A lot of people show up to the IT certification conversation asking if the A+ is still relevant. That’s a fair question, and I’m going to give you a straight answer: yes, it absolutely is, and if you’re just starting out in IT, it’s probably the first thing you should be studying for right now.
Here’s the thing about the CompTIA A+. It has been around since 1993, which in tech years is basically the Jurassic period. You’d think that would make it irrelevant. Instead, it has become the de facto baseline that hiring managers use when they want to know if a help desk candidate has any idea what they’re talking about. It’s the equivalent of a driver’s license for IT. Nobody’s particularly impressed that you have one, but they will absolutely notice if you don’t.
The exam covers two domains: Core 1 (220-1101) and Core 2 (220-1102). Core 1 gets into hardware, networking basics, virtualization, and cloud fundamentals. Core 2 covers operating systems, security, software troubleshooting, and operational procedures. You need to pass both to earn the cert, and together they’ll run you around $250 to $260 in exam fees depending on where you test.
Is that a lot of money? Kind of. Is it a lot compared to a four-year degree? Not even close. The return on that investment can be a starting salary anywhere from $40,000 to $55,000 depending on your market. For a credential you can earn in a few months of serious studying, that math works out pretty well in your favor.
The people who tell you the A+ is useless are usually folks who already have jobs in IT and forgot what it was like to be the person with no experience trying to get their foot in the door. When you have nothing on your resume to demonstrate technical competence, the A+ is doing heavy lifting. It tells a recruiter that you sat down, learned something real, paid money to prove it, and passed a proctored exam under real test conditions. That’s more than most applicants walking in cold with nothing to show.
Study materials are everywhere. Professor Messer offers free content on YouTube and his website that has helped an enormous number of people pass this exam. CompTIA also sells official study materials, and there are solid practice exam tools on Udemy and ExamTopics that are genuinely worth your time. Most people with no prior IT background are looking at two to four months of consistent studying before they feel ready to sit for the exams.
One thing worth knowing going in: CompTIA requires you to renew the A+ every three years through their Continuing Education program. You can do that by earning continuing education units, passing a higher-level exam, or retaking the test. It’s not a huge burden, but it’s not a one-and-done deal either, so factor that into your planning.
The bottom line is that the CompTIA A+ is worth it in 2026 for anyone trying to break into IT. It won’t land you a senior engineer role on its own, but it will get you taken seriously at the entry level. That’s exactly what it’s supposed to do, and it does it well.
Big Dog Cert
Alright, lemme give it to ya straight. No sugarcoating, no corporate fluff, just the real deal. I'm Mike. Fifty years on this planet, and I've done it all. I started out in IT back when "the cloud" was just what you saw out the window, worked my way through HR (yeah, I've been the guy who had to sit across the table from people and keep a straight face), and then did a stretch in sales where I learned real quick that if you can't sell yourself, nobody's buying what you're pitching. Three careers. One guy. Zero patience for textbooks that read like they were written by robots.