Are CompTIA certifications worth it? A straight answer
By the founder of CertOwl • Published • 4 min read
Quick answer
For people trying to land a first IT or security job, CompTIA certifications are usually worth it: they get resumes past HR filters, they are vendor neutral, and US defense work requires them outright. For people with years of hands-on experience they add far less, and the money is often better spent on specialist certifications.
Type this question into any forum and you get two loud camps: people who swear a certification got them hired, and people who call the whole thing a paper mill. Both camps are describing real experiences. The difference between them is almost never the certification. It is where each person was standing when they bought it. So instead of a yes or no, here is the actual trade, priced out.
What you are buying
A CompTIA certification does three concrete things. First, it gets you past filters: recruiters and HR software screen for certification names, and a resume without any credential can vanish before a human reads it. Second, it proves a baseline to employers who cannot easily test it themselves, which is exactly why US defense work under DoD 8140 treats certifications like Security+ as a formal requirement, something we unpacked in our 8140 guide. Third, it forces structure onto self study. The exam date does more for most people's discipline than any playlist ever has.
Notice what is not on the list: a job. No certification hires anyone on its own, and the people angriest about certifications are usually the ones who were promised otherwise.
When the answer is clearly yes
The strongest case is a person with no IT job trying to get a first one. Postings for help desk and support roles name the A+ constantly, entry security postings name Security+ more than any other credential, and a career changer has few other ways to make a resume say "take me seriously". If that is you, the practical question is not whether but which, and we wrote a decision guide for exactly that.
The second strong case is anyone aiming at US government or defense adjacent work, where the requirement is written into policy and there is no arguing with it.
The third is quieter: people already in IT who want to move sideways into security or networking. A certification will not outweigh their experience, but it signals intent to the manager deciding who gets the security tickets.
When the answer is no
If you have several years of hands-on experience and a network of people who can vouch for you, an entry level certification mostly certifies things your resume already proves. At that stage specialist and vendor certifications, or a portfolio of real work, tend to carry more weight than another CompTIA logo.
The other clear no: buying certifications as a collection. Three credentials and no applied skill impresses nobody in an interview, and every exam is money and weeks of evenings. One certification aimed at a specific job beats four aimed at nothing.
The money, added up honestly
The core three cost about $1,386 at list price: roughly $548 for the two A+ exams, $399 for Network+, $439 for Security+. Authorized resellers shave real money off those numbers, and study materials add some back. Certifications then expire after three years, with continuing education fees on top, $50 a year in the case of Security+, though passing a higher certification renews everything below it for free.
Against that, the realistic payoff for a first security job is a salary that mostly lands between $40,000 and $62,500, which we broke down in our look at entry level Security+ jobs. Set a four figure cost against a five figure salary and the math works, but only if the certification actually converts into a job, which still takes months of applications for most people.
A sensible way to decide
Ask one question: what specific posting do I want to answer six months from now, and does it name a certification? If yes, that certification is worth it, and everything else is optional. If you cannot name the posting, the certification is a hobby purchase. Nothing wrong with hobbies, but budget for it like one.
And if the answer points at CompTIA, take the whole path in the right order rather than piecemeal. We mapped the full ladder from A+ to SecurityX, including what each rung costs and where to join it.
Test yourself: 3 quick questions
Before implementing any security controls, a company assesses the level of exposure to a particular threat. What is this level of risk called?
Inherent risk is the risk that exists before any controls are applied. Residual risk is what remains AFTER controls are implemented, which is why the correct answer is inherent risk.
In the change management process, which document formally describes the reason, scope, risk and schedule of a proposed change and is submitted to the board (CAB) for approval?
A request for change (RFC) is a formal proposal that describes the reason, scope, risk and schedule of a change and is submitted to the change advisory board (CAB) for consideration. A backout plan describes how to restore the previous state if the change fails, and a maintenance window is the time period for carrying it out.
Although both terms describe external obligations that affect governance, how does a regulation differ from a law?
A law is enacted by a legislative body (e.g., a parliament), and a regulation is issued by an authorized regulatory agency to elaborate on and enforce legal requirements in more detail. Both are binding, both can apply to private and public entities, and their territorial application depends on the jurisdiction, not on the organization.
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Frequently asked questions
Do employers actually check CompTIA certifications?
The certification is verifiable through CompTIA, and defense related employers check as a matter of policy. Civilian employers mostly use it as a screening signal rather than auditing it.
Are CompTIA certifications enough to get a job with no experience?
They get interviews, not offers. Most people with a fresh certification and no experience still need months of applications, plus projects or labs to talk about in the room.
Do CompTIA certifications expire?
Yes, after three years. You renew through continuing education with annual fees, or automatically by passing a higher CompTIA exam.
CertOwl exists to make the study side of that math cheaper: the A+ and Network+ tracks are completely free, with bite-size daily lessons, spaced repetition flashcards, and original practice questions written from the published exam objectives. A few focused minutes a day, on your phone, even offline.
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