Hello,

I am sure I am not the only person with this problem. I am currently teaching an equivilent course in A+. I am also a certified proctor at the Certification Center that I also management.

Is there anyway other then drooping down as a Certified Proctor for Pearson Vie that I could take the A+ exam?

Any comments?

Russell

Hello,

We are looking at updating our PCs kits that we used for the Hands-on labs. Does anyone have any leads on cost-affordable kits they use? We are pricing out individual parts to work with but are wondering if anyone has found any "better" solutions?

Hi

I never received my exam voucher and I attended all the TTT sessions.

What to do?

Thanks

Are vouchers still going out for ttt

Hello,
We are trying to build up our bench with ITF+ and Network+ instructors. Please reply with a resume and references.

Thanks

Tony

During the last TTT series, John Guise was talking to me about how he was using AI to help with lesson plans and how his organization is adopting AI from an instructor's point of view. I thought it was very interesting and have asked John if he would be will to share and demonstrate some of the practices they are adopting and utilizing as they develop courses for their students. Join us for our first CIN Instructor Toolbox of 2024 as we take a look at how instructors can utilize AI.

What: two-hour webinar highlighting tools and best practices for implementing AI in your training environment.
When: Wednesday February 28, 2024, 1:00 p.m. CST
Where: ON24
Who: John Guise, ECPI University

Register Now

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/4486710/09C0D5E67B6F30021526550AD7534FC3

I see lots of job postings both here and on other job websites. Unfortunately, many recruiters have highly unrealistic expectations and then wonder why they don't get a lot of quality applicants. Here are some of the common issues I see and how they could be improved.

Many jobs posted as "entry level" aren't really entry level. They require advanced degrees such as Masters Degrees, multiple certifications such as CASP+/CISSP/CISM, several years of experience with cloud/cybersecurity/programming/infrastructure/risk management, That is not entry level. That is advanced level. People with that complete list of qualifications will not apply for your "entry level" position. Masters Degrees should only be required for mid to upper management level positions. CASP+/CISSP/CISM are advanced certifications. If you want entry level, Security+ should be the most advanced certification you recommend (not require).

Most jobs do not list salary ranges, and then they require applicants to go through multiple rounds of interviews. There is nothing more frustrating for job applicants and recruiters than to schedule a series of interviews with different stakeholders over the course of several weeks only to discover the position pays significantly less than the amount the applicant is seeking. No offense, but I"m 52 years old with 30+ years of experience so I don't want your $30K per year job. Start with four times that amount and I might be interested. Recruiters should do themselves and the applicants a huge favor. List the salary range. If you don't get a large pool of applicants, look at both the salary range and the requirements. You may not be aligned with industry trends.

Some industries just don't understand the marketplace. High schools, colleges, and government typically pay a tiny fraction of the rate that the open market and public/private companies pay. Why would you want to teach at a high school for $40K or to teach at a college for $66K when you can teach corporate customers for $90K or more? If you're offering less than $100K for someone with a Masters Degree in a technical field, such as cybersecurity, the good applicants will find employment elsewhere. Do your research to find out what a Python developer with seven years experience makes. Or what the average CySA+ or PenTest+ certification holder makes. There are plenty of online resources for researching salaries.

Many jobs are nothing more than side hustles. Lots of jobs are part-time or term contract work. I worked as an independent contractor for 12 years. It's inconsistent work at best, there are no benefits whatsoever, and you are responsible for your own taxes, and it required constant travel. I was on the road 5 days per week for 45 weeks per year. That's exhausting work for a lower quality of life. Part-time work is an option only if you already have a full time job with a very flexible schedule, which means you won't get many applicants for classes taught every Tuesday during the day for ten weeks. Consider creating full-time salaried positions.

Many jobs offer the bare minimum in benefits packages. Two weeks per year of time off? Thanks but no thanks. Try starting with three or four weeks. Medical/dental/vision plans should be reasonable and affordable. 401k options should include company matching. Incentive-based bonus structures are welcomed. Offer comprehensive onboarding and career development options. The more you invest in your employees, the more likely they are to be productive and to remain loyal.

Many jobs require working onsite or hybrid work. That eliminates countless highly qualified fully remote applicants from the potential job pool. The vast majority of tech work, especially training and education, can be done 100% remotely. My wife and I moved to the Tampa Bay, Florida area last year and we have no intentions of moving elsewhere. Quality of life matters with today's job seekers. If the job can be done remotely, list it as a remote position. Occasional travel is fine, but remote workers are more productive because they don't waste countless hours commuting. And you save a lot of money on office rentals, supplies, utilities, taxes, etc.

For applicants, pay attention to the language in the job listings. Also pay attention to the hiring process. If an organization has unrealistic expectations in the hiring process, they most likely have unrealistic expectations every day at work.

From your professional opinion, what are your thoughts on my question below?:

Discuss the diverse and evolving nature of the IT industry, including various sectors and career opportunities.

Hello, CIN family. Have anyone heard anything about the new Network+ TTT start date?

QUANTUM INTRINSIX is looking for instructors (USA only) that can teach various CompTIA courses. It is preferred that the instructors reside near the Maryland / DC / VA area. However, QUANTUM INTRINSIX would be willing to work with instructors that can deliver remotely. The instructor would be a 1099 contractor. If you are interested, please send a private message to us via Inbox.

QUANTUM INTRINSIX is headquartered in Maryland. Are there any instructors (must be based in USA due to constraints) that would be available to assist QUANTUM INTRINSIX with instruction and/or course delivery? It would be most helpful if the instructors were within close proximity to the State of Maryland.

Big Blue is 100! I bet at one time or another we all had our hands on at least one version of an IBM PC. Isn't it funny how time and technology keep passing by?

I noticed a lot of discussion about how Comptia determines the differences between Managerial and Operational Controls?
On example is Awareness Programs (Training) because depending on the author, some categorize them as Managerial while others consider it as an Operational Control.
What are your thoughts? and what are your recommendations on how to better explain this to students (and even to explain them why testout content differs from most internet sources)?

Has anyone mapped the NIST KSAs to CompTIA's courses? Specifically, I'm looking at Sec+ and Net+ to start with. I plan on mapping them myself, but if someone has already done it, then I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

I know that ICS2 and CompTIA are competitors in the certification space. However as a teacher in the high schools space I am always looking for low cost and free resources to help my students start in the field. I have come across the (ICS)2 One million certified in Cyber promotion they are doing.

I ran though there free training material in a few hours and am trying it out on some of my students to see what they think of it. It seems to be a base level of “very” basic knowledge of Cybersecurity. I wanted to know what other thoughts on it are if any.

I am still going to keep my main certifications with CompTIA and Cisco for my class but do people think if the material is easier to understand for the students would you use it with your classes (High school students).


This is something that I wish CompTIA would jump on, a basic Cybersecurity certification that is not geared to technical. That both non-IT professional and IT starters could take.

PS if anyone has any other material that they want to share would love to know of more. I am always looking for ways my students can do more.

Greetings,
I publish a couple of times a month on the page below. I try to make sure the skills emphasized are aligned with Sec+/PenTest+, but are on level with what one might expect on an exam like the OSCP. I do teach cybersecurity certification classes and I find that labs like these work really well for individuals who want to go beyond the test training, apply what they are learning, and develop notes that are easily referenced when tackling challenges on sites like Hack-the-Box.

Perhaps someone out there will find these labs useful either individually or in the classroom!
https://medium.com/@josh.beck2006

I am just curious what all is included in the CertMaster curriuculm? I currently have a class of students whose teacher left mid year so I am scrabbling trying to find currciulum for them that might be self lead.

SINCE THE A+ 2001 CORE1 SCSI HAS BE IN THE IN THE Curriculum and the 220-1101 while it has appeared both the 2001 and 220-1101 as some who also goes out to clients to sort their Desktop PCS I am yet I see one any where in the field once SATA came I am yet a physical with SCSI,

The last question I got book and the objectives covers IDE 40 pin cable. I think back I have had to work on most PCs with Sata , So I dont recall getting a machine to fix with scsi and IDE 40pin,

Can any share where we have these and don't make use of this ? in my filed work with desktops?

thanks
Peter

I accidently booked one of my students for Security+ SY0-701, but he wanted to write 601 while it's still available.
(And that's the content he's studied for)
We run our PearsonVue test center, so I think there is an option to cancel the order.
But I'm worried that the voucher will not be available again. (or will it be usable again so I can book him for the correct exam?)
Can anyone confirm this?
Thanks!


EDIT: I phoned pearsonvue and they were going to get me a new voucher code. While on the phone, I cancelled the order, and then re-tried to book with the correct exam, and the voucher code worked again! So all is good.

Due to circumstances at my school, I have been asked to come up with some activities for the remainder of the year for our Data & AI students. I was wondering if there is any training curriculum out there for the Data+ certification?

I saw one slide from Comptia official documentation that listed "Antivirus Software" as a example of Physical Security.
I never heard that before so I was wondering if any of you have seen that statement before.

After repeatedly refreshing, I'm still encountering the same error. Is there a solution available to address this issue?


ing

In the past Academic Partners were able to receive discount codes for the CompTIA exams. However, now we cannot get the codes. Trying to figure out why. Any attempt to get answers, well.... there are none. In the previous year, requesting the codes only took a day or two. Now, we have been requesting for weeks and still no resolution. We have numerous students waiting to test and without the discount codes, financially, there is no way for them to test otherwise. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Topic 3A in the 701 course uses "encoding" and "encryption" as synonyms. I think students should understand the difference between the two terms.

I would appreciate knowing what other instructors think about these terms. Does encoding = encryption?

I would also appreciate feedback from a CompTIA SME. What is CompTIA's definition of encoding, and CompTIA's definition of encryption?


My notes on the use of "encoding" in Topic 3A [edited 2/15/2024 to distinguish my opinions from the CompTIA course content]:


Lesson 3: Explain Cryptographic Solutions, Topic 3A, Slide 4

CompTIA content:
"Cryptographic Concepts
Encryption and decryption—encoding and decoding
Plaintext is the unencoded message
Ciphertext is the coded message"

I think this content is misleading, unhelpful, or inaccurate because:
Students need to learn the difference between encoding and encryption. This slide should not confuse encryption and decryption with encoding and decoding. If encoding is mentioned at all, the slide should point out that encoding is not cryptography or encryption.

Lesson 3: Explain Cryptographic Solutions, Topic 3A, Page 38, first paragraph

CompTIA content:
“A cryptographic algorithm is the particular operations performed to encode or decode data.”

I think this content is not accurate because:
Encoding is not the same as encrypting.
Encryption uses a cryptographic key as one of the inputs to a cryptographic algorithm. Encoding does not use a cryptographic algorithm or require the use of a cryptographic key. Geeks for Geeks has an explanation of the difference.
One example of encoding is the use of ASCII codes to represent letters of the alphabet. No cryptographic algorithm or cryptographic key is used.

Page 38, second paragraph:

CompTIA content:
‘Cryptography, which literally means “secret writing,” is the art of making information secure by encoding it. ‘

I think this content is not accurate because:
Cryptography is “transformation of data in order to hide their semantic content, prevent their unauthorized use, or prevent their undetected modification.” Encryption and hashing can provide this confidentiality or integrity, however encoding does not.
Using ASCII or Morse code are examples of encoding; however they are not examples of cryptography.

Lesson 11: Enhance Application Security Capabilities | Topic 11A, page 317, Question 2

CompTIA content:
“the session key does the actual data encoding”

I think this content is not accurate because:
First, the answer should say “encryption,” not “encoding.”
Second, the key does not do the actual encryption. The encryption algorithm does the encryption, using the key as one of the inputs.

Out of curiosity..

Michael