The Computing Technology Industry Association is a for-profit consortium that brings together many
players in the computing business, including technology vendors, training companies, end-user
organizations of all kinds, plus representatives from government, industry, and academia. The
purpose of the organization is to identify technical areas where certain measures of competency are
beneficial to the membership, and to design examinations that stress those kinds of skills,
and knowledge that are most likely to relate to real-world job responsibilities and
activities. In short, CompTIA's biggest goal is to help its members identify the kinds of job roles
that are most urgently needed in the workplace, and to design methods to test individuals to
help ensure that they've got what it takes to fill those jobs.
CompTIA meets this goal by identifying and researching job roles that its tens of thousands of
member organizations agree are worth investing in. Once identified, CompTIA performs a painstaking,
arduous, and time-consuming job task analysis to identify what kinds of terminology, concepts,
tools, and techniques individuals who fill targeted job roles should know, what tasks they
should be able to complete, and what kinds of analytical and problem-solving skills they should
possess. From this gargantuan effort, a certification program emerges, complete with exam objectives
and one or more related exams that test candidates for the right mix of skills, knowledge, and abilities.
As a consortium that includes competing vendors as well as end-users or customers, CompTIA
has focused its efforts on creating vendor neutral credentials wherever possible. This means
that although their exams will occasionally touch on specific proprietary platforms, tools, or
technologies, they primarily focus on industry-wide best practices, common knowledge, fundamental
skills, terminology, and concepts, and so forth. Rather than being narrow or tightly focused,
most CompTIA certifications are as broad and general as is practical for the job roles they target.
Introducing CompTIA Certifications
In practice, CompTIA has done very well with certain core entry-level certifications,
but has not enjoyed the same success with all offerings. At present, CompTIA certifications include
the following credentials (which we list in alphabetical order):
A+: This is CompTIA's biggest program, and incorporates two exams designed to identify competent,
capable PC technicians with 6 months or more of relevant work experience (or equivalent skills and knowledge).
CDIA+: This is CompTIA's oldest credential; it's designed to identify individuals who can plan and
design electronic document imaging systems.
CTT+: An abbreviation for Certified Technical Trainer, CTT+ is a general technical training certification
that is accepted as proof of instructional ability for trainers in a large number of computing industry training programs.
e-Biz+: An electronic business certification, e-Biz+ is designed to identify professionals who
understand and can use e-business tools, technologies, and terminology.
HTI+: An abbreviation for Home Technology Integrator+, this certification is designed to identify individuals
who can design, install, repair, or maintain in-home systems in the areas of entertainment, networking, security, and controls.
i-Net+: An abbreviation for Internet+, this certification is designed to identify individuals who are familiar with
Internet and Web protocols, authoring, management, security, and technologies.
IT Project+: This certification is designed to identify individuals who possess basic knowledge
of IT project management concepts, terminology, methods, and techniques.
Linux+: This certification is designed to identify system administrators who can install, configure,
manage, network, and troubleshoot Linux-based desktops and servers.
Network+: This certification is designed to identify network technicians who understand how to
install, configure, manage, and troubleshoot networking hardware, devices, and TCP/IP protocols and services.
Security+: This certification is designed to identify individuals who understand basic information security
practices, policies, and principles, who know how to implement and maintain basic system and network security.
Server+: This certification is designed to identify individuals with knowledge
of networking and server installation, configuration, maintenance, management, and troubleshooting.
There are eleven CompTIA certifications...
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