The non profit institution 'CompTIA' - Computing Technology Industry Association - was formed in 1982. The company produces vendor neutral qualifications that have made it a world leader in this industry. Which means they're able to freely create and control a complete collection of IT industry examinations & issue their own qualifications that don't just apply to one particular company's products. Because systems frequently 'converge' & inter connect in the business world, this provides the I.T. student with a much more wholesome knowledge & grasp of cross platform 'integration'. Each time a new syllabus is produced, 'CompTIA' invites a number of educational & commercial organisations to join them & confirm that each aspect has been regarded equally, and the programs are appropriate from a commercial perspective.

In 2009 both programmes underwent up-dates, & new examinations are actually in existence for them both. 'A+' exams which began using the number 600 (i.e. the 2006/2007 version) are being phased out around the world. At the close of August 2010, the exams will retire in Great Britain. As both these, & the new '700' exams are currently available to sit in 'prometric' & 'Vue' test-centres, it's sensible to study for the '700' examinations now, & avoid having to re-certify later. 'A+' 2009 is currently presented as '220-701' CompTIA 'A+' Essentials & 220-702 'CompTIA' A+ Practical Application. In addition to some more material on more recent technology, there are now two examinations which cover aspects of all four of the past examinations. The previous format was one required 'essentials' examination & three electives, of which only one was required to be sat. Today the sector requires workers with expertise that used to be in all of the previous examinations. Students will get that information from the 2 new obligatory A+ programs. An upgrade exam has been created by CompTIA for everyone with the previous certification. 'BR-003' is the exam number. This could almost certainly call for extra study, although not so much if you covered all four of the previous exams, and not only the minimum of two. Plainly though the new technological content will have to be learned about.

Typical learning time for these exams are estimated at around 100-150 hrs for the A+ , and 75 to 100 hrs for the N+ . This makes obtaining both of them within six months part time study entirely feasible, providing quality multi-media training products are used, together with decent examination preparation software.

For a new student to I.T., CompTIA supplies the initial foundation training courses in a number of areas. Generally, individuals who are interested in careers in Networking, Systems, Security, Servers, Support & Communications should probably begin with CompTIA, although trainees within any IT sector would find a 'CompTIA' accreditation a helpful component of their CV. 'CompTIA' are now also producing 'STRATA' certifications : these are not necessarily for men and women working in the IT industry, but for people whose careers would benefit from a fundamental knowledge of computers.

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