CompTIA Releases New Data+ Certification

Why Data Analytics Skills Are Important

These are the days of big data. So much of our modern lives boils down to data, whether at our jobs, leisure activities, education, health, or spending habits. This is the Information Age, and we are surrounded by mountains of data that need to be gathered, processed, and analyzed.

That is why data analyst skills are crucial, whether you're in a Data Analyst position or not. For instance, employers have listed more than one million job postings for candidates with data analysis, data mining, and data visualization skills.

After all, vast volumes of data are useless unless presented in a practical, easy-to-use format. That’s where data analyst skills fit in today’s digital world. Businesses, public utilities, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and all levels of government need actionable data to run a competitive company, create beneficial policies, and better understand their customers and constituents.

What Is on the CompTIA Data+ Certification Exam?

The commercial world needs professionals who can develop and promote intelligent, data-driven decision-making for today’s businesses. These candidates must know how to analyze better and interpret large amounts of data, communicate insights pulled from data, and demonstrate competency.

The new CompTIA Data+ certification exam verifies that these professionals are proficient in the skills needed to enable data-driven business decisions, skills like:

• Applying basic statistical methods
• Manipulating data
• Mining data
• Visualizing and reporting data
• Analyzing complex data sets while maintaining governance and quality standards for the duration of the data life cycle

The CompTIA Data+ certification exam gives you multiple-choice and performance-based questions covering five critical domains. Here is the breakdown:

• Data Concepts and Environments 15%
• Data Mining 25%
• Data Analysis 23%
• Visualization 23%
• Data Governance, Quality, and Controls 14%

The exam consists of 90 questions, takes 90 minutes to complete, and you need a passing score of at least 675 out of a range of 100-900. When you earn your certification, it’s good for three years.

What Jobs Are Best Suited for CompTIA Data+-Certified Prospects?

As more businesses grow to appreciate the importance of data analysis, more positions may require at least a passing familiarity with the subject to take more advantage of available data and better communicate business intelligence. The following occupations directly benefit from CompTIA Data+:

• Data analyst
• Business data analyst
• Business intelligence analyst
• Clinical analyst
• Marketing analyst
• Operations analyst
• Reporting analyst

But the benefits aren’t limited to the above roles. Other positions can benefit from data analytics knowledge and the overall analytics process. These roles include:

• Clinical health care analysts
• Financial analysts
• Human resource analysts
• Marketing specialists

The above information boils down to one fundamental concept: actionable data helps organizations make better, more informed decisions and potentially mitigate the risks associated with the industry. It's true even in the non-business world. We research (gather data on) things like the best towns to live in, the ideal college to attend, what kind of car we want to buy. Once we gather that information and analyze it, we turn it into action. So, when you think about it, we’re all data analysts to one extent or another!

How Can I Best Prepare for the CompTIA Data+ Certification Exam?

Preparation is a crucial ingredient in acing your exams. While you are obviously expected to be paying attention through the duration of the classes you take (and that’s a big part of exam success!), you should reinforce that with additional resources designed to get you ready for the big test.

For starters, download the CompTIA Data+ certification exam objectives found here. This resource will give you a better understanding of the exam’s five domains we previously described. CompTIA also offers a self-paced study guide.

Additionally, CompTIA offers three excellent resources that will sharpen the skills you need to pass the exam:

• CertMaster Learn: This comprehensive online learning resource covers every CompTIA Data+ exam objective.
• CertMaster Labs: This lab is a virtual lab environment that deals with the hands-on, performance-based aspects of preparing for your exam.
• CertMaster Practice: This tool is an adaptive and realistic practice test that works as an ideal follow-up to your training up to this point. The test pinpoints knowledge gaps and then helps you boost your skills in those weak spots.

But CompTIA isn’t the only source of excellent exam preparation resources. You can take advantage of any training you have acquired before taking the test and use that knowledge to improve your chances of success. However, you will need to seek out that training in most cases. Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to acquire that knowledge.

For instance, Simplilearn offers a wide range of certification courses to boost your skillset to the next level and help lay the groundwork for passing the CompTIA Data+ exam. For example, check out Simplilearn’s Data Science with Python, Data Science Master’s Program, Big Data and Hadoop Spark Developer, or AWS Analytics Certification Training.

And there’s one more course that could be a real difference-maker in your quest to pass the CompTIA Data+ exam, as we’re about to show you.

Get broad exposure to key technologies and skills used in data analytics and data science, including statistics with the PG Program in Data Analytics.

How Simplilearn Can Help You Pass Any CompTIA Data Analytics Certification Exam

You should check out our Data Analyst Master’s Program until Simplilearn releases a CompTIA Data+ certification preparation course. This program gives you a strong baseline to help you deal with the rigors of the CompTIA Data+ exam and ultimately prevail!

The program covers concepts likely to appear on the certification exam, including working with SQL databases, analytics tools and techniques, R and Python, creating data visualizations, and applying statistics and predictive analytics in a business environment. This online course, held in collaboration with IBM, also features master classes presented by the latter.

Data makes our modern world go round, and data analysts play a crucial role in taking full advantage of that information. So visit Simplilearn today, and forge a path to data analyst mastery!