Mac Certification?

duke149

I recently bought myself a Mac Mini to play around with. I was wondering if anyone has some form of Mac certification? Is it worth it?
Is it true that it has to be renewed each year?

I'm interested in just something that says, yes i know how to use a Mac. Currently I don't really, but I am learning :P

First I need to sit the Linux+ test, I am just curious about Mac Certification at this stage.

My goal is to have a 'piece of paper' for each of the major operating systems.

sthomas

http://training.apple.com/certification/macosx

dynamik

The apple certifications are only really useful if you want to work for a Mac store. This can be an official Apple store or something like a repair center. They're pretty expensive to obtain, and I don't see any real-world value in it unless you fall into some special niche.

NinjaBoy

They are also useful if you support Mac's also. My current place of work has several Mac laptops and a couple of Mac mini's that I have to support, so I'm also looking to do a Mac cert or two.

-ken

duke149

Hmm I thought that would be the case.

Does anyone know of any more general certification. I don't really care how basic it is.
As I said, all I'm after is something that says, yes I know how to use a mac.

NinjaBoy

Apart from the 1 exam from Apple to say that you're a certified professional?

Well there's the Mac certs from Brainbench: test1, test 2 & test3. But then again, Brainbench is more assessment cert rather than a official qualification cert.

I don't know any other cert program for the Mac's, hope this helps anyway

-Ken

fredd13

NinjaBoy, thank you for those.
Its a good place to start from

TechJunky

I forget the numbers. I know I am one of few!

I almost got my ACSA, I would be the only one in my state... But decided against it because the pay off wasn't there. I have learned a lot of info on the server side software when I got my ACSP and thats the most valuable to me.

Apple is used mostly in the public sector and many schools. If you are looking for a school IT gig Apple is the way to go.

azjag

If you are a tech on Onforce you can get more tickets routed to you because you have that certification. At $200 a test you want to make sure you are ready for the exam. Don't forget to add movie studios, graphic design companies, marketing and advertising companies to that list of places that use Mac's.

Chris:/*

With all due respect.

There seems to be NO demand for Apple Certifications with the exception of working in their stores.

The Certifications are expensive, expire to quickly and only fit a niche market. Had Apple been in this position back in the 1980s and early 90s the story may have been different.

Today though there are other Certs that fit the need, learn about Unix and Linux and you can figure out the rest.

subl1m1nal

More general cert = CompTIA A+

If you can fix a PC, you can fix a Mac. Only difference is the OS. Same hardware. Pick up a book on it if you really want to learn it.

subl1m1nal

Linux+ is a good cert for Mac because OSX is based on Unix.

varelg

duke149 wrote: »

My goal is to have a 'piece of paper' for each of the major operating systems.

And then what? You have to find your niche. Like it or not, the onslaught of cloud computing will make local host's OS irrelevant, I am not excited about clouds at all and it definitely has some major issues to be resolved, but that is how things are set up right now as more and more thin clients are marketed as fashionable gadgets du jour.
This "one-piece-of-paper " would actually make sence if you are starting your own computer repair service (as your own business) so that when you open other people's computers you are not breaking any warranties. Although in that scenario you would have to consult Apple's statements about certified repairperson not employed with Apple doing repairwork and voiding (or not voiding) warranties.
Last time I checked with the CompTIA's A+ website, if you have A+ and are repairing PC's, you are not voiding any warranties. But that is for PC's, not Macs. You would also like to get the MCDST (windows desktop support) in your collection (one paper per major OS, right?) and of course the Apple cert. In this scenario Linux+ is extra knowledge but not relevant to your repair work.
Hope this helps...