Founded twenty-eight years ago, the Computing Technology Industry Association (or CompTIA for short) is a non profit association. They have grown progressively & right now are world leaders in IT accreditations that are vendor neutral. This basically means they're free to independently produce and monitor examinations & accreditations that are needed by the I.T. market, regardless of a particular business' commercial interests. With the current move towards inter connectivity and systems 'convergence', this is seen as a great step for the I.T. student, as it gives cross-platform learning and a knowledge of integration. CompTIA gathers together numerous business & academic industry groups when building or upgrading an examination, to make sure that all things are thought about and the very best industry related syllabuses are crafted.

The CompTIA A+ examinations are predominantly aimed at anyone wanting to begin a job in any of these roles: Depot Technician, Call Centre Technician, PC Technician, Help Desk Technician, Field Services Technician, IT Administrator & Remote Support Technician. Job prospects open up to include Network Installers, Administrators & Technicians when you have the 'CompTIA' Network+ too.

In 2009 each program under-went updates, & new exams are actually to be found for each of them. Internationally the 2006/2007 versions of 'A+' (those with the exam pre-fix numbers '600') will disappear within the next twelve months. In Britain, they cease being offered on 31.08.2010. Since both the '600', and the new 700 exams are now available to sit in Prometric & Vue test centres, it's sensible to study the 700 examinations now, & avoid having to certify again later on. 'CompTIA' 'A+' Essentials and CompTIA 'A+' Practical Application are the new examination titles (220/701 & 220/702 respectively). The principle modifications were a whole restructuring of the previous four examinations in to just 2 exams, & the addition of some information on more recent technologies. The previous structure was 1 compulsory Essentials examination and 3 electives, of which only one needed to be taken. As the industry has developed, the expertise from all 4 exams is currently regarded as necessary, & therefore has been fine-tuned in to two compulsory assessments. An upgrade examination has been produced by 'CompTIA' for anyone with the old accreditation. BR-003 is the exam number. Further training will almost certainly end up being needed, particularly for those who only originally studied for two of the four 'electives'. Clearly though the newer technological content must be mastered.

For the new student to IT, CompTIA provides the preliminary foundation training courses in various sectors. Generally, trainees who are interested in careers in Networking, Servers, Systems, Security, Support and Communications will begin with 'CompTIA', although students in any sector would find a 'CompTIA' accreditation a worthwhile addition to their Curriculum Vitae. CompTIA are also now promoting 'STRATA' accreditations - they're not designed for men and women working in the IT market, but for those whose careers require a basic understanding of computing.

For the A+ examinations give yourself more or less 100 to 150 hours to study and prepare, & somewhat less for the N+ examinations (maybe up to 75-100 hrs). With the correct multimedia training that is backed up by accredited exam practice software, the two accreditations could very well be achieved within 6 months for the student who is learning around employment.

With regard to Network+ , the previous N10-003 has today been replaced by the N10-004, the 2009 edition. Along with retaining it's attention on network infrastructure and management, the upgraded '2009' examination points to an increased emphasis on security, wireless-networking abilities & network design standards.

The 'A+' training and the Network+ program are 'CompTIA's' flagship certifications. A very useful group taken as a bundle, they're the kick off point for many effective career tracks. A+ training covers all the fundamental basics of PC maintenance, fault finding & repair; including installation, security and support. Additionally , it covers different personal & communication skill-sets needed to get established in I.T.. Expanding on this knowledge, the N+ accreditation examines networks, (including routers & servers) & explains how they communicate with each other. The important matter of 'Security' is introduced, & Wireless networks are spoken about at an elementary level. Having both of these certifications will give a solid grounding for anyone considering getting into the 'systems' area of the IT marketplace, together with a foundation of understanding for additional certification.

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