CompTIA Blog

CompTIA Communities are the foundation of the association’s initiatives, programs, education and research. These member-driven groups collaborate to advance specific technologies, vertical markets or business segments that are vital to the IT industry. CompTIA Community members include IT professionals, vendors, distributors and thought leaders who work together on the issues and programs that will shape the future of the IT industry.In this podcast interview, Jim Hamilton, vice president, membe ...

While many may not have switched their calendars yet, 2013 is officially here. Before all the New Year’s resolutions have either been forgotten or broken, make sure to take time to review what went well in 2012 and what needs to change to make the next year more successful. What challenges and opportunities do you foresee? In reviewing a similar blog post I wrote around this same time last year, it’s interesting to note the similarities between 2012 and 2013. While technology conti ...

Takeaway of the week is a tumultuous, industry-altering year for IT comes to a close with positive predictions and high expectations for the coming year. IT job seekers don't have time to catch a breath because from all appearances, the industry remains on the rise in expansion and prominence with no signs of slowing down. To-Do List to Shake Up IT Career Whether you're an active job seeker in the ever-changing IT industry or an entrenched veteran in need of new challenges, your New Year's resol ...

IT support company Mirus IT have been members of CompTIA for almost two years. Before joining CompTIA, Mirus IT felt that they weren’t fully engaged in the industry and were unable to make the most of making business connections. Areas such as business planning were always fully managed within the company and had little external consultation. They were looking to join an organisation that could help them to develop relationships and increase their connections within the IT industry.After taking ...

Takeaway of the week is that it's good, nay, great to be a developer with an understanding of the agile process, for such a person is quite the commodity. Speaking of commodities, the IT industry as a whole has a sunny spending forecast for the coming year and another resource highlights basic business know-how as a commodity that's key when it comes to job-seeking. Headhunters: Jobs-a-Plenty for Agile Developers If you're in the market for a development job and you have a solid comfort level wi ...

"The evidence keeps growing that career academies work," says Andrew Rothstein, special advisor on educational policy at the National Academy Foundation (NAF), a non-profit that supports a national network of 60,000 students in 469 academies, including some of Florida's IT career academies. NAF works with school districts to develop the career academies in general and often provides technical assistance to support non-NAF academies. According to the NAF: In 2011, 97% of NAF seniors graduated fr ...

Three key milestones that either occurred recently or are expected soon will shape the future of communications technology.First, the number of mobile devices that connect to the Internet now exceeds the number of PCs connected to the ‘net, which is a reflection of our increasingly mobile society.Second, the age of Big Data is here. The Washington Post recently reported that we have exceeded our computing capacity beyond the exabyte. According to TechTerms.com, the exabyte is a “unit of measurem ...

A broad swath of topics was covered at the Southern California TechVoice Chapter meeting on December 14 in Newport Beach, CA. This post-election analysis and forum was co-hosted by CompTIA’s Southern California TechVoice partner, the Orange County Tech Alliance. I was privileged to participate in a panel with California state assemblyman Don Wagner and Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse Unruh Institute of Political Science at the University of Southern California. Tim Jemal of Jemal Public Affair ...

Heading into 2013, three key tech policy issues to watch will be immigration, online sales taxes and cybersecurity, said Politico. While Congressional leaders debate the merits of allowing more students with advanced degrees to stay in the U.S., they will also be taking a closer look at online tax laws for companies of all sizes and coming to terms on cybersecurity legislation to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure.While small business advocacy groups have been pleading with Congress to ...

The IT community is rich with career opportunities, despite dismal overall job growth projections and many companies continuing to struggle with economic challenges. There seems to be no shortage of open positions in IT for the properly prepared individual, whether their skills are more technology-oriented or focused on the business side. As the business community relies more and more on IT to run and improve their operations, demand for qualified and trainable professionals will continue to gro ...

This month, CompTIA welcomes 104 U.K.-based solution provider organizations to its membership fold – a direct result of our recent merger with Accredit UK. These highly skilled and qualified information and communications technology (ICT) professionals all have one thing in common; their organizations have undergone a rigorous audit and assessment of their technical and business practices and have achieved the highest standards of operation, marked by their Accredit UK credential.I have had the ...

Takeaway of the week is really a fresh set of takes on some old, established takeaways, such as "certifications are valuable difference makers in the IT job market" or "healthcare IT continues to grow and evolve" and then there's the "IT job market remains strong into 2013." Oldies, but goodies. Certifiable Difference Makers Everything is taken into consideration in a competitive IT job market and some certifications more so than others, according to a well-known industry recruitment firm. As ...

President Barack Obama and his administration are attempting to protect billions of dollars in R&D aid from sweeping budget cuts, said Politico Pro. In addition to meeting with recipients of R&D aid in the science and technology sectors, Obama said in a Twitter live chat last week that the administration is looking to defend its aid budget while offering cuts from alternative areas.The Obama administration’s proposal to tax high income earners would hit about 940,000 people who report bu ...

Writing well is a critical skill for IT professionals who have to convey technical information to technical and non-technical people. "The better you can communicate your message in ways that other people understand, the more likely you are to succeed in whatever you are trying to do," says James Chartrand, founder of Damn Fine Words, an online writing course for business people. Do you find yourself repeatedly frustrated because people misunderstand your emails, or fail to take the right act ...

A long-awaited provision that will benefit woman-owned small businesses seeking federal government contract opportunities is included in amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254), which passed the Senate on Dec. 4. CompTIA has actively advocated for this fix, which will correct an anomaly in this federal program.The Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program sets aside five percent of federal prime and subcontracts for women-owned small businesses. Under the current ...