How much money can you expect to make with CompTIA’s A+ on your resume?
We’ll dive into this question as we explore what your job prospects look like after obtaining the A+ certification.
CompTIA’s A+ is an entry-level certification that will open the door to a wealth of IT and cyber security positions. It’s a stepping-stone certification you can use to propel yourself into the world of digital security.
Let’s learn about the positions CompTIA’s A+ prepares you for as well as the CompTIA A+ certification salary expectations. We’ll also discuss the ways your career might progressing after acquiring this population certification.
Overview of the CompTIA A+ Certification
CompTIA A+ is an entry-level IT certification that requires test takers to pass two exams. The certification lasts for three years. Each exam lasts 90 minutes and is comprised of multiple-choice and performance-based questions. See our "Best CompTIA A+ Practice Questions to Prepare for the Exam" for more information.
A+ covers a broad range of topics that CompTIA believes entry-level professionals should have an understanding of, including but not limited to:
- Hardware
- Networking
- Operating Systems
- Software Troubleshooting
- Cyber Security
- Virtualization & Cloud Computing
What Does CompTIA A+ Certification Prepare You For?
Before discussing CompTIA A+ certification salary, let’s learn about positions asking that applicants have CompTIA A+.
Employers will often want applicants to have other skills to accompany their certification; however, obtaining CompTIA A+ is a great way to get your application noticed. Here are six common positions that require applicants to have CompTIA’s A+ certification.
Help Desk Technician
A help desk technician is the first person many clients will interact with when troubleshooting. Their primary responsibility is to provide remote technical support over the phone or Internet. Help Desk Technicians must have both hard and soft skills as they are customer-facing.
IT Support Manager
If you already have help desk experience, you may consider applying for the position of IT Support Manager. These managers head up help desk and technical support specialist teams. IT Support Managers must be the go-to person whenever an issue that a help desk technician is struggling to resolve.
They are knowledgeable but also know how to facilitate the ideal environment for their teams to thrive.
MSP Personnel
MSP stands for managed service provider. Their aim is to work closely with clients to help develop IT solutions that address their business needs. MSP Personnel also help manage these technical solutions, provide remote and on-site support, develop long and short-term tech strategies, and implement cyber security solutions.
MSP Personnel may have various responsibilities but their core objective is to make sure that clients are getting the most out of vendor solutions.
IT Instructor
Obtaining CompTIA A+ demonstrates that you have a baseline understanding of a range of IT topics. Schools, both at the lower and higher education levels, recognize the importance of teaching students the fundamentals of IT. If you want to pair your education expertise with your IT knowledge, becoming a teacher could be a viable professional path for you.
Field Service Technician
When we think of IT jobs, we often imagine someone sitting behind a desk all day without having to stand up except for a coffee break. That isn’t the case with a Field Service Technician. Their position requires them to troubleshoot and evaluate technology issues in the field. This means they help clients get the most out of their software and hardware on-site.
Field Service Technicians often bounce around town dealing with hardware issues in an in-person and hands-on manner.
IT Specialist
Once you’ve graduated from a help desk position, the next logical step for many is to become an IT Specialist. An IT Specialist has many of the same responsibilities as a Help Desk Technician. The main difference lies in dealing with more complex issues, such as network troubleshooting, maintaining endpoints' performance, and handling internal technical support.
Job Opportunities and Salary
CompTIA’s A+ certification will go a long way towards receiving a job offer in IT.
The following positions are mostly entry-level positions you will be qualified for after obtaining CompTIA A+. Let’s explore these job opportunities and the CompTIA A+ certification salary expectations.
Help Desk Technician
Help Desk Technician jobs (also known as Help Desk Support) are often full-time, on or offsite positions. Many employers will want you to have at least the A+ certification however there are many that do not require this certification.
Companies hiring for this position are often in the following industries:
- Healthcare
- Education
- IT
A Help Desk Technician’s salary can vary depending on their experience and location. That being said the average Help Desk Technician salary is $47K. However, that may range from $39K to $57K.
Help Desk Support is one of the most popular entry-level IT roles.
IT Instructor
IT Instructor positions are synonyms with that of IT Teacher or IT Professor.
Almost all of these positions are on-side, requiring the instructor to be in the school or place of work to provide hands-on teaching. However, some remote, part-time IT instructor positions with IT boot camps are available.
Many, if not all, of these roles ask that instructors have teaching experience. Some, but not all, also require teaching certification in the state in question. Employers also want applicants to have adequate experience in what they’re teaching or the appropriate certification. As the A+ is an entry-level certification, you may qualify to teach fundamental IT skills.
The average salary for an IT instructor is $77K. The range is $59K-$100K.
Infrastructure Support Specialist
At the time of writing nearly 1,000 Infrastructure Support Specialist positions were being advertised on LinkedIn.
An entry-level Infrastructure Support Analyst can expect to make around $85K a year. The position has a salary range of $55-75K.
IT Technician
An IT Technician has an average salary of $51K. However, what you’re ultimately paid may vary greatly depending on your experience. The salary range is between $26K and $79K.
There are plenty of entry-level IT Technicians; however, there are also more senior IT Technician positions with considerably higher salaries.
Field Service Technician
The average Field Service Technician salary comes to $58K. This breaks down to a range of $48L-$71K.
Field Service Technician job postings also ask that applicants have certifications such as CompTIA Network+ and/or CompTIA Security+.
CompTIA’s A+ isn’t the only entry-level IT certification on the market. Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) is a comparable in terms of content and intended audience. While they both cover the same material one is more coveted by employers than the other.
Here is the breakdown of how many job postings on the following websites ask for CompTIA A+ or CCST.
| Indeed | Glassdoor | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| CompTIA A+ | 8,171 | 5,483 | 2,925 |
| CCST | 680 | 384 | 57 |
Career Progression
As CompTIA’s A+ is an entry-level certification, those that obtain it have generally just started their journey into the vast field of IT.
As this is the first step in your budding IT career, where you want your career to lead is completely up to you.
Some areas you might consider exploring are:
- Cyber Security
- Programming
- AI
- Network Administration
IT offers a wealth of different career avenues for you to explore.
But before overwhelming yourself with possibilities, the next logical certifications for you to explore are Network+ and possibly Security+.
These certifications will build on your foundation and provide you with a well-rounded understanding of fundamental IT skills.
Here are some positions you may work towards as you continue your journey in IT along with their median salary:
- Cyber Security Engineer - $120K
- Malware Analyst - $100K
- Pentester - $130K
- Computer Forensics - $69K
- Cloud Architect - $120K
- Software Developer - $120K
- Data Scientists - $100K
Conclusion
CompTIA A+ certification salary expectations can range from $30,000 to as high as $100,000 depending on experience, location, job sector, etc.
These positions come in all different shapes and sizes, industries, and are both part and full-time, on and offsite.
CompTIA A+ is an entry-level IT certification, so obtaining it doesn’t automatically qualify you for more senior positions with higher salaries. You’ll need hands-on experience and/or other certifications if you want to earn a higher salary.
There are seemingly infinite tech positions out there. Obtaining CompTIA’s A+ is a great first step to getting your foot into the world of IT.
To expedite your transition into the wide world of IT access the StaionX Accelerator Program where you’ll have all the information and instruction needed to break into the field.
To best prepare for the A+ exam consider using the following lessons and practice tests.
Frequently Asked Questions
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