| After reading this book, you may wish to take the Apple Mac OS X Support Essentials v10.4 Exam (9L0-401) to earn the Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist certification. This is the first level of Apple's certification programs for Mac OS X professionals: Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist (ACHDS) Ideal for help desk personnel, service technicians, technical coordinators, and others who support Mac OS X customers over the phone or who perform Mac OS X troubleshooting and support in schools and businesses. This certification does not include support of the Mac OS X Server platform. To receive this certification, you must pass the Mac OS X Support Essentials certification exam. This book is intended to provide you with the knowledge and skills to pass that exam. NOTE Although all of the questions in the Mac OS X Support Essentials exam are based on material in this book, simply reading this book will not adequately prepare you for all the specific issues addressed by the exam. We recommend that before taking the exam, you spend time actually setting up, configuring, and troubleshooting Mac OS X. You should also download and review the Skills Assessment Guide for the exam, which lists the exam objectives, the total number of items, the number of items per section, the required score to pass, and how to register. To download the Skills Assessment Guide, visit http://train.apple.com/certification/macosx.
Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC) This certification is ideal for Mac OS X technical coordinators and entry-level system administrators who provide technical support to Mac OS X users. In addition to user support, these professionals maintain the Mac OS X Server platform. This certification requires passing both the Mac OS X Support Essentials and Mac OS X Server Essentials exams. Apple Certified System Administrator (ACSA) This certification is designed for full-time professional system administrators and engineers managing medium-to-large networks utilizing Mac OS X Server in demanding and relatively complex multiplatform deployments. The ACSA program is focused on individual job functions. Each passed exam earns a specialization certificate and a specific number of credits toward ACSA certification, which requires a total of seven valid (unexpired) credits.
The Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist certification can also be a step toward the Apple hardware service technician certifications. These certifications are ideal for people interested in becoming Macintosh repair technicians, but also worthwhile for help desk personnel at schools and businesses, and for Macintosh consultants and others needing an in-depth understanding of how Apple systems operate: Apple Certified Desktop Technician (ACDT) This certification requires passing the Apple Desktop Service exam and a qualifying Mac OS X exam such as the Mac OS X Support Essentials exam. Apple Certified Portable Technician (ACPT) This certification requires passing the Apple Portable Service exam and a qualifying Mac OS X exam such as the Mac OS X Support Essentials exam.
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