CompTIA Blog

This November marked the conclusion of a long and arduous presidential election. After nearly two years of politicking and billions of dollars spent the results are: President Obama was re-elected to a second term; the Democrats retained control of the Senate; and the Republicans retained control of the House. On the surface it would appear to be a status quo election, but there are important details within the election results that could have meaning for the IT community.The Executive BranchOba ...

On the Monday after Thanksgiving, also known as Cyber Monday, online retailers offer deep discounts to attract customers. The number of online transactions completed today may not top the brick-and-mortar retail sales of Black Friday, but that gap continues to close with each passing year. A growing number of consumers are choosing the Internet over the annual trek to the mall, preferring the comfort of shopping from their own home or office over the hustle and bustle of the mall and other store ...

Takeaway of the week is that IT job search route will be significantly less bumpy when the right steps, tools and resources are applied. Take, for example, the use of a well-planned-out career map or the latest job-hunting gadget from the biggest social networking space on the planet. Or maybe just having someone with whom to collaborate. Career Map that IT Employment Route The forward-thinking process of career mapping, with a helpful, virtual hand from today's tools, can be a win-win for IT ...

Meet Andrew DiCosmo, software engineer, Peters & Associates.

According to some industry experts, cloud computing is both the biggest threat and largest opportunity facing the IT channel. Though that prediction may be confusing, there is a lot of truth in it, and it should sound an alarm for every single solution provider. The debate on the pros and cons of cloud services has been raging for quite some time, but few dispute that the delivery model is here to stay and everyone in the industry will have to learn to adapt. Each company needs to understand clo ...

Takeaways of the week for talented cybersecurity pros is that your country needs you, it just doesn’t quite know how to find you; for would-be healthcare IT pros, your services are definitely in demand; for closed-minded executives, open your eyes to the new job market of today. Cybersecurity Pros Wanted - 600 of ‘Em The federal government is ready beef up its cybersecurity ranks to the tune of 600 new roles, if only officials knew how to find folks. That’s the good and not-so-good news to come ...

With each new session of Congress comes new hope that more will be done, and in a more bipartisan manner, than in the previous session. This is especially true for those with an interest in the American workforce, as several key pieces of legislation that affect it are either long overdue on being reauthorized or are quickly approaching their reauthorization deadline. The following are pieces of legislation to look out for: The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) expired in 2003 and, due to partisan ...

"Get the right education. Keep learning. Reinvest your skills. Influence others and make your presence known. Mentor those people who can benefit from your insights." Ginger Moore, senior staffing consultant, Unisys Building an IT career requires focus, hard work and sometimes creativity, but the opportunities are vast, even for those who don't currently hold a four-year computer science degree or aren't currently in the IT workforce. That was the message of the Nov. 7 webinar "IT Careers ...

With the re-election of President Obama, a net one seat pick-up for Senate Democrats, and with Republicans maintaining control of the House, we can expect to see some of the same IT issues emerge during the lame duck and the 2013 legislative session that we saw in the last Congress.  First, the issue of cybersecurity reform emerged as a post election lame duck issue.  There is a distinct possibility that the White House may issue an Executive Order on Cybersecurity that would mandate owners and ...

CompTIA’s 10th Annual Information Security Trends study comes at a time of dramatic change in the IT industry. Cloud computing, mobility and Big Data are altering the landscape and ingraining technology in business operations like never before. Yet security remains a high priority, even among these more trendy topics. Four out of five companies place a higher priority on security today than they did two years ago, and PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that global cybersecurity spending hit $60 bi ...

Those who can walk the walk typically close more sales than those who can only talk the talk – a point that tends to get lost in the shuffle of a growing business. If an organization can’t deliver on the promises it makes to its customers and prospects, its chances for long-term success are greatly diminished.No ethical entrepreneur opens a business without a desire to provide high-quality products or services to his or her customers. Best intentions and goals rarely change over time, but each o ...

Takeaway of the week is a fun mismash of this and that, starting with the increased amounts of money awaiting certain skilled IT pros in the coming year, a biz-minded admonishment for those in-demand IT security folks and, lastly, an honest-to-God thumbs up for video gaming. Salaries get Mobilized Upward Next Year IT roles in mobile and wireless sectors, among others, will see hefty pay hikes in 2013, says a well-known industry staffing service. The money news to come out of Robert Half Tech ...

Heading into this Veterans Day weekend, we’d like to take a second to emphasize how important it is to support our nation’s veterans as they return home from war. The U.S. continues to suffer from high unemployment overall and veterans are no exception; as many as 850,000 veterans are currently out of work and a million more will be seeking employment in the next five years. This is unfortunate, as veterans know what hard work is and frequently enter (or re-enter) the workforce wit ...

Learn what Phil Norton does as a systems analyst.

Many small business owners have put off plans to hire and expand amid uncertainty around what they will face when several Bush-era tax cuts expire at year’s end, said USA Today. Although tax hikes appear to be a likely outcome, there are several legislative scenarios that could alter, minimize or even delay the tax hikes set to kick in this January.After warning that U.S. financial institutions will continue to be under constant cyber attack, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said tha ...