CompTIA

The CompTIA organization (Computing Technology Industry Association) has been operating since 1982. It currently has over 20,000 members in 102 countries. Headquartered in Chicago, CompTIA also has offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, and Washington D.C..

CompTIA's stated mission is to advance the growth of the IT industry through standards, professional competence, and education. It is most well known for its generalist certifications. Among these certifications are:

• A+ certification for technical support technicians
• i-Net+ for Internet technologies, particularly website management
• Linux+ for administering Linux workstations and servers
• Network+ for network technicians and analysts
• Security+ for information security practicioners
• Server+ for system administrators

CompTIA certification programs are constantly expanding as new needs become apparent. CompTIA certifications are good for life, which can be nice, but can also create a misleading concept of a person's skillset.