DoD Accepts CompTIA's Advanced Certification

CommanderFrank

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The Department of Defense has approved CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner certification to qualify employees and contractors to perform certain job categories within the DoD data centers and networking. The new certification created last year is the most comprehensive exam ever introduced by CompTIA according to the Exec VP of Skills Certification, Terry Erdle.

The rules for that are spelled out under the DOD's 8570.01-M criteria, and CASP is now is now said to be approved as a baseline certification for Information Assurance Technical Level III, IS Manager Level II and IA Systems Architect and Engineer Levels I and II.
 
And a horrible sham of a cert and a massive waste of tax payer dollars.

Even better is how the certs went from being lifetime to only lasting for a couple years when the DoD drew up 8570.

You know someone is making money off that.
 
CompTIA is hands down a profit driven piece of shit company hell bent on making dollar signs - not making certified workers. Straight downhill slope, especially after they made their certs expire every year :rolleyes:

Really? A+ Certification expiring every year? Jesus fuck that is the most retarded crap ever.
 
I would actually downgrade someone's resume if it has CompTia cert$ on it.
 
I would actually downgrade someone's resume if it has CompTia cert$ on it.
That's moronic considering many employers including the government require certain certifications to be maintained for security and contract compliance. A+ and Sec+ are pretty ubiquitous because of that.
 
That's moronic considering many employers including the government require certain certifications to be maintained for security and contract compliance. A+ and Sec+ are pretty ubiquitous because of that.

Someone didn't tell said employers/government that those certs often don't mean jack or shit in the "real" world to many of us. Every time I get some young hotshot (ie 18-25'ish) asking about jobs and jabbering on about their certs, I usually yawn. The idea of renewing them every year is pretty crazy.
 
That's moronic considering many employers including the government require certain certifications to be maintained for security and contract compliance. A+ and Sec+ are pretty ubiquitous because of that.

Yes because the government is the epitome of intelligent decision making.
 
I would actually downgrade someone's resume if it has CompTia cert$ on it.

8570 requires it. 8570 is required for every DoD IT job.

People are required to get it. They don't get it by choice.

In fact, i'd be way more concerned if someone DIDN'T have 8570 fulfilled and were applying for an IT job. Given how easy of a cert it is that sends up a big red flag to not have it. Even more so considering how many government agencies simply pay for their employee's to get it given the push of 8570.
 
I don't know about A+, but I just got my security+ and it has to be renewed every 3 years, not every year. Also, I think that it was a great test. I think it's meaningful for anyone in support, network administration or security. I think the fact that you have to renew it every 3 years is a good thing, as things change very quickly as new technologies come out and are adopted. 3 years seems to be a pretty reasonable timeframe. If the A+ has to be renewed every year, then I'd agree that's a crock and definitely a money grab on CompTIA's end.

Looking at the small amount of info on the CASP cert, it sounds pretty good to me. Basic certs like A+, Network+ and Security+ are great for verifying someone knows the fundamentals. They aren't a replacement for experience, but you have to start somewhere. Like others have mentioned, many places require these certs and I can honestly see them as valid. The CASP seems like a good go between cert, sitting somewhere between their own Security+ and the industry standard CISSP. I might consider taking the cert myself after more time in security.
 
I don't know about A+, but I just got my security+ and it has to be renewed every 3 years, not every year. Also, I think that it was a great test. I think it's meaningful for anyone in support, network administration or security. I think the fact that you have to renew it every 3 years is a good thing, as things change very quickly as new technologies come out and are adopted. 3 years seems to be a pretty reasonable timeframe. If the A+ has to be renewed every year, then I'd agree that's a crock and definitely a money grab on CompTIA's end.

Looking at the small amount of info on the CASP cert, it sounds pretty good to me. Basic certs like A+, Network+ and Security+ are great for verifying someone knows the fundamentals. They aren't a replacement for experience, but you have to start somewhere. Like others have mentioned, many places require these certs and I can honestly see them as valid. The CASP seems like a good go between cert, sitting somewhere between their own Security+ and the industry standard CISSP. I might consider taking the cert myself after more time in security.

It's more of the fact that CompTIA changed it from being lifetime to yearly the same fiscal year that the DoD implemented 8570. I agree that no cert should be lifetime. That being said; It was a blatant and shameful money grab by compTIA and likely whatever politician/general officer pushed through 8570.
 
Sorry, I keep saying yearly and I mean every 3 years. All the CompTIA certs are 3 years now as far as I was aware.
 
It's more of the fact that CompTIA changed it from being lifetime to yearly the same fiscal year that the DoD implemented 8570. I agree that no cert should be lifetime. That being said; It was a blatant and shameful money grab by compTIA and likely whatever politician/general officer pushed through 8570.

On the military side, it could have something to do with the enlisted rotation of 3 years. If you get orders to a new base and you're expected to maintain the network, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Also, as part of the Continued Education program you can avoid retaking the exam if you "Upload all Continuing Education Unit (CEU) requirements associated with the selected program intent level". I believe this is somewhat similar to the standards that CISSP has in place. CEU's consist of "... completing training courses, attending industry events, work experience, and publishing relevant articles."

http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/stayCertified.aspx

Comptia certs, even in the miltiary, are considered to be very entry level. When new Sailors PCS to our location, they immediately go through the training. Once they acquire those basic certifications, we send them to the more advanced training based on their job requirements such as CISSP, CEH (hah), CCNA, SANS, etc..
 
It's easy to mock the government because of things like this, but it is a very complicated issue. Large departments like the DoD or State have to manage numerous projects, large and small, with intricate scope that often involve many contractors and sub-contractors.

There is no way for one Federal office to validate every employee individually so they have to set some minimum standard for contractors to follow. I previously worked for a large State department contractor doing web development, and yes a lot of what people complain about does happen. Meaning people who have very little actual knowledge but satisfy the minimum requirements get hired and do nothing all day. Contractors don't care as long as they win the project, and have billable people to get paid on.

It's unfortunate but it always happens with large entities. On the plus side, there are also plenty of people who do know what they're doing, and keep things moving forward. From my experience, what causes projects to fail is bad management bureaucracy between contractors and government, and not unskilled workers doing a bad job.
 
On the military side, it could have something to do with the enlisted rotation of 3 years. If you get orders to a new base and you're expected to maintain the network, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Also, as part of the Continued Education program you can avoid retaking the exam if you "Upload all Continuing Education Unit (CEU) requirements associated with the selected program intent level". I believe this is somewhat similar to the standards that CISSP has in place. CEU's consist of "... completing training courses, attending industry events, work experience, and publishing relevant articles."

http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/stayCertified.aspx

Comptia certs, even in the miltiary, are considered to be very entry level. When new Sailors PCS to our location, they immediately go through the training. Once they acquire those basic certifications, we send them to the more advanced training based on their job requirements such as CISSP, CEH (hah), CCNA, SANS, etc..

Yes, and that's the point. They have designed it in such a way to sap tax-payer dollars for what most consider to be a worthless cert. It's more then just the Navy, it's any DoD IT job.
 
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