Since I passed the Apple Certified Support Professional exams in the past, I have received a lot of questions about how one goes about obtaining an ACSP certificate. People have contacted me by telephone, email or when I have been at various locations doing training sessions or Apple accessibility presentations asking me about the process in preparing for the exam and about the exam itself. I would honestly say that it would be a fair estimate to guess that over forty different people have asked me about the topic of Apple certifications over the last year or year and a half alone.
I have been teaching the preparation course for people who want to prepare to take the ACSP exam over the last few years, and I believe this has now included about eight different individuals. It is a lengthy process, and one that a person must dedicate themselves to in order to pass. If you are serious about passing the exam, then you have to understand that you are going to be putting a lot of time and energy into the preparation and study process prior to even taking the exam itself. It is, moreover, for a blind person, a really impressive certification to have if they are a technical professional who desires to work in the field or who runs their own training business. Being recognized by Apple does set you above the average person who simply “calls themselves” an Apple trainer by far, as you have gone the distance in reading far more material and, more importantly passing the exam that certifies you directly from Apple as an Apple Certified Support Professional.
The exam is an 80 question multiple choice test that covers all aspects of Mac OS X Yosemite from the installation and configuration of the operating system to troubleshooting startup and shutdown issues. You learn all about the nuts and bolts of the operating system, as well as user accounts, file permissions, data management and a variety of Mac specific features. There is a training guide that one should purchase that is your companion for taking the exam, as it is all you need as far as material goes. However, it is a massively long book, and it’s not light reading either. You will need plenty of time to read the guide and digest the material in order to become ready to take the exam.
A short time ago, the folks at Fedora Outlier LLC asked me if I would be interested in joining forces to develop an online training course for those who desire to take the exam and become Apple Certified. This honestly has been something I have contemplated doing or, at least, looking into how to do over the last few years. Sadly, though, a lack of time has prevented me from doing a great deal of research into the topic, so when I was asked if I’d be interested in doing it, it struck me as a great opportunity to attempt such a thing.
There is a preparation course that Apple offers that is called, “Mac 101”, and it’s an intensive, 3 day course that covers about 25 hours. Unfortunately, you have to proceed at the speed of light to cover all of the material, and, of course, accessibility to the material for the course is surely not an easy component in that kind of environment. It was not an option that I certainly considered, which is why I opted to prepare for the exam on my own at my own pace.
Thus, Fedora Outlier and I will be offering a 30 week online course starting in August to assist those who want to obtain their ACSP. This course will cover the entire guide and we will explain and teach you the material in each of the 27 lessons as the course progresses.
As the student, you will need to simply get the Apple Pro Training Series Mac OS X Yosemite Essentials guide by Kevin White and Gordon Davidson. Also, we recommend that you do have an external hard drive on which you can install and run a “dummy” operating system so you can perform the exercises at the end of each of the lessons. If you are an iOS user, we strongly recommend downloading the free, “Revise IT” app from the App Store as well as an additional training resource, as this has practice exam questions and simulated exams you can take to help prepare you for the real deal. Beyond that, just bring your desire to learn and your willingness to prepare and take one of the most rewarding and satisfying challenges you might face in your life. Believe me from personal experience that once you pass that exam, it is a truly exhilarating and triumphant set of feelings that you will Never forget.
To read all of the information about the ACSP course, please go,
here.
