Hey I was thinking of taking the Security + and the other certification exams like A + .... I was wondering if the costs have dropped .... for the fee to take the exam ...
I took Security+ and I think it was $218. I also took Server+ and Project+ recently at the same price. I took A+ and Network+ several years ago and I think they were $199??? Sec+ was pretty easy
Unfortunately they have stabilized - CompTIA is taking away the bulk-selling powers and you won't find the great prices you used ( A+ cost me around $80/each as did N+ and i-Net+ ). I will be taking the Sec+ in December - looking at around $200 USD *weep* and Linux+ or LPI 1 in January... CIW is coming up after that, CCNA this summer... Anyone know of any other good Certs ?
Good depends on many things. I'd say the MCSE would be good though With Microsoft you start with the MCP, move to the MCDST (or skip it) then the MCSA, and on to the MCSE. You can get all of those certifications with just a little extra effort than only getting the MCP & MCSE. Also as a side note some CompTIA exams (Security+, A+, Net+) count as electives for certain Microsoft certification paths. I liked N+ and i-net+, and CIW. However from the jobs I see out there you will get a lot more utility from the Cisco and Microsoft Certs. From a credit standpoint you can find many schools that will offer credit for CompTIA and Microsoft, a bit less but still some with Cisco and then others (CISSP, PMP, Sun, and so on). I'm a bit of a Certification nut myself, but my employer pays for any test we pass.
Re: how did you pay only $80.00 for it ? The prices have changed over time. I paid something like a total of $140 for both A+ exams. They were discounted because they were beta exams.
Beta's are often cheaper or free, some schools/training centers can get the vouchers cheaper, and some companies buy the vouchers in bluk and then resell them on the internet. I'm sure you if you google for COMPTIA VOUCHER or something similar you'll see many sites, but you won't find a large discount, and you'll have a lot of crap to wade though to find a good site.
Well it depends on what you're interested in. I see that you are in the FHSU program. If you want to get more into networking then the CCNA is a good place to start. From there you have lots of possibilities (network design, network professional, security, IP Telephony etc.) to further your knowledge/value by doing Cisco Certs. Brandon
Of course - CCNA is the start, CCSP and CISSP after that - perhaps leading to a CCIE at some stage... I enjoy the security & networking/(tele)communications side of things, so that's what I'm pursuing. -how did I pay so little for the CompTIA certs? eBay - I lucked out several times and got them cheap ( no beta's, although CompTIA did just e-mail me with a new beta for RFID -> http://www.comptia.org/certification/rfid/register.aspx ). BM
was - generally there are beta exams for revised exams/certs or new exams/certs ( such as with RFID ) which are available at a lower price.
Re: beta exam There have been several. Whenever they get ready to update the exam they first offer it in a beta. You then have the option to take both the current exam and the new one so Comptia can evaluate how effective the new test is. In exchange for doing this Comptia offers a pretty hefty discount. I took both current A+ tests and both betas at the same setting. NOW that was fun!
I would have to check with Comptia Yes I guess I would have to check with Comptia ...I dont think A+ will be very difficult to pass nor N+ but the costs are just stretching it ...... However , the beta exams do count as a certification for A+...
