What can a CompTIA A+ certification do for you in the long run?

Question by BILBO: What can a CompTIA A+ certification do for you in the long run?
I am currently a high teach student and getting an A+ certification is stressed. The A+ test but appears to be very outdated and the technician test (602) demands a high score in order to pass. I am wondering how vital an A+ certification is and what it can do for you. Does it look excellent on a college application or is it just a vanity?

Best answer:

Answer by Dave
The reason the test appears to be outdated is that your teach apparently is teaching for the outdated version of the A+ exam. The contemporary exams are 701 and 702. You can only take the ancient version if you don’t speak English…or if you are testing in some kind of academic setting. Even then, I believe that the 60_ series tests are only excellent for a further month or two (I’d have to look it up to confirm that)

The answer to your question perfectly depends on what you want to do with high teach.

If with high teach you plot to pursue any education and/or career that is not even in the least correlated to IT:
The A+ certification can be helpful, regardless of career. But it’s not necessary if you are not going into IT.

If with high teach you plot to pursue IT education or any career that is correlated to IT in some manner:
You MUST get your A+ certification. Further, you must get it BEFORE THE END OF THIS YEAR (2010).

Why you must get it: Many IT employers use it as a kind of yardstick to measure your IT career. It is assumed that with you have been working in IT for a year or two, that you will be A+ certified. If you aren’t yet, your future employers are going to wonder why not? And some employers for entry level jobs still look for it. So, it might help you get your first job, but it will DEFINITELY help you get your second job in IT.

Why you must get it NOW: CompTIA is changing their renewal policy.
2010 A+ (or earlier): Pass the test, certified for life
2011 A+ : Unending yearly fees must be paid to CompTIA for the privilege of having to pursue “continuing education” every few years, in order to keep your A+ certification.

I ran some rough figures in my head based on the “cheap send” for maintaining an A+ certification that you obtain in 2011 or later. I figure it will cost in this area $ 10 per month. That’s based on $ 50 a year fee to CompTIA, plus re-taking the exams every few years. I figure that’s the cheap way, as “continuing education” is wicked expensive. Some IT courses cost many thousands of dollars. Per week.

Because of this change in CompTIA policy, I predict a DRASTIC drop in the digit of people testing for A+ next year, compared to this year. With this year, it will be hard to justify the cost of having an A+ cert. My private feeling…if I’m going to pay never-ending fees to maintain an IT cert., it’s going to be a professional level cert like CCIE or something.

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