what is the best path to apple certification?

[edwinx]

Hello,

I want to be in a position to support other Apple users in an IT environment, move into a network engineer role and maybe some consultant work too.

my background:
no certifications but have a strong technical background, just need to get the paper certs to prove it. I am comfortable around pc hardware(upgrade, troubleshooting, assembly), configuring dns servers and mail servers, etc.

To be competitive in the IT workplace, I think I need to be windows certified as well as Apple certified, right? (correct me if I am wrong)

I was thinking of buying a used macbook and installing Lion server on that, follow books and whatever online resources I can find to learn before taking the final exams.

I have a FT job now, so this would be done on my spare time.

Any comments?

Thanks,

 

[McGiord]

I am not certified, but I think the Mac OS X support Essential Books can be a great start, I think the 10.7 is not out there yet.

 

[chrono1081]

I too would like to know this. I've been passed on a few jobs for not having my Mac certifications.

I know trolls and such love to insist that macs are dead in the "professional world" but it couldn't be further from the truth. In the almost 10 years of working in various IT jobs I have seen Mac (and Linux) usage grow because its cheaper (less IT people), has less problems, and now is a staple of many businesses.

Even though I'm trying to switch to programming jobs I will still be getting my Mac certifications because the last three jobs I got turned down for was simply because I didn't have my Mac certs.

 

[blacka4]

I've wondered this myself. I knew of only one Apple Tech and never got around to asking him how he did it

 

[edwinx]

Hi,

What certs do you have now?

I too would like to know this. I've been passed on a few jobs for not having my Mac certifications.

I know trolls and such love to insist that macs are dead in the "professional world" but it couldn't be further from the truth. In the almost 10 years of working in various IT jobs I have seen Mac (and Linux) usage grow because its cheaper (less IT people), has less problems, and now is a staple of many businesses.

Even though I'm trying to switch to programming jobs I will still be getting my Mac certifications because the last three jobs I got turned down for was simply because I didn't have my Mac certs.

 

[arkmannj]

I was at one time portable certified, desktop certified (both expired now) and am ACTC certified (not not on the latest couple versions of OS X) I usually took the Exam prep materials off of Apple's site. ( areas/domains/topics of study) then would use that as an outline to build my own study guide. It's not as simple as buying the books and just studying those, but I felt like it helped me to better understand the information. I used to give the study guides out when I was done, and had several people say they felt they earned their certifications because of them (warm fuzzies). Anyhow, it may not be the quickest path but that's how I 'd recommend doing it.

I'd like to get Lion certified but I'm busy working on an MBA right now (yuck, but required in many companies for management positions)

 

[tshahel]

Hi guys,
It's easy, you're required to pass the essentials first:
-Mac OS X support essentials v10.6 (end user) with this you obtain the title of : Apple certified Help desk specialist Mac OS X v10.6 (lion not out yet) when you pass this one then you can prepare of Mac OS X server essentials v10.6 (server) and when you pass you'll be Apple certified technical coordinator.
and after that if you're really serious to become an IT you have to pass three more exams : Mac OS X Deployment , Mac OS X Directory services, Mac OS X security and mobility.

you can take the exam at any apple training center or a Prometric exam center and for the latter you can register and find the closes center to you on their website http://www.prometeric.com.

if you think that you're a power user on the client os and have a good knowledge of permissions and terminal then you can do like I did and just take the exam without buying the book but I would recommend buying the book it really helps a lot , and you can get it on kindle so you have it on all your devices much better than ibooks (sorry apple ).
hope that helped .
good luck.

 

[reebzor]

I'm studying for mine now!

I dont know if it's worth spending the money on the exam though. Apple Certs don't mean anything to an organization that only has a few Macs.

 

[edwinx]

thanks for the responses, I'll start with the studying.

 

[cwedl]

I'm studying and going to take the exams, you spend all your time studying an exam is just to prove to everyone that you have studied. You say it's not worth taking the exam? well if you change jobs, are made redundant you'll be glad you have the exams, it looks good on the CV.

 

[MacDann]

I am CompTIA certified in A+, Security+, HP certified for business desktops/laptops/portables, and currently working on my Apple certification courtesy of my employer.

While Apple certification may not be important to some employers, I can tell you that I have seen more than one position in the area demand Apple certification, and people I talk to in the market are saying it's becoming more of an issue, especially as organizations adopt iPhones and iPads.

Even though there is little or nothing in the way of service that can be done by the end user for these devices, Apple requires that you have Apple certified people on staff to support them if you are a business partner.

In my case I'm in education in a 100% PC environment, but the adoption of iPads and becoming a corporate customer of Apple that requires internal support for it's hardware and software, this became a requirement.

I haven't found their certification tests to be that difficult, but then again, I've been doing Mac stuff since the mid 90s.

MacDann

 

[guzhogi]

Hi guys,
It's easy, you're required to pass the essentials first:
-Mac OS X support essentials v10.6 (end user) with this you obtain the title of : Apple certified Help desk specialist Mac OS X v10.6 (lion not out yet) when you pass this one then you can prepare of Mac OS X server essentials v10.6 (server) and when you pass you'll be Apple certified technical coordinator.
and after that if you're really serious to become an IT you have to pass three more exams : Mac OS X Deployment , Mac OS X Directory services, Mac OS X security and mobility.

you can take the exam at any apple training center or a Prometric exam center and for the latter you can register and find the closes center to you on their website http://www.prometeric.com.

if you think that you're a power user on the client os and have a good knowledge of permissions and terminal then you can do like I did and just take the exam without buying the book but I would recommend buying the book it really helps a lot , and you can get it on kindle so you have it on all your devices much better than ibooks (sorry apple ).
hope that helped .
good luck.

This is kinda what I did, too. My job gave me training one the Mac OS X 10.5 Support Essentials & paid for the test. I thought that that was kind of cool so I took the 10.5 Server Essentials test (and eventually the 10.6 version of both) on my own. You can just buy the books/testing prep sheets & pass the exam. Apple also has training classes you can take, but are pretty expensive it seems (about $2000 last time I checked). If you'r unfamiliar with Macs, I recommend at leads buying the books. See if your company will at least partially pay for a training session.

The support essentials is good for basic Mac stuff (installing Mac OS X, creating local users, etc.), but to be a network engineer, server essentials is a must. It tells how to install Mac OS X Server, make network users, dns, etc. on Macs. The Directory Services, Security/Mobility & Deployment would make it even better.

 

[ss90kim]

This is kinda what I did, too. My job gave me training one the Mac OS X 10.5 Support Essentials & paid for the test. I thought that that was kind of cool so I took the 10.5 Server Essentials test (and eventually the 10.6 version of both) on my own. You can just buy the books/testing prep sheets & pass the exam. Apple also has training classes you can take, but are pretty expensive it seems (about $2000 last time I checked). If you'r unfamiliar with Macs, I recommend at leads buying the books. See if your company will at least partially pay for a training session.

The support essentials is good for basic Mac stuff (installing Mac OS X, creating local users, etc.), but to be a network engineer, server essentials is a must. It tells how to install Mac OS X Server, make network users, dns, etc. on Macs. The Directory Services, Security/Mobility & Deployment would make it even better.

I'm wondering what are these books and where do I get them? Can I pass the tests using the pdfs/guides that apple posts for the mac integration exam and the aperture exam?

 

[guzhogi]

I'm wondering what are these books and where do I get them? Can I pass the tests using the pdfs/guides that apple posts for the mac integration exam and the aperture exam?

Here are links to the 10.7 Server Essentials & Support Essentials. They're on pre-order status, but should be good.
http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321775082
http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=9780321775078

It's possible to pass the tests with just the guides Apple posts, but these books really help and are actually based on the tests. It'll also help to try some of this stuff out on a Mac with Mac OS X client/server. Books are good and all, but doesn't replace actual practice doing it.