3 Ways CompTIA Data+ Certification Can Boost Your Career

Introduced in February 2022, the CompTIA Data+ certification is already recognized as the leading vendor-neutral data analytics accreditation. The certification responds to industry demand for professionals with the skills to leverage the masses of data available from sources such as business transactions, the internet, social media, artificial intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. 

In previous posts, we looked at the jobs available to CompTIA Data+ certified professionals and the differences between two of those roles: data analysts and data scientists.

If you’re thinking about earning the CompTIA Data+ certification, what’s the payoff? To answer that question, we’ll look at ways in which CompTIA Data+ certification can help you drive your career forward.

Ready to Get Data+ Certified?

If you have solid data analytics foundation and are ready to earn a formal certification, you can’t go wrong with Data+ certification. Start training for the exam without new CompTIA Data+ certification training. This course maps to the DA0-001 exam and is an excellent study resource. 

If you’re interested in getting into data analytics or are just starting out, you’ll need to develop basic data skills. Fortunately, we have plenty of other data-related training. Here are some recommendations. Step one would be to learn to use the structured query language (SQL) by taking the CBT Nuggets SQL for Data Practitioners online course. Next, take the entry-level Python for Data Analysts course to learn the basics of Python for data analysis. 

At this stage, you really need to practice your skills in a real-world environment. This will help you get ready to develop next-level skills in using the Pandas data analysis library for data wrangling — transforming and mapping raw data into a format appropriate for analysis. You can learn these skills from the intermediate-level online course Python and Pandas for Data Manipulation.

1. Easy, Affordable Entry Point to a Career in Data Analytics

Data analytics is a highly technical subject area and hiring managers need assurance that candidates know their stuff. Of course they check technical references, but there’s nothing like a third-party certification to eliminate doubts. 

There are college programs for data analytics, such as data analytics bootcamps, as well as 4-year degree programs. Vendor certification programs include Microsoft’s Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate, the AWS Certified Data Analytics - Specialty Certification, and Cloudera’s Certified Associate Data Analyst.

The problem with vendor certifications is that you are restricted to work in organizations that use their product platforms. On the other hand, college programs are expensive, demanding, and inflexible in terms of the time required. For example, the Berkeley and Rutgers programs are structured 24-week programs, with 9 hours per week of scheduled classes and a cost close to $10,000 or more.

The CompTIA Data+ certification overcomes these issues! It is completely vendor-neutral and quite affordable when compared to college programs. Instead of having almost six months of ‘must attend’ courses, you can study for the CompTIA Data+ certification when and where you choose. For example, you can take CBT Nuggets online courses in your home or office any time of day in order to learn the skills you’ll need for both the certification exam and to perform the on-the-job duties a data analyst.

2. Widely Transferable Job Skills and Data+ Certification

Organizations are investing in data analytics — technology and people — to mine their data for actionable information and competitive advantage. It doesn’t matter where you look. Business or government, commercial or industrial, there are job postings that demand the skills that the CompTIA Data+ certification covers. There are plenty of opportunities for entry-level and junior data analysts across all those industries. 

A search of Indeed.com shows many openings for such career-starter positions. And once you've got a foot in the door, you can leverage your CompTIA Data+ data analytics accreditation to move from one industry to another. Alternatively, you can move from IT to an analytics position in another department. 

For example, roles like that of a reporting analyst, data visualization analyst, business intelligence analyst, marketing analyst, operations analyst, clinical data analyst, and logistics specialist are just a few of the jobs that require the skills of a data analyst. 

3. Attractive, Rewarding Data Analytics Career Trajectory

Data analytics is fundamental to most organizations’ plans to win strategic, competitive, and operational advantages. The executive focus is driving demand for a broad range of analytics expertise from entry- to expert-level. So in addition to lateral mobility, there’s upward mobility and the opportunity to build an entire career based on data analytics.

Starting with your CompTIA Data+ cert, you can become an associate data analyst and then move up the ranks to become a full-fledged data analyst. From there, you could take a technical route into data engineering, or continue the path to become a senior data analyst and then a data scientist. Jobs in this career path can be quite lucrative, with some data analyst positions paying $100,000 or more and many data scientists earning over $150,000 per year.

In larger organizations, you will find whole departments dedicated to data analytics, so maybe you aim to become a director or VP of analytics.

Final Thoughts

A career in data analytics is hot and promises to stay that way for some time, especially as organizations embrace the Internet of Things, machine learning, and artificial intelligence applications. The demand for qualified data analysts, engineers, and scientists is only going to grow!

Get in on the ground floor of this revolution! Your path toward CompTIA Data+ data analyst certification can be the start of an amazing and rewarding career.