Which CompTIA Exam Should I Take?

Key takeaways

• The CompTIA exam you should take depends on your career goals and current level of knowledge, as CompTIA offers certifications at various levels of expertise for those pursuing roles in IT, data analytics, and cybersecurity, among others.

• Earning an IT certification, such as those from CompTIA A+, may help you stand out to potential employers, especially those focusing on skills-based hiring.

• Popular categories of CompTIA certifications include core skills, infrastructure, cybersecurity, data and AI, and professional.

The best CompTIA exam for you is one that matches your current skill set and helps you advance toward your desired career. Read on to discover which CompTIA exam you should take by exploring the available CompTIA certification pathways and comparing your options to determine what will best fit your career goals and experience.

Afterward, consider enrolling in the IBM Cybersecurity Analyst Professional Certificate. In as little as four months, you’ll have the opportunity to learn how to use cybersecurity tools and techniques to perform penetration testing, respond to incidents, and conduct forensics. Upon completion, you can add this shareable credential to your resume or LinkedIn profile.

Why earn IT certifications?

Not only can an information technology (IT) certification help you learn new skills, validate your professional experience, and enhance your credibility in your field, but many employers prefer that you have one or more as they consider you for various IT positions. Skills-based hiring is on the rise, and 48 percent of respondents to CompTIA’s “Workforce and Learning Trends 2026” report indicate that certifications are a significant factor in hiring talent in technology, and 97 percent of HR and IT leaders consider certification very important when validating skills gained from workforce training [1]. In the same report, 51 percent of firms reported that certifications are valuable when assessing technical skills, especially those aligned to job roles [1].

Technology is a fast-paced industry with emerging innovations, advancements, and updates creating seemingly continual changes. An IT certification can help you enter the field. In later stages of your career, it can also help demonstrate that you are staying informed and educated about the latest technology in your field and pushing yourself to improve and learn continuously.

Certifications are so prevalent in IT that, according to a survey of IT professionals, 66 percent of respondents who earned an IT certification in 2024 held multiple certifications. Additionally, the average number of certifications held increases with more years on the job, with entry-level professionals holding 4.2 certifications on average and senior-level professionals holding 9.3 [2].

If you want to advance your career in IT, a certification from organizations in the IT industry, like CompTIA, can help you master new skills and take on positions with more responsibility. CompTIA certifications are among the IT industry’s most widely held and pursued credentials.

What is CompTIA certification? 

CompTIA is a vendor-neutral certification organization that offers credentials for IT professionals to establish industry standards and validate professional experience. The organization offers more than a dozen credentialing options, covering various topics and a range of expertise levels. Some of the most popular CompTIA certifications are CompTIA Security+ and CompTIA A+, which both rank among the most in-demand IT certifications that lead to higher starting salaries [3]. Additionally, CompTIA certification holders tend to earn about 16 percent more on average than those without certification, according to Skillsoft [4].

Which CompTIA exam should I take? 

Two of the biggest variables that can help you decide which CompTIA exam to take are your long-term professional goals and your current level of experience or IT knowledge. CompTIA does not require you to complete any specific education or experience prerequisites before taking any of its exams. However, the organization does offer recommendations and insight into the appropriate level of knowledge or experience you might want before taking the exam. These recommendations help create a pathway you can follow based on the career you’d like to have.

For example, if you want to become a data analyst, you could start with the core skills pathway and earn your CompTIA A+ certification to learn the skills you need to begin an entry-level role as a business analyst. After gaining 18 to 24 months of experience, you might be ready to take your CompTIA Data+ certification exam, which could help you start working in your desired role as a data analyst. 

Or, to launch your cybersecurity career, you might consider earning the CompTIA A+ to set your foundation of core IT skills and then the CompTIA Security+ credential, which helps establish your baseline cybersecurity skill set. After gaining four years of experience in a security operations center or in a vulnerability analyst position, you might opt for the CompTIA CySA certification and, after 10 years of practical experience, the expert-level SecurityX credential.

These pathways also give you a roadmap to judge your current level of experience and knowledge. If you know which certifications to consider for the job you want, you can look at the course topics and details of each exam to estimate your current knowledge. You can also explore practice questions and study guides to help review the materials on the exam, gauge your readiness, and decide which exam is best for your current needs.

CompTIA certifications translate into a vast number of careers, but the certification categories they lay out include:

• Core skills

• Infrastructure

• Cybersecurity

• Data and AI

• Professional 

Core skills

The core skills pathway is a series of four certifications that can help you build a foundation of broad IT skills. Other CompTIA certifications build on the fundamental topics you can learn in this pathway, so this pathway can be a good tool for you to learn the skills you need for more advanced certifications in an incremental way. 

CompTIA core skills certifications are:

• CompTIA Tech+: Covers the basics of IT; ideal for beginners in the field and those switching careers

• CompTIA A+: Baseline industry standard for building foundational skills in hardware, software, and troubleshooting; ideal for IT and technical support or field service technicians

• CompTIA Network+: Essential networking skills in designing and managing computer networks; ideal for technical support specialists, system administrators, and network operations specialists

• CompTIA Security+: Foundational cybersecurity skills grounded in real-world challenges; ideal for security architects, engineers, specialists, administrators, and consultants

Infrastructure

The Infrastructure certification path can help you prepare for a role implementing and operating IT infrastructure, such as working in careers like cloud systems administration, web administration, or network administration. This learning path builds on the core skills pathway and includes:

• CompTIA Server+: Assesses your ability to install, manage, and troubleshoot on-site and cloud-based server technologies

• CompTIA Linux+: Validates your Linux skills related to automating administration, troubleshooting cybersecurity services, and managing containers and virtual machines on the cloud

• CompTIA Cloud+: Demonstrates your ability to manage solutions in secure cloud environments, including cloud infrastructure, deployment, and DevOps

For this certification path, you could choose to earn one or both of the Linux+ and Server+ certifications before completing the pathway with Cloud+. For Server+, CompTIA recommends that you have the A+ certification or an equivalent amount of knowledge and experience, as well as two years of hands-on professional server experience. For Linux+, CompTIA recommends you have A+, Network+, or Security+ (or an equivalent knowledge base) and 12 months of experience working with Linux servers. For Cloud+, CompTIA recommends you have two to three years of experience working specifically in a role like systems administrator or cloud engineer.

CompTIA also offers the specialized, expert-level CloudNetX certification that demonstrates your ability to design and implement large-scale network solutions in cloud and hybrid infrastructures. You’ll need a minimum of 10 years of IT experience for this certification, of which five years need to be in a network architect role.

Cybersecurity

The CompTIA Cybersecurity certification path can help you start and advance your career in cybersecurity in roles such as cybersecurity analyst, cybersecurity engineer, or penetration tester. CompTIA recommends you either earn the core skills certifications or gain an equivalent level of knowledge and experience before completing:

• CompTIA PenTest+: Establishes your skills in identifying exploitable vulnerabilities and managing weaknesses accordingly

• CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+): Demonstrates your ability to identify, analyze, and respond to security threats

• CompTIA SecurityX: Validates that you have expert-level cybersecurity and compliance knowledge for designing and building enterprise-scale security solutions

You can start with CompTIA PenTest+ or CompTIA CySA+, which require three to four years of experience in addition to the core skills. You’ll need three to four years in penetration testing for PenTest+ and four years of experience as an incident response or security operations center analyst for CySA+. Then, after gaining more professional experience, you can take SecurityX. CompTIA recommends that you have 10 years of general IT experience with five years of hands-on experience in security.

Which is harder, CySA+ or Security+?

Based on their recommended prerequisites, the CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) certification has a higher level of difficulty than the CompTIA Security+. To earn the CySA+ certification, CompTIA recommends at least four years of experience in a security analyst role. To complete the Security+ certification, you need just two years of experience in a security role, though CompTIA also recommends completing the Network+ certification before pursuing Security+.

Additionally, Security+ is a certification designed for beginners exploring initial cybersecurity concepts, while CySA+ focuses on advanced concepts like security operations and incident response.

Data and AI

The Data and AI certification category can help you build career skills for job roles in data science and artificial intelligence. This category includes the Data+ certification, which validates your ability to interpret and communicate data insights to solve business problems, as well as the DataSys+ certification, which validates data management skills such as designing and implementing databases. CompTIA recommends 18 to 24 months of experience in a data analyst or similar role for the Data+, and two to three years of experience in a database administrator role for the DataSys+. While these two are entry-level data certifications, the expert-level DataAI certification tests your competency in applying data science methods in machine learning and deep learning contexts and requires five or more years of experience in a data science role.

Read more: The CompTIA Certification Path Explained

Professional

CompTIA also offers a certification for professionals to develop their IT project planning and implementation skills in the form of the Project+ certification. For Project+, CompTIA recommends that you have six to 12 months of experience managing tech projects. This certification can help you train for a role as a project coordinator or an IT project manager.

What is the best CompTIA exam to take? 

The best CompTIA exam to take is the one that meets you at your current level of knowledge and experience and helps you take a step toward the career you want one day. Compare and contrast the various available CompTIA exam costs, potential careers you can pursue, and the average salary for exam holders. 

No-fluff help for when you’re stuck

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• Learn from experts: Meet the IT Support Tech Advancing Toward a Cybersecurity Career

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