Strategize. Adapt. Succeed: Thriving Through Certification Changes
This past week CompTIA released its updated A+ Certification exam. This update, CompTIA A+ 220-1101/1102 to 220-1201/1202, aligns with modern trends and technologies. When CompTIA makes these updates, I get a lot of questions from students who are studying. So today I want to talk about some of these concerns.
First and foremost, for those who are studying right now, don’t panic. Due to the time between the release of the new objectives and the new exam, CompTIA has a testing overlap policy. Since schools are teaching and students are studying for these certifications, CompTIA allows students to take exams based on both the previous and new objectives during a transition period.
For example, CompTIA A+ updated on March 25th, you can now sit the 220-1201/1202 exams. In addition, the current exams (1101/1102) will remain available for approximately six months. This ensures that students who have already started preparing for the older objectives can complete their certification without disruption, while others can opt for the updated content.
Of course, the next question is which certification do you take, the old or the new? As far as CompTIA is concerned, the certification is a three-year certification. No matter which exam series you take, you are certified for three years to the topic.
When choosing, consider the current state of your studies. I think the biggest consideration is for those almost ready to take the exam, do you have the time to commit to learn the new tech on the exam? Let me summarize two CompTIA updates that are currently overlapping objectives for those who are trying to decide. A+ 220-110x vs 220-120x
- The new objectives expand on cloud computing and virtualization, including troubleshooting SaaS applications and hybrid environments.
- Updates include newer hardware like DDR5 RAM and NVMe storage, as well as the latest operating systems.
- No surprise in today’s world, greater focus on cybersecurity, covering endpoint security and threat detection.
- Complex, real-world troubleshooting scenarios, such as advanced network configurations and cloud-based service issues.
- Skills for remote diagnostics and connectivity problem resolution are emphasized due to today’s remote troubleshooting environment.
Cloud+ CV0-003 vs CV0-004
- CV0-004 emphasizes more advanced critical areas like cloud architecture, security, automation, and management, ensuring candidates are equipped for modern cloud environments.
- Topics such as containerization, cloud-native design concepts, and database optimization have been added.
- Traditional on-premises data center operations have been phased out to focus exclusively on cloud-specific skills.
- Greater emphasis on optimizing workloads and troubleshooting cloud management issues.
I hope this helps those who are studying for upcoming exams as they change in this ever-changing world of technology.
Talk to you next week,
Mike
