For brehs just starting out
you may hear things on places like Reddit etc about CompTIA certs being trash or not worth it. Do not listen to that bullshyt
I have come across over 100 jobs (Tier 1, 2 and 3 )in the last month paying $57k - $90k that ask for CompTIA certs ( Mainly A+,Net+, Sec+) --All Remote too.
I bring this up because alot of you seem pressured to go after the higher level certs thinking it will shortcut you to 6 figures
Make sure your certs match the level you're at in your career
CompTIA certs are foundational, but some take the term 'foundational' to mean 'useless, beginner certs'. Nah. That logic implies that the information you attained can be quickly discarded the moment you get a job or get 6-18 months experience. 'Foundational' means the information you attain will give you the core knowledge on which all subsequent, advanced knowledge will be built on and. Meaning the shyt aint going nowhere; The material on the CompTIA' trifecta certs will serve you well beyond just breaking into IT. but even mid-career. There are plenty of excellent paying jobs asking for these certs and they hold value because:
- They are still the most recognized, damn near ubiquitous certs in the industry
- They show that you care enough to learn and maintain the core concepts and not just someone chasing high-level vendor certs feeling entitled to a 6 figure salary because of what some Youtube influencer told them.
- They can be renewed by earning either other CompTIA certs or non-comptia certs that count as CEUs (Continuing Education Units). Most vendor-specific certs only allow you to renew their certs only under them.
- Hiring managers are less likely to grill you in an interview Vs. having a bunch of high-level top 10 lists certs on your resume with little to no experience to justify it and the hiring team makes it a point to expose you for their own amusement.
The Certs I see requested the most are:
- A+ and Network+ -- For most * ____ Support Specialist job
- Security+ (For SOC analyst or as a hard requirement for public sector/Government IT roles.) DoD Approved Baseline Certifications
- SC-900 -- I see plenty of tier 1 and 2 security analyst roles ask for this - Doesn't expire either
- MD-100/MD-101 Now just one exam --> MD-102
- AZ-900 - Despite Az-104 being the sexier, hyped up Azure cert. I have seen plenty of listings where all they requires is reasonable amount of exp and Azure fundamentals cert. I mainly see this for entry level cloud admin / jr Cloud Admin postings. Also doesn't expire.
- VCP --VMware Certifications. This plus a year of working in a VDI role is what took me from $28 Hourly to $85,000 annually. I sort of fell into the virtualization side of things. Again, VCP certs dont expire.
You can earn as high as a $100k with these certs (+ experience) if that's what you're chasing.
shyt like the CISSP, CCNP etc can wait unless there's like some sound pressing justification for why you need it right away. like a pending promotion (That's in writing of course) that hinges on you getting them
