Apple Certified Technician

[the batman]

i work for an authorized apple specialist who are opening a new store next summer, and it got me thinking about becoming a certified technician as they've mentioned it is something they'd look to do
am i right in thinking it is the acmt certification i would need?
and in order to achieve that i need to complete two exams. the mac service certification exam and the os x v10.8 mountain lion troubleshooting exam.both of these are online exams, right?
is there any training needed at a facility at all? or is everything needed with the applecare technician training that costs $299?
thanks guys

 

[Mr Rabbit]

You're correct in needing the ACMT certification. Both exams (Hardware and 10.8, or 10.9 if you wait 4-5 months) are taken online and can be done so without a proctor, someone looking over your shoulder. This changed in mid June when the ACMT certification became a life long certification (no renewals necessary). In the past you would take your initial tests at a testing center or with an approved proctor, this is no longer the case.

All the necessary training is included with the $299 training. With that said, the majority of hardware questions are now very specific in regards to certain models in certain generations. You still have to score almost perfectly in the technician safety and ESD sections but the rest of the test focuses on very specific questions. Stuff like "On the 15 2.53Ghz - which two pins on the logic board do you bridge to power on". All of the answers are in the training available but it's still a tough test to take, even open book, if you haven't been working on these Macs for a while.

With all that out of the way, in order for you to actually put these certifications and skills to use your shop will want to contact Apple about acquiring AASP status. Once Apple deem's your shop to be an AASP then you can actually order parts, perform warranty work, etc. Apple watches the numbers (turn around time, parts used, repeat repairs, customer satisfaction, etc) very closely and has been known to yank the AASP status from shops that consistently fail to meet their expectations. Dealing with them is not fun by any means and I would encourage your shop to reach out to some AASPs outside your region (competitors would just say "don't do it!") for advice on how to get a service side up and running.

Source - I've worked for an AASP for 3 years in both sales and as a technician, as a Mac Genius for almost 3 years and currently am the Mac admin for a very large non-profit organization where I manage 150~ Macs. I'm currently in the process of setting up a SSA (self servicing account) since I still have all of my certifications and it's proving to be quite difficult, though I imagine still a lot easier than getting that AASP status.

 

[the batman]

thanks so much for the quick response!
the store i work in are aasp certified so that's good, does this training teach you about ipads or just computers? or is there a different tech training for that
also, may be a nosy question but what's the salary like for apple technicians?

 

[Mr Rabbit]

thanks so much for the quick response!
the store i work in are aasp certified so that's good, does this training teach you about ipads or just computers? or is there a different tech training for that
also, may be a nosy question but what's the salary like for apple technicians?

The ACMT training is just for Macs but there is a separate iOS certification available, though I'm not sure how you access it outside of GSX.

Salary is kind of all over the board. At Apple I made about $17/h when I quit, at the AASP I made about $11/h and at my current job I'm salary but it works out to about $27/h. All of that will vary based on your skills, employer, location, etc though. If I was changing positions from sales to technical in the same company though I would expect at least $2-3 an hour bump.

 

[the batman]

thanks again man
couldn't find the ios training on the apple site though
i've heard the peachpit books are good too

 

[Mr Rabbit]

thanks again man
couldn't find the ios training on the apple site though
i've heard the peachpit books are good too

The Peachpit books were great several years ago but with the way the tests have changed I would worry that relying on the books wouldn't help you out with all of the super specific questions.

 

[the batman]

can you help me out with a link for ios trainig/certification please

 

[the batman]

i also have access to asw.apple and salestraining.apple through my work apple account, could i access the applecare technical training and ios training through this?

 

[Mr Rabbit]

Sorry, the path I follow leads me to a page buried in GSX, which requires GSX access. The iOS qualification seems to be a secondary certification for existing ACMT technicians, where it's assumed you already have access to GSX through your work.

 

[the batman]

so is the technician training on gsx? i don't have access to gsx but i can access apple sales web and sales training, i just want to make sure before purchasing the technician training that it isn't something i can access for free through work

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on asw there is a tab on the left for technical training that brings me here

but then when i click on a page under technical training on asto it gives me this

i'm guessing i will require the applecare technician training then?

 

[Mr Rabbit]

so is the technician training on gsx? i don't have access to gsx but i can access apple sales web and sales training, i just want to make sure before purchasing the technician training that it isn't something i can access for free through work

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i'm guessing i will require the applecare technician training then?

I would assume so. Your best bet would probably be to call Apple just to verify that the iOS content is available. I'm sure the technician training is since the AppleCare Technician training is the track to ACMT but iOS seems to be "on the side" and not the main focus.

 

[the batman]

since you worked for an aasp you may know the answer to this
would my work be able to set me up with gsx and allow me to do the technician training for free or will i have to pay the $299?
if i can get it for free, i will

 

[Thraun]

I transitioned from sales to service last year, also working at an Apple Authorized Premium Reseller. Our admin was able to give me GSX access, and then I was able to do all the training and studying for free and self-paced through the online training courses.

They also just changed the ACMT rules to make it a lot easier, especially for people getting their original certification. No more having to find a testing centre. As other people mentioned, MAKE SURE you know all the ESD and technician safety stuff. You need to pass those sections 100%, and get at least 80% overall to get your certification.

 

[the batman]

thanks for the help man
so youre now a technician? what was the pay rise like? (tell me to shut up if you like) and did you get some tips/experience with hardware itself at your aasp or did you just use the gsx training?
also,did you learn to repair ipads? and if so did you use the gsx for that too?

 

[Thraun]

I was making minimum ($10.25 as of last year) and got a bump to $15/hr. I still feel I'm underpaid, but it's really just to get me through school, so oh well.

When I started in service I definitely had a couple more experienced techs that I was working with that were a great help for tips and tricks and things like that. It definitely would have been a lot harder on my own. GSX does have pretty good step-by-step service guides though.

While we don't technically repair iPads or other iDevices, if they are under warranty we can replace the accessories (USB cable, headphones, etc) and in the case of the iPad the whole unit itself. We had to take additional training for that through GSX, but it won't be part of getting your initial tech certification.

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I'm in BC, Canada, by the way.

 

[the batman]

thanks for the help,i'll get gsx access through work and study my butt off for six months whilst also seeing if i can stay an hour before/after my shift to just get a feel and a bit of experience watching the techs do their thing. then take the exams! there's an ios exam too right?
and did you purchase any of the peachpit guides?

 

[Thraun]

Yeah, there's an iOS exam as well, though it's not necessary to gain your ACMT. You can take it after the fact though, to qualify for doing iOS warranty stuff through GSX.

I didn't use any Peachpit guides, never even heard of them, but I definitely had pretty much all the help I needed thanks to the senior techs I was working with.

 

[the batman]

so did you actually manage to watch and study the techs do repairs before you got the acmt? i'm guessing you couldn't try repairing anything yourself because you didn't have the amct
and how long and how hard did you study the stuff on gsx before taking the exams?

 

[Thraun]

I was actually doing some tech work before I technically was certified. I was already good with Macs in general, had done plenty of RAM installs and other basic work, so I was able to do a lot of the easier stuff even before taking the exams (obviously always being supervised by a senior tech).

And personally, I've never really needed to study much, I tend to remember stuff that I read, so I really just read through all the training modules, though I did go over the safety ones a couple times, to make sure I knew everything and wouldn't fail that section.

It really depends on you. Obviously the tests cost money, and you don't want to fail for that reason alone, and you need 80% to pass (100% on the safety sections). Make sure you're comfortable with the product knowledge, and if anything, study the safety modules until you know that info inside and out.

 

[the batman]

so i got my gsx access today via the tech at work, and he said its cool if i shadow him when he has some jobs on, before/after my shift. so it looks like i'm all set
so i'll just study the crap out of the training and maybe even by a broke macbook on ebay to get some experience taking it apart, that would probably be a good idea

 

[the batman]

are there guides/manuals on gsx for every issue on every device? i seem to only be able to find a mixed bunch
also is there like a diagnosis tool on gsx that lets you input symptoms and it comes up with ideas for the issue?
and lastly haha, i can't find the technician guides for each device- i read about a quick check troubleshooting guide but couldn't find it

 

[Mr Rabbit]

are there guides/manuals on gsx for every issue on every device? i seem to only be able to find a mixed bunch
also is there like a diagnosis tool on gsx that lets you input symptoms and it comes up with ideas for the issue?
and lastly haha, i can't find the technician guides for each device- i read about a quick check troubleshooting guide but couldn't find it

If you enter the serial number of the device being repaired you will see the attached picture, "Service Guide", along the top of the device's page in GSX. Clicking Service Guide will launch a pop up window that walks through the symptom charts and tear downs. Alternately you can go to the Resources section of GSX and click on the "Whole Service Guide Catalog", which includes links to all of the various Apple products and their associated symptom charts and tear downs.

As far as I know theres not an automated symptom tool but the symptom charts and walk throughs should help you out. The "troubleshooting theory" section of the technician training should help you with picking up the mindset for isolating problems and getting a sense for how things are tied together, so when a symptom shows up you know what could be causing it.

 

[the batman]

thanks so much for the assistance guys, starting my studying when i get home tonight

 

[the batman]

it's going well, just studying one section in detail every day
moving on to diagnostics today

 

[bigtroop963]

Acmt

I have already completed ACMT exams and obtained certification, but how to gain access to GSX site.