CompTIA Blog

Google’s new Project Glass is the stuff that futuristic dreams are made of. Designed by Google[x], Google’s secretive think tank that pushes the boundaries of technical innovation, these augmented reality “glasses” are designed to make interactions with technology nearly seamless. The concept video is fairly impressive (as concept videos tend to be), and many are already imagining possible applications for the new gadget.Photo credit: GoogleThe project announcement was greeted with a fair share ...

On Sarah Pang’s first day working for Illinois Sen. Alan Dixon, in the early 1980s, she asked the senator what her responsibilities would be.  “Are you willing to take out the garbage?” he asked.Pang said yes and didn’t take offense. “I knew exactly what he meant,” says Pang. “He wanted to know ‘Are you willing to do what it takes to make the place successful?’”Currently senior vice president of CNA’s corporate communications and public affairs and co-chair of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's transi ...

On Sarah Pang’s first day working for Illinois Sen. Alan Dixon, in the early 1980s, she asked the senator what her responsibilities would be.  “Are you willing to take out the garbage?” he asked. Pang said yes and didn’t take offense. “I knew exactly what he meant,” says Pang. “He wanted to know ‘Are you willing to do what it takes to make the place successful?’” Currently senior vice president of CNA’s corporate communications and public affairs and co-chair of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel' ...

A look at the week of April 3 in public advocacy for the IT channel:  The JOBS Act passed Congress and was sent to the President.  A new cyber bill favoring information sharing over regulation was introduced in the House.  Shawn Henry, executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch of the FBI, told the Wall Street Journal that America is losing the cyber war.JOBS Act Clears Congress — Legislation meant to make it easier for small companies to obtain capital fr ...

North Carolina has become a hotbed for IT jobs; Denver, Atlanta and Chicago keep growing and St. Louis has emerged as one of the top IT job markets, according to TEKsystems. Below is TEKsystems ranking of the top 10 markets where it has seen the most demand for IT workers. The company reports that the majority of IT worker demand is in specialized job roles: business analysts, project managers, .NET developers and mobility application developers, for example. Across the 10 top IT job markets, ...

In Wallace Wakefield’s line of work, it’s almost redundant to say that security is of the utmost importance. Nevertheless, Wakefield, who works in IT management for the U.S. Department of Defense, remains vigilant about ways to upgrade his knowledge and skill set in this vital sector. He thinks he’s found the latest key ingredient.As an early beta tester for the new CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner  (CASP) certification, Wakefield recounts the profound benefits.“Any time you can validate w ...

In Wallace Wakefield’s line of work, it’s almost redundant to say that security is of the utmost importance. Nevertheless, Wakefield, who works in IT management for the U.S. Department of Defense, remains vigilant about ways to upgrade his knowledge and skill set in this vital sector. He thinks he’s found the latest key ingredient. As an early beta tester for the new CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner  (CASP) certification, Wakefield recounts the profound benefits. “Any time you can va ...

Life certainly doesn’t stand still, and neither does the IT world. Ten years ago, who would have thought that Apple products would be found in more than half the households in the U.S. or that mobility devices would be crucial business tools? Change is inevitable, but the technology we employ in our personal and corporate lives seems to be advancing at greater speeds each and every year. Some of those advancements have come about so quickly that they have become commoditized almost overn ...

Takeaway of the week is we actually can survive a batch of seven days touching on the current IT job market without invoking the topics of cloud computing and big data. Some critical news this week discusses how Indian outsourcing efforts are helping U.S. workforce activity and the lack of IT skills could be the tipping point for spiraling youth unemployment in Europe. Study: Indian IT Outsourcing Helps Boost U.S. Workforce Outsourcing by Indian firms in the U.S. is helping to boost the employm ...

During the 2011 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference we hosted a panel discussion on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The session included me and three Microsoft partners with experience managing what has often been described as one of the most unnatural acts in business.It was a lively discussion about the role of M&A in building a vibrant IT services company and we touched on some of the pitfalls in consummating a successful deal. I thought the topic was so important that this would b ...

In early 2010, Melanie Moody had IT skills, having worked in the field for decades, but her skills were outdated because she had left her last IT job in 2005 due to health reasons. Fast Forward, a community technology center in Columbia, S.C., helped Moody earn CompTIA A+ and Network+ certifications to resume her IT career. Melanie Moody “Technology moves so fast in the IT field, when I tried to get back into it, I had a hard time; my knowledge was behind,” says Moody, who worked ...

In early 2010, Melanie Moody had IT skills, having worked in the field for decades, but her skills were outdated because she had left her last IT job in 2005 due to health reasons. Fast Forward, a community technology center in Columbia, S.C., helped Moody earn CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+ certifications to resume her IT career. “Technology moves so fast in the IT field, when I tried to get back into it, I had a hard time; my knowledge was behind,” says Moody, who worked as an office manager ...

In a remarkable show of bi-partisanship, the House passed the Senate-amended version of H.R. 3606 “Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act” by the wide margin of 380-41.  This legislation included six existing bills, four of which had passed the House already, and which have been supported by CompTIA as a means of infusing capital into small businesses.  The Senate amended the initial House version by adopting an amendment offered by Sen. Merkley, which was passed by a vote of 64-36.  This am ...

A look at the week of March 26 in public advocacy for the IT channel:  This week, the Senate passed the House’s JOBS Act, making it easier for small companies to raise capital.  Budget cuts are hindering the government’s ability to hire the best cyber employees.  NPR examines the risks that a cyberattack would have on U.S. critical infrastructure and the best regulatory course of action.Budget Cuts Put Cybersecurity at Risk — Budget limitations are harming the government’s ability to compete wit ...

An IT career was something Derrick Graham pursued for years, completing online-college level IT classes while enlisted in the Navy and working as an aircraft mechanic.  But it wasn’t until he completed CompTIA certifications required by Department of Defense Directive 8570 at a New Horizons Learning Center in Durham, N.C., that Graham won his first IT job. “I didn’t get my first break until after obtaining Security+, which met one of the DoD Directives,” says Graham, now a help desk ...