The non-profit institution CompTIA - Computing Technology Industry Association - was established in the early 1980's. They have developed over time to become the number one in vendor-neutral I.T. accreditation. This effectively means they are free to independently produce and monitor exams & accreditations which are needed by the I.T. market, irrespective of a particular business' commercial interests. This is very good for trainees, as they can learn about various platforms and how they inter-connect & integrate with each other - a common scenario now in industry. Every time a new exam is being put together (or a previous one up-graded), CompTIA discusses the content with leading associates of the industrial & educational world in order to produce balanced and highly relevant content.

Of course these roles can often lead to more advanced roles if the correct certifications have been put in place. That's why it's important to look at your long term options prior to selecting your career training path. This requires a discussion with a professional IT training advisor to make sure that the route you ultimately choose is suitable and cost effective. IT Training organisations can often build a personalised training-path by assembling a number of training programs that will take the student from where they are now to where they would like to end up.

For the 'A+' exams allow yourself around 100-150 hours to study and prepare, & a bit less for the N+ examinations (possibly close to 75-100 hrs). Learning part-time, this can be done over a half year time period if you go for an appropriate quality of training and first-rate exam prep products.

The 'A+' training and the Network+ program are CompTIA's flagship certifications. Both of them, as a group, form the building blocks for many modern I.T. career-tracks - & for a good reason. Students get to grips with many basic computer principles with 'A+' , including maintenance, support, repair, installation, security and fault-finding. To help you become established in the I.T. sector, the 'A+' also covers a variety of communication & personal skill-sets. Network+ takes things further, by developing a more significant knowledge of how networks function & communicate with each other. Security is of course very important, & wireless-technology is discussed to a certain extent. The two accreditations complement each other well, & together provide an excellent starting platform for additional examination packages, or a solid career in IT support.

In-line with their 'ISO' standardisation move, 'CompTIA' have updated both 'A+' and N+ exams to '2009' versions. The previous 'A+' (edition 2006/2007) exams that were classified with the '600' prefix are now being phased out globally throughout 2010. In the United Kingdom, they discontinue on August 31st 2010. As both these, and the recently released '700' exams are now allowed to be taken in Prometric & 'Vue' test-centres, it makes sense to study the '700' exams now, and avoid having to re-certify later on. 'CompTIA' 'A+' Essentials & 'CompTIA' A+ Practical Application are the new exam titles (220/701 & 220-702 respectively). Along with some extra information on more recent technology, there are now 2 exams which cover aspects of all 4 of the earlier exams. The previous structure was 1 compulsory 'essentials' examination and three 'electives', of which just one was required to be taken. Right now the market needs professionals with know-how that used to be in all of the preceding exams. Individuals will get that subject matter from the 2 new compulsory 'A+' programs. CompTIA also have introduced the BR/003 bridging examination, for trainees accredited in the 600 examinations who need to get up to date with the current 700 exams. Passing the upgrade exam will generally need more study, but this ought not to be too difficult for people who formerly studied all electives. The extra subjects will of course need some extra studying.

New students to the I.T. sector can turn to CompTIA for a good deal of their preliminary training packages. Wherever an individual opts to build a career in I.T., there are CompTIA qualifications that will increase their abilities. Individuals who are especially thinking about Networking, Support, Systems, Security, Communications and Servers are especially well served. 'CompTIA' are now also marketing 'STRATA' qualifications - these are not designed for men and women employed in the I.T. market, but for those whose positions require a fundamental understanding of computing.

The CompTIA A+ exams are for the most part designed for anybody hoping to begin a job in any of these areas: Remote Support Technician, Call Centre and Depot Technician, Field Service Technician, Help Desk Technician, PC Technician and IT Administrator. With the 'CompTIA' 'Network+' as well, you can look at becoming a Network Installer, an IT Cable Installer, a Network Technician or a Network Administrator.

The actual Network+ 2009 exam is now referred to as N10-004, updating the old 'N10-003'. In addition to maintaining it's teaching on network infrastructure & management, the updated '2009' examination places an increased emphasis on Security, wireless networking skills and network-design standards.

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