Founded 28 years ago, the Computing Technology Industry Association (or CompTIA in short) is a non profit establishment. They've developed through the years to become the number one in vendor-neutral I.T. accreditation. Which means they're able to freely develop and control a complete collection of I.T. industry exams & produce their very own certifications that don't apply to just one specific vendor's products. With today's shift towards 'inter-connectivity' and systems convergence, this is seen as a welcome step for the I.T. trainee, as it gives cross-platform learning and a comprehension of integration. When a new exam is being put together (or an earlier one up-dated), 'CompTIA' consults with top members of the commercial and academic world to create well balanced & very relevant material.

As part of their 'ISO' standardisation move, CompTIA have up-dated both A+ & Network+ examinations to '2009' editions. The earlier A+ (version 2006-2007) examinations that were classified using the '600' pre-fix are now being retired internationally through 2010. In the UK, they discontinue on August 31st 2010. Up until that date, individuals can sit either the 600 or the more recent 700 exams at regional test centres (namely 'Vue' and Prometric). Common sense suggests that new entrant trainees should take edition '2009'. CompTIA A+ Essentials & 'CompTIA' A+ Practical Application are the new exam titles (220/701 & 220/702 respectively). The four original examinations have been streamlined into two new exams, and some additional up-dated information has been added in. Even though the previous A+ had 4 exams within the whole program, just 2 were expected to get the qualification. During the last four years, the marketplace has progressed to the point where all 4 examinations have become thought to be essential - hence the reformatting in to 2 required examinations. Anyone who has formerly taken the 600 exam may bring their accreditation up-to-date by taking a bridging examination - BR-003. This would probably involve additional learning, although not so much if you covered all of the previous exams, instead of just the two that were required. Obviously however the new technological subjects must be learned about.

New students to the IT marketplace can look to CompTIA for quite a number of their initial study packages. Generally, students who are planning on employment opportunities in Networking, Servers, Systems, Security, Support & Communications can start with CompTIA, however trainees within any IT sector would likely find a CompTIA accreditation a worthwhile component of their Curriculum Vitae. A new set of starter level courses called STRATA have been released by CompTIA. These are designed for those who need a greater idea of basic I.T. knowledge, but do not specifically work with IT themselves.

If you're focused on any of the following careers, the A+ would certainly serve you well - Remote Support Technician, Call Centre and Depot Technician, Help Desk Technician, Field Service Technician, PC Technician and IT Administrator. 'CompTIA' Network+ unwraps possibilities for Network Administrators and Technicians, Network Installers & IT Cable Installers.

Several of these jobs can be starting-points for higher-level IT positions, and so, as with all career-tracks, it's important to first examine precisely what your end goals are, & what type of learning-style you want. The way to optimise your career-path the most is always to obtain guidance from an industry advisor before starting out with your training. Training companies should offer to produce a personalised training path by co-ordinating a selection of training programs that will get the student from where they are now to where they want to end up.

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