Posts

Is CompTIA A+ Certification Worth It?

What does value mean to you? For most, value means that you get more out than what you put in. Getting a good deal on a house or buying a car at below market price is often equated with value. Sometimes value is measured by return on investment, or ROI. Other times value takes on a more elusive quality. For example, an unpaid internship doesn’t reward you with money, but instead experience – which in itself is often invaluable. What about the CompTIA A+ certification? Is it valuable? Is CompTIA A+ worth the time and money you put in to studying and taking the exam? Keep reading to find out. Is the CompTIA A+ Certification Worth It? When it comes to what you put in versus what you get out, the CompTIA A+ certification is most definitely worth it – just ask the people who hold the almost 1.2 million CompTIA A+ certifications issued to date. Those looking to start an IT career likely have aspirations to move up the ladder and eventually specialize in something they are passionate about. B...

Tips for the Remote IT Job Search

For many, full-time remote work is incredibly appealing. Blake set his sights on remote IT work several years ago and intentionally directed his career path to enable that working environment for himself. However, he recalls not knowing exactly how to go about getting a remote IT job. “I really wanted to work remote,” Blake said. “The commute and constricting environment of an office job just wasn’t for me. I saw people doing it full time, and I just asked, how does this work?” Hempel is also a full-time remote employee, but this did not start out being her goal. When COVID-19 hit, her on-premise job transitioned to a remote working environment. Be Ready for a Technical Interview Most IT jobs include a technical interview, which is the optimal time to showcase your expertise. Take the time to practice any technical skills that you may need to demonstrate during this portion of the interview process. Blake mentioned that this can be difficult during a remote interview. “It can be diffic...

How We Grew from IT to Cybersecurity

A couple of decades ago, the responsibilities of the information technology (IT) and cybersecurity workers were pretty much all lumped into one big circle of IT. There was really no division of responsibilities, or separation of duties. Even though this works well for some organizations, a major trend became apparent starting around 2010. This is where the IT industry began formally dividing its IT and cybersecurity functions into two teams, or divisions. The first division focused on providing IT services. The second – cybersecurity – focused on securing those services. Then, around 2015, the IT industry realized that a third element was very important: cybersecurity management. The diagram below shows how one IT department has split into three over the past decade: IT Infrastructure Cybersecurity Operations Cybersecurity Management More Info: comptia a+ certification benefits

How Do I Get Into Cybersecurity?

If you’ve read this far and started to evaluate your life choices, don’t worry! One of the great things about IT and cybersecurity is that it’s never too late to start down this path. Plus, cybersecurity training is relatively affordable and speedy. At LeaderQuest, helping aspirants become professionals is what we do. From top-tier cybersecurity training with experienced instructors to effective exam prep before certification time, we’re with our students every step of the way. Even after they pass their exams and get certified, our all-star Career Services team pulls out all the stops, making every call they can, to help these qualified candidates get started in their fulfilling new careers. The whole cybersecurity training and hiring process can happen in a matter of months. As for payment, a lot of times it’s covered for you! Whether you’re a veteran or a military spouse, or you’re unemployed or low-income, government funding options exist to get you trained at precisely zero cost. ...

Reasons to Start Your IT Career

When you’re stuck in an unrewarding, underpaying job, getting something better can’t come fast enough. No matter what you want, it can be difficult to break into a new field on the timeline you need. That’s where IT certifications come in. IT certifications can help you to jump into a new career fast while building a foundation for further specialization. Still not convinced? Here are just a few of the reasons IT certifications are a great way to start a career in IT. 1. They’re a Fast/Low-Cost Way to Level-Up Your Resume For those who have the time and resources to dig deep into a field of study, the traditional degree has a lot to offer. However, when you want to bump up your skills fast, certifications are a great alternative. The average tuition for a master’s degree program is $60,000 to $80,000 while living expenses, books, and more can easily cost over $100,000. Certifications are vastly less expensive, especially if you can find a third party that will cover the cost for you. A...

CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+)

IT pros can pursue CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP+) to prove their mastery of cybersecurity skills required at the 5- to 10-year experience level. CASP+ is the pinnacle of cybersecurity certifications and includes performance-based questions. It is intended for those who wish to remain immersed in hands-on enterprise security, incident response and architecture, for example, as opposed to strictly managing cybersecurity policy and frameworks. CompTIA Network+ is also an important and strongly recommended prerequisite to CompTIA Security+. Before you can secure a network, you must understand how it functions. In other words, you shouldn’t skip algebra to start with calculus. Otherwise, you are learning security skills and applying them to a network you don’t understand. Can I take these exams with no IT or cybersecurity experience? es, you can, however we recommend a minimum amount of hands-on experience before taking any of our certifications. (Each one has different reco...

CCNA 200-125 exam retiring soon

The current version of Cisco CCNA 200-125 is retiring on 23rd Feb 2020. Several other associate level exams, such as CCENT, CCDA, CCNA Security are also retiring along with CCNA. The new exam CCNA 200-301 will have completely revised syllabus with focus on hands-on experience and less coverage of TCP fundamentals. New areas included are Cisco Wireless Controllers (WLCs), Cisco Digital Network Architecture (DNA), and Networking Security (enhanced). It is recommended that those who are in the middle of preparation for CCNA 200-125 or those who had already completed CCENT, to finish CCNA before the deadline. Else, your CCENT certification would not be of any help to continue to CCNA 200-301. The new syllabus doesn’t cover RIP, and BGP. More focus is put on broad spectrum of technologies including router IOS, network security, Cisco DNA, and WLC configuration and testing. You may download the practice tests for CCNA 200-125 or CCDA. More Info: jobs for a+ certification entry level