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“The IT technician’s role is increasingly more complex and sophisticated than in the days of the break-fix PC repairman,” said Terry Erdle, executive vice president, skills certification at CompTIA, in a statement. “Today they are responsible for a myriad of technologies, from mobile devices and wireless to security and virtualization. The new CompTIA A+ exams reflect this reality.”

To earn CompTIA A+ certification, individuals must pass the first exam (220-801), which includes PC hardware, networking, laptops, printers, and operational procedures, and the second exam (220-802), which covers operating systems, security, mobile devices, troubleshooting, and integration of computing devices in a network. Multiple choice, multiple selection, and calculator-assisted questions are included in the updated examinations, as well as performance-based questions that require certification candidates to perform a task or solve a problem within a simulated IT environment.

The following CompTIA Authorized Partners are offering educational materials and training resources:

As of now, the updated exams are only being offered in English, however, other languages will be introduced in the upcoming months. Complete exam objectives are available on the CompTIA certification website. More than 900,000 IT professionals have earned the CompTIA A+ credential since it was first introduced in 1993.

Certification also has a positive impact on workers’ paychecks. A recent Northern Illinois University survey found that earnings for community college students with a CompTIA certification increased 12.26 percent within nine months of earning the credential, compared to a 2.71 percent earnings increase for students without a certification.