A+ vs Network+ vs Security+: The Honest CompTIA Comparison

Start With the Job You Want, Not the Cert You've Heard Of

Career switchers usually meet CompTIA in the same order: someone says A+ is the starting point, someone else insists Security+ is the only cert that gets you hired, and a third person swears Network+ is the secret weapon between them.

All three can be true. It depends entirely on the role you're aiming for in the next twelve months.

Before we compare them, anchor the decision to a job title. Help desk technician, junior sysadmin, network technician, SOC analyst, GRC analyst. Once the job is real, the right first cert becomes obvious.

The Quick Comparison

Exam prices, objectives, and DoD 8140/8570 approvals are updated on comptia.org. Verify current details before you register.

CompTIA A+: The Foundation

A+ is the entry point into IT. It covers hardware, operating systems, mobile devices, networking basics, security basics, and troubleshooting. It's two exams, and the second one leans harder into software and security.

Pick A+ if you have limited hands-on tech experience, you want a help desk or IT support role, or you want the confidence of understanding what's happening inside the machine before you specialize.

Skip A+ if you already work in IT, already troubleshoot devices for a living, or you're aiming directly at a security analyst role and can hold your own on hardware and OS basics.

CompTIA Network+: The Connector

Network+ is where a lot of career switchers underestimate the payoff. It teaches how devices actually communicate: IP addressing, subnetting, routing, switching, wireless, network services, and troubleshooting.

Pick Network+ if you want to work in networking, cloud, or infrastructure, or if you want Security+ to feel like a natural next step instead of a wall.

Skip Network+ if you already have strong networking fundamentals, you're moving into a pure GRC or policy role, or your timeline pushes you straight into Security+.

CompTIA Security+: The Career Opener

Security+ is the cert most cybersecurity job listings recognize by name. It covers threats, attacks, and vulnerabilities, architecture and design, implementation, operations and incident response, and governance, risk, and compliance.

It's also DoD 8570 approved, which means it unlocks federal and defense-contractor roles that require a baseline certification.

Pick Security+ if your target role is SOC analyst, security engineer, GRC analyst, or any cybersecurity job that lists a baseline cert. If a job posting requires "one of the following," Security+ is almost always on that list.

Skip Security+ if you're aiming for pure IT support, pure networking, or you haven't yet decided that cybersecurity is the direction.

Which Order Should You Take Them In?

CompTIA suggests A+ then Network+ then Security+, and that order works well for someone starting from zero.

But three shortcuts are common and legitimate:

• Already in IT? Skip A+. Go Network+ then Security+.
• Aiming at cybersecurity fast? Go straight to Security+, then backfill Network+ if you feel gaps.
• Federal or defense contractor? Security+ is often the priority because it satisfies the baseline requirement.

Salary and Job Reality

Salaries vary wildly by market, clearance, and experience, so treat any single number with suspicion. The pattern is more useful than the number:

• A+ opens help desk and IT support roles.
• Network+ opens network technician and junior sysadmin roles, and pairs beautifully with cloud certs later.
• Security+ opens SOC analyst, GRC analyst, and junior security engineer roles, especially in government-adjacent work.

None of these certs make you a senior anything. They make you hireable enough for the first door. What you do inside that first role is what compounds.

The Learning Out Loud Angle

Career switchers often treat certifications like a scoreboard. Pass, next, pass, next. That approach gets you letters after your name, but it doesn't necessarily get you hired.

The people who move fastest do three things:

• They document what they're learning in public, even imperfectly.
• They pair every cert with a small, visible project: a home lab, a write-up, a walkthrough, a repo.
• They talk about the job they want out loud, so opportunities and people find them.

Certifications open the door. A visible learning trail is what convinces someone on the other side to hold it open for you.