CompTIA Vouchers: The Perks Of Membership
CompTIA, or the Computing Technology Industry Association, is celebrating its first quarter of a century as the biggest developer of IT certification exams, and in the twenty five years since it started its vendor-neutral certification program in 1993, has issued more than nine hundred thousand IT certifications. Those certifications cover everything from networking, project management, hardware and servers, and IT security systems, to the Internet and e-business, Linux certification, and every conceivable IT related topic in between. And for those IT professionals employed by one of CompTIA's more than twenty thousand member companies, the cost of the certification exams can be covered by CompTIA vouchers. CompTIA certifications, especially the A+ and Network+ certifications, are regarded by thousands of companies as the standard for proof of basic IT skills, and are used to gauge an employee's potential for success. So CompTIA vouchers are much in demand, and are available from the CompTIA store at store.comptia.org, as well as from PearsonVue and The CompTIA vouchers are available for both the PearsonVue and Thompson Prometric exam versions, and at two levels of pricing. Domestic CompTIA vouchers cover exams held in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada; international CompTIA vouchers are good for all other countries in which the exams are conducted. There are CompTIA vouchers available for all exam topics, but each voucher, regardless of its price is good for only a specific exam. The CompTIA vouchers are valid until their listed expiration dates, which occur one year from their purchase dates. Even if the price of a CompTIA exam increases during that period, the voucher will remain valid. The CompTIA vouchers for the A+ certification are good for any of the three A+ certifications, CompTIA A+ IT Technician, Remote Support Technician, and Depot Technician. Each of them is priced domestically at $163, with the CompTIA vouchers providing a 21% discount and reducing the price to $128. If you are interested in getting CompTIA A+ certification, check with your employer to determine if your company is a member of CompTIA. If so you will be able to purchase the CompTIA voucher. Also do everything you can to ensure you pass the exams on your first try, because you will have to pay for every additional effort. If you buy either a PearsonVUE or Thompson Prometric CompTIA voucher, you will be expected to take your exam at one of the centers belonging to the organization from which your purchased it; they are no exchangeable. Both companies charge the same for their vouchers, so your best bet is to pick the nearest center. You have to buy your CompTIA vouchers in advance; they are not available at the testing centers, and they are not refundable. So make sure the voucher you get is for the correct testing center. If you employer is not a member of CompTIA, you still may be able to find sites offering the CompTIA A+ vouchers at a discount, although it will be less of a discount than that available to member companies' employees. Many of these discount vendors bundle study guides with their discount vouchers for an extra price, in order to comply with the restrictions which CompTIA placed on the sales of stand-alone discount vouchers in 2003. |
