Compcert Courses -- Where's The Beef

[Steve Linthicum]

I'm wondering if these "CompTIA Compcert courses" that are not tied to actual CompTIA certifications are going to result in opportunities for instructor work, teaching classes that at best result in a "certificate of attendance"? In my decades of teaching as well as selling new courses to employers, students, and curriculum committees, that path has been made much more successful because of the recognition of CompTIA as a "Certification Issuer".

Thoughts?

Steve

 

[BrianFord]

I've completed the AI Essentials and the Prompting courses. While there isn't a certificate there is a final assessment and I believe the opportunity to earn a badge. The final assessment isn't at a testing center; it is from CompTIA and is a part of the course. That reduces the cost and I think the learners anxiety level. There isn't a path to a cert here. In my opinion these courses are more about learning in a rapidly evolving field of tech rather than proving that the learner can demonstrate some knowledge.

The challenge for instructors will be to facilitate learning. Working with learners individually and in small groups. I can see offering AI Essentials as a five meeting webinar or seminar where each meeting is 90-120 minutes long. The learners should be doing the reading and activities themselves. The instructors role will be to emphasize high points, answer questions, cover additional materials (web based AI tools like Gemini, NotebookLM, Midjourney, HeyGen, etc,...) , and facilitate discussions amongst the learners about the various topics raised. I hope that organizations purchase this CompCert for their members.

 

[Gregory Childers]

Demand for CompTIA certs has been limited to A+, Net+, Sec+, and Cloud+. A few people take CySA+, PenTest+, SecurityX, and Project+, but employers don't ask for those certs on job listings. The rest of their certs are low demand from students and no demand from employers. The CompCerts will be fine for people who are pursuing knowledge for knowledge's sake on their own dime, but employers aren't likely to pay for a course that doesn't yield a respected certification or add skills directly to their current job role. I think the entire new line of CompCert courses will eventually be retired for lack of demand.

 

[Shea Bennett]

AI certification may have some demand, but the non-IT focused batch will likely crash and burn. That's what happens when execs are focused on money and don't talk to industry. If they focused on more hands-on and eliminated the ease of cheating from India and other countries. The exams would become way more valuable. I get sick and tired of people from India contacting me on LinkedIn offering to take CompTIA exams for me for a fee. Even when their reported, they pop up like wacamole. Multiple choice exams are just not good to me without hands-on labs integrated into the exam.

 

[Steve Linthicum]

My concern from an outside observer perspective about Compcert is best illustrated by a comparative analysis of two offerings. The first offering is connected directly to the CySA+, and as noted it is tied to the Certmaster learning products. The second offering is tied to both the CySA+ and the Compcert learning products. I have to wonder if we are dealing with a forked direction where two products from the same organization are competing against each other and if that is a good idea.

 

[Gregory Childers]

AI certification may have some demand, but the non-IT focused batch will likely crash and burn. That's what happens when execs are focused on money and don't talk to industry. If they focused on more hands-on and eliminated the ease of cheating from India and other countries. The exams would become way more valuable. I get sick and tired of people from India contacting me on LinkedIn offering to take CompTIA exams for me for a fee. Even when their reported, they pop up like wacamole. Multiple choice exams are just not good to me without hands-on labs integrated into the exam.

There are newbies on Reddit who are passing exams with zero experience by watching Messer's and Dion's videos while using Quizlet to study definitions and acronyms. Over the years, the exams have become far too easy. I didn't have a single subnetting question on the most recent version of Network+.

They should make HALF the exam PBQs. Separate the exam crammers from the real tech people.

 

[Shea Bennett]

There are newbies on Reddit who are passing exams with zero experience by watching Messer's and Dion's videos while using Quizlet to study definitions and acronyms. Over the years, the exams have become far too easy. I didn't have a single subnetting question on the most recent version of Network+.

They should make HALF the exam PBQs. Separate the exam crammers from the real tech people.

Thus my years long battle to prove to companies that multiple choice is crap and to do labs and hands-on instead. Red Hat had this right from day 1.

 

[Steve Linthicum]

But we all understand why......

Summary of Cost Drivers:

• Development Time: PBQs require substantial investment in the initial design and creation of a realistic task or scenario, whereas MCQs rely on a more standardized, though still time-intensive, writing process.
• Grading Efficiency: Automated grading of MCQs eliminates ongoing scoring costs. PBQs, by contrast, demand significant, ongoing personnel costs for manual scoring and quality control.
• Logistics: The infrastructure for delivering and managing PBQs in a consistent environment is more complex and costly than the relatively simple technological requirements for most computer-based MCQs.

In essence, while PBQs offer a more valid approach to measuring practical skills and application of knowledge, their superior assessment quality comes at a substantially increased financial and logistical cost.

 

[Gregory Childers]

Some vendors, such as OffSec, offer lab-based exams only. No MCQs anywhere in their exams.

 

[scordle1]

Thus my years long battle to prove to companies that multiple choice is crap and to do labs and hands-on instead. Red Hat had this right from day 1.

The lab activities that were an essential part of TestOut are what my employers appreciated. That "hands-on" practice prepared students for the certification, but also allowed them to wrestle with simulations that were based on real-world problems. While the CertMaster Learn products have some lab content, were are opting for the CertMaster Perform products for most of the courses that prepare for a certification. Hands-On Labs > Question Banks!!

 

[Tess Sluijter]

Demand for CompTIA certs has been limited to A+, Net+, Sec+, and Cloud+. A few people take CySA+, PenTest+, SecurityX, and Project+, but employers don't ask for those certs on job listings.

I teach Linux+ two times a year, in a long extended class, but only because it's the most suitable option for my particular student demographic.

I would much rather help my students towards LFCS than Linux+. Ironically the resumé value for the two is very similar here in the EUW, but I like the LFCs exam and the Linux Foundation organisation a lot more. Some of my students self-study for Pentest+ because it's the only pentesting exam that does multiple choice, disregarding the behemoth that is SANS.