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CompTIA Raises Exam Prices – Buy vouchers before we raise our prices.

October 4, 2018 in Uncategorized by

Effective October 1, 2018 CompTIA is raising prices on all their exams. Total Seminars sells Discount Vouchers and we are holding our voucher prices as long as supplies last. Here’s a summary of the retail pricing:

Exam                     Old Retail Price       New Retail Price       TS Discount Voucher (while they last)

A+ (each)                             $211                          $219                          $194.99

Network+                            $302                           $319                          $282.99

Security+                             $330                           $339                          $309.99

CySA+                                  $346                           $349                          $314.00


Here’s how it works: CompTIA member companies like Total Seminars are able to purchase vouchers for the CompTIA exams and resell them to students at a discount to the full price you would pay when you register with VUE or buy at the CompTIA web store.

Before you register for your CompTIA exam, go to Total Seminars web site and purchase a Discount Voucher. Your order will be processed, and you will receive an email with your voucher number.

When you register for your CompTIA exam online at the VUE web site, you have an option to pay by credit card or by voucher.  Select “voucher” and type in the voucher number you received by email when you purchased the Discount Vouchers from Total Seminars.

Example: While supplies last you can save over $48 on the cost of the two CompTIA A+ Exams.

When you purchase a discount voucher it is good for up to 11 months (the exact date the voucher expires is included in your email). You must register for your exam online with VUE before the date the discount voucher expires.

Act now before we have to raise our prices!

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You’ve Earned an IT Certification — Now What?

December 14, 2017 in Uncategorized by

You studied hard, left sweat on the testing center mouse and BAM you passed your certification exam. You are officially certified as an IT pro now what? Beyond the social high-fives, like telling your friends, there are some strategic moves you can make to get the most traction from your new technology certification. Here are four ways to take immediate action.


1. Tell Everybody Online and in Real Life

Update the certifications section of your LinkedIn profile and plug your new credential into the education and certification sections of Indeed and Monster. Spell out acronyms like the CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) certification and include the abbreviation in parenthesis.

There are a lot of searches being done out there that aren’t going to be looking for a specific person, but a specific set of skills. Recruiters have a better chance to find you if your certifications are on your profile and your profile is up to date.

CompTIA alumni use the hashtag #CompTIACertified to announce the news and connect with hiring managers. If you’ve already got a job, tell your boss about your new cert. Print it out and hang in on the wall. Advanced skills could lead to more money and power.


2. Search for Jobs Asking for Your Specific Certification

A certification shows your commitment to technology and builds instant confidence in people looking to hire. By earning a certification, you’ve ticked the right box for some people. If you’ve earned your CompTIA A+ and find an ad reading Education: A+ preferred, you’re ahead of the curve go find out who wants your skills.

Search Twitter for the name of your certification or try #CompTIACertified to find posts related to IT job openings. Scroll IT job boards for your cert and start looking for patterns. What kinds of jobs require the IT certification you have?

Work with recruiters, find hiring managers and talent scouts online, and use tools for the IT job hunt to start navigating the landscape.

Even if it’s not the position you think you’re qualified for, it’s worth linking up with those posting firms. Look for what they post next. It’ll probably also be something you’re interested in.


3. Meet Up with IT Pros and Recruiters

Use the momentum of your new certification to contact recruiters directly, and open with the news that you’re now IT pro certified.

Maybe when the next opportunity comes up, they reach out to you directly instead of posting the job, or suddenly you’re on the short list of people who are competent and who they’d like to trot out for a job. Even if you don’t get a position through that recruiter, you can go back to them and say, Hey, we talked a while ago, and now I’ve been doing this for six months and I have all these skills.

You can also meet up with other IT pros in your area, certified in the same skills. Try online groups or IT professional groups like the CompTIA Association of IT Professionals (AITP), with chapters all over the country. You can also find online gatherings for IT certifications, like the CompTIA Certified Professionals LinkedIn group.

Make relationships. Relationships are how things move forward.


4. Mark Your Calendar

Circle the date you passed the exam on your calendar to celebrate your success, and then flip three years into the future, when the exam recertification time comes around. Set a calendar reminder for that far-off date so you won’t be caught off-guard and can give yourself plenty of time to refresh and renew your certification.

Continue learning. Start studying for the next higher certification. This will keep you current on technology, improve your resume and keep your current certifications up to date.


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CompTIA Raises Exam Prices – Buy at last year’s prices while supplies last.

January 3, 2017 in Uncategorized by

Effective January 1, 2017 CompTIA is raising the price for all their exams. A quick summary of the old and new full retail prices:

Exam               Old Price         New Price

A+ (each)         $199.00           $205.00

Network+         $285.00           $294.00

Security+          $311.00          $320.00

Total Seminars (www.totalsem.com) sells discount vouchers (priced below the CompTIA web store retail prices) for these CompTIA exams. We are holding last year’s prices until our inventory runs out. Purchase yours now while supplies last.

If you plan on taking your exams this year be sure and purchase your vouchers now before we have to raise our discount voucher prices to reflect the higher CompTIA prices!

Act now before we have to raise our prices!

Here’s how it works: CompTIA member companies like Total Seminars are able to purchase vouchers for the CompTIA exams and resell them to students at a discount to the full retail price you would pay when you register with VUE or buy at the CompTIA web store.

Before you register for your CompTIA exam, go to Total Seminars web site and purchase a Discount Voucher. Your order will be processed and you will receive an email with your voucher number.

When you register for your CompTIA exam online at the VUE web site, you have an option to pay by credit card or by voucher. Select “voucher” and type in the voucher number you received by email when you purchased the Discount Vouchers from Total Seminars.

When you purchase a discount voucher it is good for up to 11 months (the exact date the voucher expires is included in your email). You must register for your exam online with VUE before the date the discount voucher expires.

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Never Pay Full Price for CompTIA Exams:

July 19, 2016 in Uncategorized by

You can save on the cost of your CompTIA exams by purchasing discount vouchersfrom our web site.

Here’s how it works: CompTIA member companies like Total Seminars are able to purchase vouchers for the CompTIA exams and resell them to students at a discount to the full price you would pay when you register with VUE or buy at the CompTIA web store.

Before you register for your CompTIA exam, go to Total Seminars web site and purchase a discount voucher. Your order will be processed and you will receive an email with your voucher number.

When you register for your CompTIA exam online at the VUE web site, you have an option to pay by credit card or by voucher. Select “voucher” and type in the voucher number you received by email when you purchased the Discount Vouchers from Total Seminars.

Example: you can save over $40* on the cost of the two CompTIA A+ Exams.

When you purchase a discount voucher it is good for up to 11 months (the exact date the voucher expires is included in your email). You must register for your exam online with VUE before the date the discount voucher expires.

* prices change from time to time, at the time of this blog the savings sighted in the example were available on the Total Seminars web site when purchasing the “Two VUE A+ Certification Vouchers” bundle.

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CompTIA A+ 801/802 Exams to Retire June 30th

June 13, 2016 in Uncategorized by

CompTIA A+ 801/802 Exams to Retire June 30th

CompTIA will be retiring the A+ 801/802 exams June 30th. If you have been studying for the 80x series of exams you need to complete BOTH exams before the deadline. You cannot mix and match one 80x exam with one 90x exam.

The new A+ 901/902 exams were released December 2015. CompTIA allows a 6 month overlap between launching a new series of exams and retiring the previous version. Either set of exams qualifies you to be CompTIA A+ Certified.

Make sure you are ready to pass the A+ exams with Total Seminars Total Tester and TotalSims bundle. Total Tester; is an interactive practice test software with over 1000 practice test questions. You can create custom exams by chapter in Mike’s book or by exam objective. TotalSims; prepare for CompTIA’s performance-based questions and learn more about technical concepts covered on the exams.

You can also save on the cost of the exams with CompTIA Discount Vouchers.

The new 90x exams have dropped coverage of Windows XP and added Linux and OS X coverage. There is also more mobile technology, configuration and troubleshooting. Finally, there is more coverage on security and cloud computing issues.

A+ Certification Overview:

Held by over 1 ​million IT professionals worldwide, CompTIA A+ is the most essential IT certification for establishing an IT career. If you’re new to the IT industry, this will help you put your best foot forward. And if you’re already an IT professional, the CompTIA A+ certification validates your skills and can boost your career.

A+ is comprehensive and vendor-neutral A+ certified professionals have mastered the technologies found in today’s extensive and varied IT environments, from mobile to traditional devices and operating systems. They can confidently handle the most challenging technology problems more efficiently. Learn more with this infographic.

A+ validates foundational skills A+ establishes best practices in troubleshooting, networking and security across a variety of devices to set the stage for IT careers. The certification also matches professional tech skills with communication skills.

A+ is trusted by employers As businesses and governments worldwide continue to adopt mobile and cloud technology, they trust A+ certified professionals to keep their devices running and organizations working smoothly.

A+ is globally recognized and accredited CompTIA A+ is compliant with ISO 17024 standards and is approved by the U.S. Department of Defense to meet directive 8570.01-M requirements.

A+ is industry supported A+ is developed and maintained by leading IT experts. The A+ exam content stems from a combination of industry-wide survey feedback and contributions from our team of subject matter experts. Learn more about the people behind the CompTIA A+ exam development and the CompTIA A+ Advisory Committee.

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CompTIA Raises Exam Prices – Buy vouchers before we raise our prices.

January 6, 2016 in Uncategorized by

Effective January 1, 2016 CompTIA is raising the price for all their exams. A quick summary of the old and new prices:

Exam               Old Price         New Price
A+ (each)         $194.00           $199.00
Network+         $277.00           $285.00
Security+          $302.00          $311.00

Total Seminars (www.totalsem.com) sells discount vouchers for these CompTIA exams. We have decided to hold last year’s prices until the end of January 2016.

If you plan on taking your exams this year be sure and purchase your vouchers now before we have to raise our discount voucher prices to reflect the higher CompTIA prices!

Act now before we have to raise our prices!

Read More

Turbocharge your career with CompTIA Network+ Certification

August 11, 2015 in Uncategorized by

At a time when some industries are shedding jobs, IT offers a wider range of entry-level positions and career advancement opportunities than just about any other field.

    Consider these facts:

• There are currently over 500,000 job openings for IT professionals in the U.S., according to CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association.

• U.S. employers are expected to need 140,000 network system and data communications analysts, a 53% increase, over the next decade, according to the U.S. Department of Labor..

• Industry observers are sounding the alarm about a growing networking and security skills gap. That’s good news for Network+ certified techs with these much needed skills.

• 91% of hiring managers indicate that CompTIA certifications are valuable in validating expertise.

• The average salary of a network engineer is $91,000

Think of an IT career as a lifelong learning path. Earning certifications is how you show employers you’re advancing your skills and are ready for the next step. A typical certification path would include:

CompTIA A+ Cert. => Network+ Cert. => Security+ Cert. => Microsoft or Cisco Certs.

The Network+ Certification exam covers a lot of material. The list price for the exam is $277. You want to make sure you’re ready to pass the exam the first time so you don’t have to pay for a retake.

Studying for the Network+ exam: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Here’s the best way to learn the concepts, memorize the material, and make sure you’re ready to pass the exam:

Learn

Step 1; whether you’re an experienced network tech or just starting out, you need to make sure you know all the concepts covered on the exams. With so much to learn the best way to start is to find a good textbook or video training course. Don’t try to learn everything at once. Start with bite sized pieces. Take a first bite; read a few chapters or watch a series of videos that cover a related group of topics.

Practice

Step 2; Take a break from learning new concepts and practice what you have learned in the first group of topics. I recommend setting up a home lab. You will need several computers, routers, switches, cabling and a simple server to start. You can usually get some used equipment to start with and build from there. You will need to set up a network in your home lab and add functions as you cover topics in your studies. You can also purchase a set of Network+ simulations. Try to find simulations that track chapter by chapter the book or videos you are using to study. This will allow you to get hands-on experience that will reinforce what you have learned and help you commit the information to memory. These types of simulations can also help prepare you for the performance-based questions you will see on the CompTIA Network+ exam.

Take a practice test

Step 3; Get a good set of practice test questions; preferably one that works with your study materials and allows you to test on groups of chapters or topics. This way you can test yourself only on the topics you have studied so far, see where your weak areas are and go back and review them before you go on to the next group of topics.

Repeat

Step 4; Repeat this process one bite size set of topics at a time. Keep the amount of material you try to master at one time small, practice and test yourself until you are confident before you take the next bite. Pretty soon the elephant doesn’t look so big. Finally, once you have covered all the material for the entire exam use the practice test software to covering everything and find any last weak areas for review.

This step-by-step study methodology will help you tackle the large amount of material covered on the CompTIA Network+ exam in a systematic way that makes it easier to remember everything and make sure you are ready to pass the exam the first time.

The key to this approach is to find training videos, simulations and practice test software that work well together and allow you to use them in matching bite size pieces. Total Seminars offers videos, simulations and practice test software that all map to Mike Meyer All-in-One book. The author Mike Meyers offers Video training plus TotalSims, Network+ simulations and Total Tester, Network+ practice test software on his Total Seminars web site. Both these products track chapter by chapter with the videos. Total Seminars also has discount vouchers that will save you on the cost of the CompTIA exam.

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CompTIA Network+ N10-006 training materials available

May 14, 2015 in Uncategorized by

We’re putting the finishing touches on our training materials for the new CompTIA Network+ exam. Mike’s new All-in-One 6th edition book is in the warehouse. You can access updated TotalSims, Total Tester practice exams, and Mike’s new video series right now. Click the Network+ tab at the top of the page.

Also check out Mike’s Introduction to the NEW Network+ N10-006 video:

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Scott Jernigan’s on YouTube Fire!

April 22, 2015 in CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ by

Hey readers,

If you haven’t checked out Scott’s A+ and Network+ videos, do yourselves a favor and check them out at our YouTube channel. Here are three of my favorites:



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IT Workers in Hot Demand

January 26, 2015 in IT News by

“The IT industry as a whole has experienced remarkable growth within the last decade, actually growing faster than the number of qualified professionals available to fill positions. This current shortage of IT talent combined with our strengthening economy presents talented IT professionals with exceptional opportunities to not only find positions, but positions that pay well,” said Anthony Curlo, CEO of DaVinciTek, an IT recruiting and Staff Augmentation firm. The same statement cited research conducted by Robert Half, which said salaries for newly hired IT professionals are expected to increase 5.7 percent this year.

What’s interesting is that IT workers are in demand across all industries, not just technology companies. Corporate budget allocations for IT are expected to rise 3.2 percent and are a reflection of IT’s increasingly integral role in maintaining competitive operations for any business in any industry, according to statistics cited by DaVinciTek.

DaVinciTek points out four important trends for IT job seekers:

  1. Job seekers need to be open to various opportunities and position titles as they search for jobs, and should be willing to explore all offers, rather than take the first one that comes their way.
  2. Jobs in the mobile IT sector are particularly in high-demand. IT professionals with experience developing mobile applications can expect to find jobs rather easily in this market.
  3. Companies seeking IT professionals should be ready to make competitive offers; strong candidates will likely have multiple options, so the terms of an offer should not appear to undervalue the candidate’s talent.
  4. For those working towards an IT degree, consider specializing in specific IT positions projected to still be in high demand in 3-5 years, such as business analysts and cloud computing software engineers. For those still considering a degree in IT, know that the industry is predicated to continue to grow until at least 2020.

All this bodes well for solution providers and everyone involved in the IT industry. However, there is always a catch. With increasing opportunities, companies will have to make it more appealing to keep their current IT workers if they don’t want them to jump ship.

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