early 1980's. The organisation produces vendor-neutral certifications that have made it a world number one in this field. This fundamentally means they are free to independently develop & monitor examinations & certifications which are required by the I.T. industry, irrespective of a particular company's commercial interests. This is very good for trainees, because they can be taught about various platforms and how they 'inter-connect' & integrate with each other - a not unusual scenario now in industry. Whenever a new syllabus is produced, 'CompTIA' invites several educational & commercial groups to come together and validate that each area has been considered equally, & the packages are appropriate from a commercial perspective.

These certifications and job-roles can be taken en-route to a more advanced IT position. Before you go for a training course, consider just where you would like your ultimate destination to be. Take the opportunity to discuss the whole thing with a training & IT specialist - it will protect you from any set backs as time goes on. It's often sensible to consider tailored career-training programs that include the A+ and 'Network+' courses. 'Bundling' several course materials into one is usually very financially attractive.

Any of the job roles that follow will be feasible for the applicant holding a CompTIA 'A+' qualification: Call Centre Technician, Depot Technician, PC Technician, Help Desk Technician, Field Services Technician, Remote Support Technician and IT Administrator. Career opportunities open up to include Network Administrators, Technicians and Installers for those who have the CompTIA 'Network+' as well.

'CompTIA' 'A+' & 'Network+' are certainly the most extensively recognised of their qualifications. Together they comprise the basis of a good number of career paths in IT, and as such are frontrunners in their field. Individuals get to grips with a good deal of essential PC principles with A+ , such as support, repair, maintenance security, installation & fault finding. To help you become established in the I.T. industry, the A+ also addresses various communication and personal skill-sets. The Network+ takes the subject further, by working on a greater knowledge of how networks operate & connect with each other. 'Security' is needless to say vital, and wireless-technology is covered to a certain degree. 'CompTIA' 'A+' & Network+ will give you a solid basis for a Systems career in I.T., & furthermore a great basis for other more advanced certification programs.

In 2009 both programs under-went up-dates, and new exams are now to be found for them both. 'A+' examinations which commenced using the number '600' (i.e. the 2006-2007 version) are being phased out worldwide. At the close of Aug 2010, the examinations will retire in Britain. Up to then, individuals can sit either the '600' or the more recent 700 examinations at regional test centres (specifically Vue & Prometric). Logic dictates that new trainees should learn edition '2009'. 'CompTIA' 'A+' Essentials & CompTIA 'A+' Practical Application are the new exam titles (220/701 and 220-702 respectively). The 4 original examinations have been streamlined in to 2 brand new exams, and some more updated information has been introduced. The previous format was 1 compulsory 'essentials' exam & 3 'electives', of which just one needed to be taken. During the last four years, the market has progressed to the point where all 4 examinations are now considered essential - hence the reformatting into 2 essential examinations. A bridging examination has been created by 'CompTIA' for anyone with the previous certification. 'BR-003' is the reference number. Extra training will almost certainly end up being necessary, especially for many who only originally studied for 2 of the four electives. The extra topics will clearly require some extra study.

New starters in the I.T. industry can look to 'CompTIA' for many of their initial training programs. Generally, students who are aiming for careers in Networking, Systems, Security, Servers, Communications & Support should probably start out with CompTIA, although trainees in any sector would likely find a 'CompTIA' certification a worthwhile addition to their Resume. A new set of beginner-level courses called STRATA have been put together by CompTIA. These are for people who could do with a better idea of basic I.T. information, but don't essentially work with IT themselves.

With regard to 'Network+' , the earlier 'N10-003' has now been superseded by the N10-004, the 2009 edition. In addition to the solid element of managing networks and their infrastructures, the new exam focuses to a great extent on security, design & wireless skills.

Typical learning time for these exams are thought to be about 100-150 hours for the 'A+' , and 75 to 100 hours for the N+ . This means acquiring both of them in 6 months part time study totally feasible, providing high quality multi-media training products are used, in conjunction with excellent examination preparation-software.

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