CompTIA A+ certification is an entry-level computer accreditation specifically for PC service technicians. Achieving this certification will certify the competency of entry-level PC service professionals in installing, maintaining, customizing, and operating personal computers. The CompTIA A+ certification is sponsored by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). CompTIA is a trading company that was founded in 1982 and consists of resellers, distributors, and manufacturers. They are known to set voluntary guidelines for dealing with business ethics and professionalism. The company is also involved with many issues including product returns, warranty claims, and price protection.
Who Should Take The CompTIA A+ Certification?
Any professional who is seeking employment withing the information technology world as either a service technician or an IT support specialist should take this exam. It is the perfect starting point for an upward trajectory in the IT world and Individuals who have some hands-on experience with PC’s will find themselves very well pre-prepared.
“An entry-level worker who has earned CompTIA A+ is a proven problem solver, someone who’s able to address complicated IT issues,” CompTIA Senior Director, Certification Product Management Teresa Sears said. “That frees up senior-level employees to work on strategic, higher-level projects that enable a business to operate more efficiently and impact a company’s bottom line positively.”
Skills You’ll Learn With CompTIA A+
Becoming CompTIA A+ certified ensures that the learner gains an understanding of cutting-edge fundamentals of computer hardware and software. Practitioners will learn how to troubleshoot a wide range of devices, from computers to smartphones and mobile devices.
Specifically, the CompTIA A+ Core Series covers the following new topics:
- Demonstrate baseline security skills for IT support professionals
- Configure device operating systems, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Android and iOS
- Administer client-based as well as cloud-based (SaaS) software
- Troubleshoot and problem solve core service and support challenges while applying best practices for documentation, change management and scripting
- Support basic IT infrastructure and networking
- Configure and support PC, mobile and IoT device hardware
- Implement basic data backup and recovery methods and apply data storage and management best practices
Details Of The CompTIA A+ Exam
Becoming CompTIA A+ certified means that you can be assured that your knowledge will match with the expectations that real-world employers are setting for IT staff in today’s competitive market.
CompTIA certifications are continuously updated by a group of IT industry experts in various industries and professions. This way you can be assured of the fact that you always stay ahead of the curve. The CompTIA A+ Core Series requires candidates to pass two certification exams:
- Core 1 (220-1001)
- Core 2 (220-1002)
These exams consist of no more than 90 questions apiece. The questions you will encounter will include a combination of multiple-choice questions, drag-and-drop activities and performance-based items.
Performance-based items will test the learners’ ability to problem solve in a simulated environment. This is why CompTIA A+ is considered to be a performance certification.
Time is of the essence when taking IT certification exams. These exams are designed to test how quickly the learner can adapt and solve problems. Most of the performance-based questions appear at the start of the exam.
Benefits Of The CompTIA A+ Certification
There are many benefits to earning your CompTIA A+ certification. One of the most obvious ones is the knowledge you will earn and can now validate to potential employers.
There are other benefits to getting the CompTIA A+ certification under your belt. Here are just a few:
- You Have the Skills Employers Demand
- You Can Go Anywhere
- Your Certification Is Trusted
- You Can Make More Money
- You Can Achieve a Work-Life Balance
- You Are Part of a Community
One of the biggest benefits of CompTIA certs is that they are not specific to any particular technology, like Microsoft, Cisco, VMware or other vendor-specific certifications.
With the A+ certification, learners will be able to now apply for jobs as a computer technician but also in other areas too. Some of these areas include:
- Technical support representative
- Help desk specialist
- Printer repair technician
There are even some IT companies who have made CompTIA A+ certification mandatory for their service technicians. Companies such as CompuCom and Ricoh, are known to have already implemented this as a necessity in their workforce.
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