Is A+ Certification relevant?

Question

After reading an overview of the A+ certification from CompTIA, it states that they "recognize the evolution by continually reviewing the content of their credentials..."

Then they state that their most recent change was in 2003. Really? Are they really keeping up? Is this certification really worth anything, knowledge-wise, as a first certification for a "newbie" into the IT field to look into?

Just to add; after that first answer; yes, I do plan on going along the programmer's route. Any other starter certification suggestions? I suppose that's a good question to ask separately though

@Chuck - The reason I'm looking into certifications is that I have absolutely zilch experience. I'm just looking for ways to make myself stand out.

Answer 1

First, why do you want to be certified? Is there a job you're looking for that requires it? When I've interviewed people in the past their certifications were MUCH less important than their experience. I know it can be a bit of a chicken/egg thing but I'd be much more likely to interview a candidate with experience over one with none who happened to have certification X. Certifications may be more relevant in the hardware side of things, I wouldn't know.

Answer 2

IIRC, the cert doesn't expire. So even if they update the test, someone who passed it 10 years ago still has the same credential.

I walked in and passed both tests for the cert with no prep.

Answer 3

I'd say "A+ Cert" isn't worth much.

It is an extremely basic certification that I would expect even most computer hobbyists to have a pretty strong grasp of. Here are some of the wild things listed that you master in A+ Cert courses:

• Identifying hardware components
• Disassembling and reassembling a computer
• Identifying operating systems

So.. unless you are specifically attempting to get a job as a computer technician that requires this cert I would say you could skip it.

Answer 4

If you want to find out which (if any) certifications are worth anything, do a search on Monster, CareerBuilder, or HotJobs looking for jobs you'd be interested in doing. Then look to see what certifications are required to get those jobs. I think you'll find that experience and education (in that order) always take precedence over certifications.

Answer 5

For a programmer : Almost never.

Your job tends to be to solve a problem such that you won't have to do it again, so prior "training" for specific problems is not all that helpful. The fact that you can learn and understand new problems and implement solutions for them is much more important.

Answer 6

As someone who has A+ cert, its a joke, especially if you are going a programming route. The test was extremely outdated and a complete waste. I would look at it only if you are going to get a Tech Support job, which is where I started. I took it only because some of employers I was interviewing were recommending/requiring it.

Answer 7

From my experience, your choice of employment sectors makes a big difference on the value of education and certification. When working with the government and by extension government contractors - a lot of weight is given to education and to a lesser extent certifications. Many government contracts will specify that certain labor categories require a specific education level and certification level.

The second key factor is the amount of prior experience. For someone just starting their career, where there is very little work experience, certifications and education can be key discriminators. They provide something that employers can look at that sets you apart from other job candidates.

Finally, there are varying levels of certification for almost every technical competency. As others have already stated, the A+ certification is very basic and is one of the easiest to achieve and therefore not likely to carry much weight with employers.

Answer 8

If you dont have expirience as you said than A+ is a way to get know better hardware side, but if your going programming route, then you dont need A+. Try to learn more about computers architecture, the logic behind, introduction to programming. You don`t need to know different type of hardware if you want to be a good programmer! A+ is good, but for people who want to work in computer services and want to learn little more than basic stuff and all parts of A+ that you need, in your case, you can learn alone.

I believe your answer of relevance is in the question: Have you ever seen that someone is looking for A+ sertified worker? I doubt...

Answer 9

For a 16 year old that wishes to work in a computer shop, I think A+ would be useful. It may also be useful for someone that wishes to get an entry level support job.

For a programming job, I would look at the Microsoft or Java certifications as well as doing everything you can to get real world experience.

However choose a set of technologies that are in wide spread use and that you love to work with, otherwise you will loose motivation or find no one wants the skills you learn.