Some of the best and most popular certifications in the IT industry are CompTIA certifications. But what can you do when you are starting out and have just passed the CompTIA Security+ exam? With the Security+ credential, but limited experience in information security, it may seem like you have to get other certifications in order to find a good job. But that isn’t the case. You can find great entry-level security jobs that you qualify for when you have a Security Plus certification.

Highly skilled IT professionals are in demand. Expanding corporate need is outstripping current candidate pools, and as a result, companies are now looking for outside-the-box IT skills that are transferable across job markets and can fill expanding cyber vacancies.

IT pros, meanwhile, aren’t static in their job searches. Recent data suggests the average worker changes jobs between 10 and 15 times over the course of his/her career. The reasons vary — better pay, improved benefits, greater autonomy — but IT career advancement often depends on transferable IT skills that are in demand across multiple industries. Let’s tackle the top four.

What do digital transformation, rapid mobile adoption and increasing cloud uptake have in common? They’re driving substantial market growth for IT professionals. According to recent U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, IT will grow “faster than the average for all other occupations,” adding more than 500,000 jobs over the next five years.

If you’re considering careers in information technology, opportunity is knocking. The caveat? Figuring out your best fit.

Companies need IT expertise.  Recent data suggests that by 2020, more than three-quarters of organizations will “experience visible business disruptions due to skills gaps.” Just two years ago, only 25 percent of businesses said the skills gap was an issue.

For IT professionals, this creates a high-demand marketplace: Both specialists and generalists are necessary for companies to achieve line-of-business goals and drive ROI. One potential career for technology experts is the computer systems analyst. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports more than 600,000 systems analyst positions were filled in 2016 alone, while the median salary last year was just under $90,000.

Wondering how to become a computer systems analyst? We’ve got you covered.

Not all hackers are cybercriminals. Increasingly businesses are employing ethical hackers (also known as white hat hackers) to break into their computer networks to expose vulnerabilities. Ethical hacking has become a mainstream niche within the IT Industry, employing a highly skilled cohort of programmers and computer experts. In this info-graphic we lay out the differences between black hat and white hat hackers, differentiating between cybercriminals and ethical hackers.

Ethical hacking and cybersecurity are currently one of the most exciting and rewarding areas of the IT industry to work in. The field continues to grow at a fast pace, and with a broad skills gap between the employees today's businesses need and the available pool of people skilled in cybersecurity there is a tremendous opportunity to establish yourself in a lucrative and fast-paced career.

If this whets your appetite for ethical hacking and you'd like to know more, check out our blog post  7 Reasons Why An Ethical Hacker Should Get Certified or take a look at enrolling in our Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Certification Training.

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Every year, during the holiday season, TrainACE likes to give back to the communities that we live and work in by choosing local non-profit charities to contribute to. This year we chose Companion Bridge and the Brainy Camp Association.

In today's blog Alice Peek, one of Companion Bridge's founders describes how the organization started, what it does and how your contributions can help keep struggling families and individuals, united with their animal companions.

The cyber skills gap is widening: Recent data suggests a shortfall of more than 3 million IT experts in the next three years. What does this mean for your business? Looking for new staff to meet expanding tech requirements may not be possible — instead, companies are better served bolstering current employee experience with the right mixture of on-site training and classroom-led learning.

Virtual classroom training is on the rise — recent data from the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) reports more than 528 full-time virtual schools across the United States serving almost 300,000 students. So it’s no surprise to see this carry over into the workforce, especially for information technology professionals; virtual IT training offers companies a way to keep staff on-site while they earn certifications or refresh needed skills.

IT classroom training, meanwhile, gives employees the chance to go hands-on and get practical experience in their chosen field of study, experience they can leverage when they’re back managing local server stacks and handling security issues.

What’s the best fit? Let’s dig into the pros and cons of virtual training and live classroom offerings.

Human interaction remains the single biggest threat to businesses as they attempt to secure their networks from cyber-attack. Increasingly sophisticated phishing attacks represent the dominant way in which cyber-criminals manipulate employees within small and large businesses, to open their networks to malicious activities. It's not surprising then, that venture capitalists are paying close attention to the cybersecurity awareness training market.

Cyber security is a growing field, with more than 350,000 open positions in the United States alone. What’s more, cyber and information security professionals often enjoy above-average salaries, autonomy and upward career mobility.

But how do you make the shift from front-line or mid-corporate IT to grab a lucrative cyber security career? Here are five tips to boost your chances of landing the job.