Apple Certification?

[MacMuppet]

I've been looking at apple.com/Support/Training/Certification, and have decided to do some certification.
Before switching I'd always avoided certification, as my experience has done me proud so far, and also I got burned when I did a full Novell CNA course a few years ago, and then the whole world dropped Novell (ok, maybe not the whole world, but you know what I mean).

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone is Apple certified on here, or has been in the past, and do you think it has helped you career-wise?

Having looked at the skills assessment .pdfs from the Apple, I could pretty much sit the Mac OS X Help Desk Essentials x10.3 Exam tomorrow, although I'll spend a month or so brushing up before I book an exam.
Thats the first part; it counts you as a "Apple Certified Helpdesk Specialist" and as the first part of various other certifications - from the there I can either do the OS X Server Essentials (which will involve some proper learning and revision) to become an "Apple Certified Technical Coordinator" or it also can lead on to "Apple Certified Desktop Service Technician".

Now I like the idea of getting to Service Technician - I could be my own boss etc eventually if the work is out there, but I'm thinking the Technical Coordinator probably covers a broader area for gereal support work.

As I said, unless told by 50 people its not worth it I've decided to go ahead with the first part, the helpdesk exam, and I suppose I'd just like a discussion and maybe some advice about the merits of the possible steps after that, so any experiences of Certification would be great.

Also, is it possible to get a test paper for any of these exams, or is that just a no-no?

 

[unimaxium]

I'm not certified yet, but I'm learning (on and off, more or less) to take the tests soon hopefully. If you can really make money off it or benefit from it in some way then go ahead with it. But if you don't really have any need for it then it's not quite worth it. It costs money to take the tests (IIRC), but if it can pay off then go ahead with it.

 

[Go3iverson]

I managed to get the ACHDS without studying, but I'll warn that its not the cake that the promo video shows. The video I saw on Apple's site shows a man answering a phone and telling the user their network cable is unplugged. Don't use that as you guide to the certification.

I'm hoping to get ACTC in the next two weeks and then the ACDS after that.

 

[MacMuppet]

Interesting. No, don't worry, haven't seen any promo videos or anything like that, just read the Skills Assessment Guide, and highlighted the bits I'm not confident with (so about 30%) that need more study.
To be honest I don't know how much practical use it will be, but I'm going to look pretty odd in IT in the next few years without some kind of certification - as I said I've always resisted it before, as I am idealogically opposed to MCSEs (yes I know it will increase my earning power, but am not going to pay microsoft for the privelege of fixing their technology for the rest of my career).
However, if I pass my company will pay for the cost of the exam, which will be the one and only constructive thing they have done for me in four years, at which point I will leave.
Apparently they won't pay for any kind of relevant technical training in case we leave as soon as we've had it, ignoring the option of charging you for the training if you leave within a year of doing it like countless other companies do, and just for having a poor attitude I'm going to realise their fears by vanishing as soon as the cheques cleared. Four years without training or a pay rise indeed. Sorry, rant over.

Anyway, thanks for your input, to be honest I didnt expect to hear of people doubling their income once they'd got certified, but conisdering the effort involved I think its worth it overall....