Anyone have any Apple certifications?

[tramahound]

I just finished the 10.5 support essentials book and want to take the test in the coming weeks. I passed my 10.5 server essentials exam a month ago thinking that one would be the harder of the two but now I'm either psyching myself out or I prefer working on servers...
Am I correct inn assuming that I should spend a good deal of time memorizing the startup process and all of it's minutia? And are port numbers a big part of the test? Will there be a substantial amount of questions that rely on what port a service is on? I took the practice test and got all 10 (!) questions right but I feel there's more to the test than I originally thought.

 

[twoodcc]

I work as an Apple Systems admin, so I'm working on my ACSA. You can't repair apple stuff in house if you're not an ASMT, so I have that too.

that is something that i think i'd like to do, be an Apple Systems admin. or something similar. could you fill me in on what you actually do, and where i could find a job like this? like region wise. thanks

 

[bjjdude]

I just finished the 10.5 support essentials book and want to take the test in the coming weeks. I passed my 10.5 server essentials exam a month ago thinking that one would be the harder of the two but now I'm either psyching myself out or I prefer working on servers...

1. Am I correct inn assuming that I should spend a good deal of time memorizing the startup process and all of it's minutia?
2. And are port numbers a big part of the test?
3. Will there be a substantial amount of questions that rely on what port a service is on?
4. I took the practice test and got all 10 (!) questions right but I feel there's more to the test than I originally thought.

1 . YES! Startup process is a very important subject, and the exam will definitely test your knowledge on it.

2. At least on my test, out of the 90 questions, I had none related to port addressing.

3. Same as above.

4. I felt the same way. It's not as simple as I expected it to be, but it's not too hard either. As long as you understand everything you read, and review all topics before the exam, you will be fine.

You can do it, good luck!!!

 

[Sky Blue]

that is something that i think i'd like to do, be an Apple Systems admin. or something similar. could you fill me in on what you actually do, and where i could find a job like this? like region wise. thanks

We have about 350 Macs I look after, plus two 10.4 Xserves. once they're up and running and bound to AD they don't really need much maintenance. I make and update images on our server with netinstall, repair anything that breaks etc. Obviously moving people to Leopard is a big thing right now, I'm trying to get rid of Panther.
I share Windows responsibilities with others too... look after our Exchange servers, some Citrix of our servers, our AV etc.
You're probably more likely to find something like this in education, design, advertising etc.

 

[twoodcc]

We have about 350 Macs I look after, plus two 10.4 Xserves. once they're up and running and bound to AD they don't really need much maintenance. I make and update images on our server with netinstall, repair anything that breaks etc. Obviously moving people to Leopard is a big thing right now, I'm trying to get rid of Panther.
I share Windows responsibilities with others too... look after our Exchange servers, some Citrix of our servers, our AV etc.
You're probably more likely to find something like this in education, design, advertising etc.

thanks! that sounds like something that i'd be interested in.

is it true that more people use macs on the west coast? the reason i ask is b/c it seems that there aren't many jobs dealing with macs around here. maybe it's just me. (i'm on the east coast)

yeah, i guess i could try to get a job at a school. i'll be graduating soon, so i gotta start looking now

 

[Sky Blue]

I don't know.. I'm on the East Coast. When I was switching jobs a year ago, I was surprised how many companies were using macs, even if it didn't say in the job description. Use monster or whatever to search for IT jobs that use Macs.

 

[twoodcc]

I don't know.. I'm on the East Coast. When I was switching jobs a year ago, I was surprised how many companies were using macs, even if it didn't say in the job description. Use monster or whatever to search for IT jobs that use Macs.

thanks. i'll be looking

 

[bjjdude]

No problem, I've been studying for all these exams for the last month or so.
I've been reading the book you linked to for the past week for the Apple Service Exam. I believe (though I'm not certain) that the book is a little out of date for the exam.

The book is from May 2007, and the exam was re-structured in Feb 2008 (it used to be two, one for desktop, one for portables). I think the exam may cover newer macs like the Aluminum iMacs from last year.

I'm taking the exam on Friday, so I'll find out then!

How did it go on the exam? I'm taking the 061 monday morning.

 

[Sky Blue]

it was a bit of a bastard, 90 questions covered earlier G4 stuff, early Intels plus the new iMacs. The new Airport Express sneaked in there too. Passed it though

I'm taking the 061 monday morning.

Make sure you know Parental controls inside and out! (and time machine too)

 

[bjjdude]

it was a bit of a bastard, 90 questions covered earlier G4 stuff, early Intels plus the new iMacs. The new Airport Express sneaked in there too. Passed it though



Make sure you know Parental controls inside and out! (and time machine too)

Just passed the test (yay!)! Now I'll get ready for the hardware based one. Cheers!

 

[bjjdude]

ACMT Hardware exam 9L0-006

Has anyone taken the hardware exam for the ACMT (9L0-006)? Can you gimme any tips for the test? Thank you in advance!!

 

[Sky Blue]

Has anyone taken the hardware exam for the ACMT (9L0-006)? Can you gimme any tips for the test? Thank you in advance!!

yup, read my posts above. I took it on Friday.

 

[bjjdude]

yup, read my posts above. I took it on Friday.

I thought you took the OS X troubleshooting exam, since you talked about TimeMachine and ParentalControls. I passed in that exam yesterday. Now I will be taking the Hardware based exam.

 

[Sky Blue]

You asked about the hardware book. I replied:

The book is from May 2007, and the exam was re-structured in Feb 2008 (it used to be two, one for desktop, one for portables). I think the exam may cover newer macs like the Aluminum iMacs from last year.

I'm taking the exam on Friday, so I'll find out then!

Why would the OS X Troubleshooting exam cover Aluminum iMacs? I took the troubleshooting exam in April, and the hardware exam last Friday. The Parental controls/TM was referring to you taking the troubleshooting exam.

 

[Tuzibuster]

Testing tomorrow

If anybody is interested I can knock up an "unofficial" 100 question test paper from the book.

Taking 9L0-402 Thursday afternoon. I read the book twice, but it's a lot of material. Trying to decide where to focus my last hours of cramming.

SkyBlue, did you ever put this list together? If so, could you be persuaded to send it my way? (see my user name? just add @yahoo.com)

Many, many thanks in advance.

(I'll post my impressions of the exam for everybody else tomorrow nite)

 

[tramahound]

how'd the 402 go? i'm taking it next week? should i worry about the location of files like launchagents and startup items etc? or is it more general knowledge like, how do you troubleshoot a peripheral? I read the book and wrote out notes on every bullet point from the skill assessment guide but I'm still not confident yet...

 

[Sky Blue]

how'd the 402 go? i'm taking it next week? should i worry about the location of files like launchagents and startup items etc? or is it more general knowledge like, how do you troubleshoot a peripheral? I read the book and wrote out notes on every bullet point from the skill assessment guide but I'm still not confident yet...

You should know the basics of startup items and what startup items run in safe mode etc.

 

[Tuzibuster]

9l0-402

Sorry I didn't post sooner, been out of town. I took the test Thursday and did pretty well. I guess I'm forbidden to speak of details but I can share 2 major general impressions.

1) On the whole EASIER than I thought it would be

2) HOWEVER: some questions would dive to surprising depth - like "was that actually in the damn book?" (sneeze and you missed it kind of stuff)

My overall advice: the more you know the better. I studied in three stages:

a) first read-thru with highlighting
b) dig specifically to make sure I knew all the answers to end of chapter review quizzes and the apple provided Skills Assesment Guide (some overlap in questions)
c) Second time cover-to-cover read-thru

And that got me a respectable score

Stay alert - like any multiple choice extravaganza they try to trip you up.

 

[tramahound]

I took the 10.5 helpdesk essentials 9L0-402 exam Tuesday. I was originally scheduled to take it Saturday, but the Prometric testing center I booked it with a month ago decided it was going to take off for the holiday after all and nobody showed up. My pure hatred for Prometric for doing this to me a second time at a second testing center not withstanding; I thought the test was significantly challenging based on being a pretty proficient and knowledgeable OS X user, reading the peachpit book 1.5 times and hand typing out the answers to every skill assessment guide question and reading that over 4-5 times! there were a few things on there that I do not remember being in the book at all as well. The most challenging to me were the real-world permission questions. maybe i'm just not good with that kind of stuff but I could have swore I was! I'm just glad it's over, I got a 93.33% score and I'm now a 10.5 Technical Coordinator.

 

[Sky Blue]

Do you mean OS X Support Essentials?

 

[tramahound]

oops, yes, support essentials. I'm still stuck on their old cert names!

 

[Sky Blue]

Congrats! I should be taking Server Essentials next week, then i'll be a ACTC.. then next comes Deployment!

 

[Vikash]

I got my Apple Product Professional for 2007/2008

 

[Sky Blue]

Did the server essentials yesterday, ACTC now, yay! Just waiting for the SA exams to become available...

 

[larry22]

Okay, so I am going to take the ACSP exam in a couple months. I am a computer tech for a high school that is all mac and my boss really wants me to have it. I mostly do light repair work and troubleshooting. If we have an issue, such as a motherboard to be replaced or a display problem and the display needs to be replaced on a dekstop Apple sends someone (not an Apple employee) to fix that part. My question is what certs do I need for THAT job? I mean, this guy basically goes from business to business, school to school fixing macs.

Also, Sky Blue-Would you still be willing to post that practice test?