Does it pay to be A+ Certified?
Updated: 02/16/2012
There is a lot of back and forth on this with on one side the extreme advocates that will claim you can’t get employed without it to the oversimplifying belittlers that will claim A+ is so basic it’s irrelevant and of course, as is almost always the case, both extremes are wrong.
UPDATED! For the IT salaries and openings in 2021, click here
Different ways A+ can “pay”
Typically a question not fully understood will generate confusing answers. When we are answering the “Does it pay to be A+ Certified?” question it is important to be very specific about exactly what “does it pay” may mean. The way I look at it there are three major ways in which a certification track can “pay”:
1) If it gives you a higher pay reflecting the high value of the certification.
2) If it lands you the job when competing with someone applying for the same job but that is not certified.
3) If the certification process is such that for you to succeed you have to acquire new skills/knowledge that you will then be rewarded for.
How much experience do you have?
Where you are in your career will have a huge bearing on which of the above three scenarios may be the most relevant to your situation.
If you are new to the industry with little or no experience then 2) will by far be the most important one. You are not going to worry about making 20% more than nothing. You are going to worry about landing that job that will be your foot in the door.
If you already have a few years of experience then 1) above may be all that matters to you.
If three materializes for you, then in the long run that will translate into faster advancement, more job security/stability, and ultimately better pay.
As you may have noticed, all three points above are prefaced by an “if”. Let’s look closer at the data and try to figure out what the answers really are.
The PC Support Pay Scale and A+ Certification
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the outlook for the PC Repairman position is attractive with a projected growth rate of 17% between 2012 -2022. As demand drives price, technicians are looking at an average pay of $48,900 annually (for more on this read the CertBlaster salary survey for PC Support Technicians).
Geography Matters
It is important to understand that most A+ pay rates are based on a national average and many support technicians are currently paid substantially less. The two most determining factors for that variance are A) geography – the tech in Boise, Idaho is not getting the same pay as the tech on Manhattan (on the bright side he does not pay the same rent either…) and B) experience. There is a huge difference between zero and say three years’ experience. Having said that let’s try to get a bit more of a detailed idea of what that pay looks like.
According to CompTIA: “IT professionals with certifications on their resume command better jobs, earn higher salaries, and have more doors open to new multi-industry opportunities. The average salary for a CompTIA A+ certified tech in 2010 was $50,364, according to a ComputerWorld salary survey.” Now that’s what the stats say, let’s fact-check that against real jobs being offered right now. As of February 2015, the “Desktop Support Technician” job at simplyhired.com was advertised at $47,000:
…while the A+ Certified Desktop Support Technician on that same site was offered an average of $56,000 per year:
That is a pretty significant spread of 12% or $6,000 more per year for the A+ Certification.
Looking at the various sources above it seems that assuming that a non-certified tech would make a bit under 5$0,000 and those that are A+ certified a bit above $50,000 would not be unreasonable. Another great source you can consult for these kinds of jobs is Jooble.org.
I mentioned geography above, so let’s see what those differences may be. I have chosen New York and Boise to represent the very large city vs the small heartland city. I have also selected the non-certified support tech because I worry that Boise may not have enough openings requiring A+ certification to yield a relevant statistical sample.
Desktop Support Technician average: $47,000
Desktop Support Technician in Boise, ID: $41,000 (-$6,000)
Desktop Support Technician in Boise, ID: $58,000 (+$8,000)
As you can see the spread is a pretty dramatic 40%+ or a $14,000 spread from lowest to the highest again, it does reflect a dramatic difference in cost of living between these two extremes.
So those were the numbers in 2015 – Fast forward to 2021 and it looks a bit different:
Technology Services & Operations – Help Desk
| Position | Lowest Quartile1) | Upper 95th 2) | Certification |
| Help desk Tier 1 | $35,250 | $57,250 | A+ (220-1001 & 220-1002) |
| Help desk Tier 2 | $41,500 | $67,000 | A+ (220-1001 & 220-1002) |
| Help desk Tier 3 | $50,750 | $82,000 | A+ (220-1001 & 220-1002) |
Experience vs. Certification
Experience vs. certification is always a very significant consideration when it comes to IT certification but even more so when it comes to A+ certification. Why? Because since A+ certification is an entry-level certification the experience vs. certification conundrum can be especially acute for the job seeker. It’s the issue of all those ads asking for experience that the newly trained, newly A+ certified individual faces. Now, don’t get me wrong, just because this issue is out there it does not make entry-level certification useless as some will claim. Although I don’t have any studies on this, my belief has always been that the candidate in this position without certification will have a much longer job search than the one that at least has that on his resume. What I have seen are employers that just ended up taking a chance on somebody new and inexperienced even when their ideal scenario required experience. There is no question that the employer who in that situation, is facing two more or less equal applications, will lessen the risk by hiring the certified candidate.
If you are a new entrant into the profession and you know you are going to only face ads requiring experience then go volunteer somewhere. Offer your free support services at a local nonprofit, for-profit, local high school, or college. It doesn’t matter where just get even a few months of experience because in the eyes of most employers there is a world of difference between no experience and a little experience. In part, this is because now, even after just a handful of months of volunteering, you have not only a little experience but also a professional reference in desktop support. That is very significant as it will, in the eyes of your prospective employer, contribute to reducing the risk of hiring you.
The impact of A+ on the likely hood of getting the job
We covered the A+ certification vs. no certification above. In addition to this, there are situations where employers will only hire technicians that are A+ certified. The most common situations where that occurs is 1) the vendors that the employer works with will only allow A+ certified technicians to perform warranty work, 2) the company is an A+ certified service center which means at least half their technicians have to be certified.
Here is an example of an ad that asks for A+ certification:
Geek Squad Advanced Repair Agent
What does a Geek Squad Advanced Repair Agent do?
Do all things technology fire you up? Can you swap a motherboard or hook up a home theater system blindfolded? Does the thought of installing an LCD in an SUV, and getting paid for it, make you salivate? If you answered yes to any of these questions, congratulations, your dream career might be waiting for you at Geek Squad. We invite you to join our illustrious ranks.
Preferred Requirements:
High School diploma or equivalent
Associate degree in PC repair/Networking
1+ year’s retail or customer service experience
A+ certification or equivalent
Here is another ad, this one requires the ability to pass A+ within 90 days of employment:
A+ Certified, Level 1 Field Technician – Augusta, GA – Contract to Hire
At CompuCom, we set you up for job success right from the start. Our precision recruiting process aligns the right fit for the right people.
Provides technical support to customers on operational or maintenance aspects of system equipment. Performs service, repair, and/or installation of company product(s) including system hardware, software, PCs, and Point of Sale (POS) equipment. Diagnoses mechanical, hardware, software, and systems failures, using established procedures. Determines the most cost-effective repair/resolution to minimize customer downtime.
Qualifications:
Ability to attain A+ certification with 90 days of employment
This second ad (seen at dice.com) does not list any prior experience under requirements.
So, does it pay to be A+ Certified?
With over 1,000,000 certified individuals (since February this year), the A+ certification is hands down the most successful IT certification program ever offered. This level of success does not come by accident and certainly not to an “irrelevant” certification.
It stands to reason that whatever your situation, you will be more compelling as an applicant with it than without it. We have also seen that it is very likely that if you are A+ certified and competing with a similar applicant but without certification, you are clearly at an advantage.
Finally, as we have seen above, the annual salary difference of several thousands of dollars between certified vs. not certified would easily justify the expense and effort to get A+ certified.
Taking all this into consideration, it seems to me there are practically no scenarios whereby a non-certified individual would not see a significant advantage by gaining A+ certification.
So what does it take to get the CompTIA A+ certification?
You have to succeed at two exams:
A+ Hardware Exam 220-1001- 90 questions – 1:30 hrs
A+ Software Exam 220-1002- 90 questions – 1:30 hrs
The grading scale is a bit funky as you are evaluated on a scale from 100 to 900. The passing score on the CompTIA A+ 220-1001 exam is 675 and for the CompTIA 220-1002 exam, it is 700. What this works out to in terms of percentages is about 72% for 220-1001 and about 75% 220-1002. This means that with a total of 90 questions per exam you will need at least 65 correct answers on 220-1001 and no less than 68 on 220-1002.
Whatever you do, don’t underestimate the “entry-level” exam
Because the objectives are so wide-ranging and unless you have a lot of professional experience, it will take a fair amount of work to prepare for this exam. If you doubt this just take a look at the A+ objectives as published by CompTIA, between the two exams you are looking at 44 pages of published exam objectives you could get queried on…
If you need to get a feeling for the A+ exam before sitting at the Pearson/VUE Testing Center then the CertBlaster CompTIA A+ practice test can be a good way to go.
Does it pay to be A+ Certified?
Well, yes. There is little doubt that the investment in A+ certification which can be kept well under $1000,00 (book or online content + CompTIA exam fees) and a bunch of hours will pay for itself several times over.
16 thoughts on “Does it pay to be A+ Certified?”
I want to take A+ network & security exam. Please help ‘nn
Hi Sachin, we do not understand waht you mean when you say “Please hel ‘nn”. Could you clarify?
Thank you for this article.
I’ve been looking for literature that could help me with getting certified. I’ve been seriously considering taking up courses and certification on CompTIA as a way to increase my worth as an employee. A move to IT has been on my radar for some time now.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you for this publication, I am in my first semester on the Network Adminsitration track and I want to take my A+certfication in a few months I have the book and the lab book. I have 4 chapters left and plan on training myself from 1st page to last then back again. I htouroughly enjoy learning this.
Thank you so much for your comment, Jeanette! We absolutely love to hear back from our users. You may or not be aware that we offer free A+ ExamNotes for A+ 220-901 & A+ 220-902. Take a look and see if you think it can be a helpful supplement to your studies. We wish you the best of luck in your quest for certification!
Does this article account for high education (degrees)? Would I be Hireable with just the certification and no degree?
A+ has been the stepping stone and door opener into the IT field for countless people (over one million are now A+ certified). Some had a degree, some not. Depending on the employer and the job description a degree can be a plus but in some cases, the employer couldn’t care less but will instead want a certification. Some employers make A+ a hiring requirement while not asking for a degree at all.
Would it be better to have an IT degree with the A+ certification? What is the salary difference between not having an IT degree with the A+ Certificate and not having an IT degree with the A+ Certificate?
This is a really good question that unfortunately doesn’t have too precise an answer mostly due to a shortage of studies. We have seen many people entering the IT support field with A+ as the sole credential and then later adding on more certifications and/or degrees. There are several factors at play here: If you get more pay with a degree, then how much more? Enough to pay back the tuition and cost of no or reduced revenue for 2 – 4 years? Is college for you? If you can’t stand the school environment then, of course, that answers itself and the opportunity is to rack up experience and one certification after the other. We have seen people do that and some of them are six-figure earners today. Many college graduated IT professionals are six-figure earners too though. Sorry for the lack of definition here but there are just too many factors at play (personal and otherwise) to offer a very black and white type answer.
I am very much interested in taking the a+ certification but have seen comments on some sites stating the CompTia class is not helpful. Do you know this to be true because I would really like to register for a class that I know will benefit me in passing both test the first time? I understand there are study materials and have reviewed some YouTube videos but I just want to make sure I invest money spent on prepping and taking the test wisely.
Hi Janelle, we are assuming that when you say “class” you mean a course taken in a classroom with an instructor present. What is important when selecting one of those is to make sure you pick one that is at your level. Most failed classroom experiences are based on a rookie signing up for a class that is taught at a higher level. If you are new to IT, then make sure to pick a class that states “no prerequisites”. Also, if you can, try to audit the class to verify it is what you want. We hope this helps,
I am making a career change from an unrelated field to becoming a network engineer. What are some of the suggestions to quicken that transition? What in your opinion is a reasonable time frame for a person new IT to become A+ certified ? What are other certifications that you would suggestions? If any?
Hi Shaka, this can only be very general advice because we don’t know your situation well enough to be more specific. Assuming you are starting absolutely from scratch then here is a plan that may work:
Study for and pass A+ certification (A+ has launched innumerable career changers into IT), get a very entry level job in PC/Device support. Then while working immediately start studying for Network+ to start establishing some upward mobility.
To study for A+ research the net for resources and buy a PC that you can use for your hands-on lab work. Give yourself no less than 6 months. While studying (but after achieving some basic proficiency) try to volunteer in a local organization for PC support, it could the library, a church or any organization like that. This will give you some experience and also enable you to build a resume.
This is short but about all we can do without knowing more about your particulars. Best of luck in your quest for a new career!
I have been A+ certified since 2007. I have been in the field since 1996. The people who do not have and A+ Certification are the ones who say “it doesn’t matter”.
The test is a fair representation of someone with a degree in Computer Electronics who has been working in the field for at least one year.
If you think it is a bogus test TAKE IT. And prepare to be humiliated.
It looks like it is possible to still make close to 50000 per year as a computer repairman. Would it be possible for a non certified tech to compete with the certified techs successfully?
That is a very interesting question, Tracy! Unfortunately, like all interesting questions, this one doesn’t come with a simple answer. One way to answer it is probably in many cases “yes, but it won’t be a level playing field”. In some cases, the answer will be “absolutely NOT”, those cases are whenever a service contract or a warranty contract demands the work be done by certified individuals. This is true of most guarantee jobs on equipment from the major tech companies. Another typical case is IT contract work for the DoD or any of its subcontractors, those almost always require IT certification. Having said that, if you work outside the above-mentioned scenarios, then anyone with the correct set of skills and dedication should be able to compete with a certified tech.