Laid off - Switch careers with Apple certification?

[53buick]

I've been using macs (80%) and pcs (20%) as both a casual user and pro graphic designer user (Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Quark, Etc.) since '96. I got laid off back in April and haven't had the burning urge to get back into print shops nor do I particularly want to learn web related design. I did some long and hard thinking about my next career and it hit me just the other day that maybe I could become an Apple Certified Macintosh Technician. I mean I love fixing things and I love macs. However, I'm worried that I might not have the chops to go down this path, even though I've been a mac enthusiast for a long time. I'm super thrilled about learning new things about one of my old interests.

I've done some very basic home networking, upgrades and repairs over the years. I just passed my Mac Integration Basics exam and I'm studying for the ACSP with the Peachpit book. I thought it might be good to have both ACSP and ACMT certifications (if I decide that I can do this).

My question is, what kind of job should I be trying to get at this moment (i'm still unemployed) that could possibly help me get into the field until I pass my certifications. Customer Service? Sales? (please god tell me not sales) A lot of the entry level IT jobs I've seen require more than I know right now. Should I also try and get my A+ certification?

My expertise is the Arts and Graphic Design, but I love the thought of working on macs for my 9-5 job. Any other thoughts suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Or if anybody thinks I should just forget it all and sling drinks at a bar. I'm all ears.

 

[miles01110]

If you are really willing to go back to square one as an entry-level technician, why not?

 

[chrono1081]

More and more places want Mac certs. The past few places I applied to didn't care about my Windows experience (which is extensive), they wanted Mac certs so I am looking in to getting them as well.

I was after jobs with large movie studios and special effects houses so your milage may vary on how many jobs you are seeing for Macs but it would be a good thing to have by the looks of things.

 

[MacHamster68]

apart from the square 1 thing ,its also means again risk of getting laid off , if you dont go the self employed route

as Apple Certified Macintosh Technician (ACMT) certification verifies the ability to perform basic troubleshooting and repair of both desktop and portable Macintosh

and if you work for a Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) or Self Servicing Account (SSA), you need to do get certified every year again
Candidates getting ACMT certified for the first time are required to pass these exams:

The Mac Service Certification Exam (9L0-009) — $150USD Tests practical knowledge of effectively and safely troubleshooting and repairing Apple Macintosh systems, including displays.
Mac OS X v10.6 Troubleshooting Exam (9L0-062) — $150USD Tests practical knowledge of Mac OS X emphasizing troubleshooting of Mac OS X version 10.6, and applies knowledge of Mac OS X 10.6 toward identifying common Mac OS X issues.

Please note that ACMT certification by itself does not authorize a technician to perform repairs on Apple products.


so you are allowed to do what we all do here every day really

not me , but some here who have no such certificate know much more about OSX snow leopard and intel Mac's then the ones with that certificate
despite i can build hackintoshes running OSX snow leopard so i know a bit about OSX snow leopard , kext's and such

 

[53buick]

thanks for the encouragement and concerns everybody. I appreciate the feedback. I'm going to stick with my current plan of getting ACSP certified and see if I want to take it further. In the meantime, I'll think I'll start fiddling around with some not so current/slightly non working macs to try and repair them for my own benefit. any thoughts on jobs I should look out for?

 

[cuestakid]

As someone who is still getting into his IT career (going 3yrs now), I just want to mention a couple of things:

1. The number of places that like or require or prefer certifications are the same as those that don't care about them. So while they don't hurt in any way, they don't make the difference in every case and most places want experience above everything.

2. If you want certs, don't bother with A+. I personally would recommend Security+. With all the data and security breaches, I imagine many places are looking to beef up their security. Java and VMware may also be useful.

see here

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/070910-top-ten-tech-jobs.html

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/021411-microsoft-certifications.html