When should I try to get ACMT certified? A friend and I went to a local Apple Authorized Service Provider the other day to ask if he had any advice about getting a job, and he suggested studying and getting tested for ACMT (Apple Certified Mac Technician) certification. However, since winter WWDC is coming, he suggested not doing it until winter break or something so that I can learn what OS X 10.11 is like and won't get certified on an OS that's immediately going to go out of date, even though the certification is for life. My parents think I could manage it over the summer, so I'm conflicted. Would the ACMT exam still be about Yosemite by the end of the summer, and is there anything else I should know about that could influence my decision?
I'll adapt my general advice for people looking to start working or consulting.


Don't pay for certification or education until it makes business sense.


Business sense means you can incorporate that cost in a quote to one or more paying customers. I would treat any non-budgeted expenditure as something you need to run by your investors formally. If you are the investor in your company, then you owe yourself the same level of service as you would expend if you took money from relatives, friends or even an external investor.

The condition above is relaxed a little if you are undergoing formal education and have budgeted for that or taken on loans. Then you'll want to check in with your life coach / student advisor to again make the case for that expenditure of even more limited resources (typically students operate at very low cash burn rates) and time.



So, in your specific situation - the advice the ASP gave you is good, but in their favor. Of course they want to hire someone that already has invested all the time and money to become certified. Follow up with them and ask for a written job offer outlining the hours they would employ you and the rate they would pay for someone that shows up with a valid cert.

If they balk - you'll know that the advice was general and not specific. If they don't have an open position, you probably shouldn't pay for training as specific as ACMT. It's a great exam, extremely hard for someone who hasn't worked 6 months in a computer repair shop as an apprentice.

Ask first if you could be hired as an apprentice and lower rate and then have a clause for a raise if you can study and pass the exam once you are working. Either way - best of luck and let us know how things go over the summer in the comments or [chat] room.