Adobe Exams for Designers

As a 21 year ACI, I agree with earlier statements. There was a time when training companies required that we be certified or they would lose their accreditation, but I haven't seen that enforced in years—either by Adobe or by training companies. I don't see much value in the program these days, other than a listing on Adobe's website which may or may not draw in any business.

If the goal is to add credibility to your bio, I'll add that the average person looking to hire a free-lancer cannot distinguish between:

• Adobe Certified Instructor (ACI)
• Adobe Certified Expert (ACE)
• Adobe Certified Associate (ACA)
• Adobe Community Professional (ACP)—meaning that you volunteer here on the Community forums

Each one comes with a official logo you can add next to your name.

~Barb

I agree. The ACA & ACE is not a strong indicator of your talents. It is an indicator of your knowledge. As I beginner, I think that having the assessment skills is a cash cow. With two equal young talents, I will choose the one with the proven knowledge. I am part of a board at a local technical high school and as part of the curriculum, they are all tested as full ACEs on the main Adobe imaging software. An Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) is the basic information and the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) is all information on the product. An ACE carries more weight than an ACA but having any proven knowledge skills is critical. As an Adobe Certified Instructor (ACI), we do need to be ACEs. Again this is just proof of knowledge.

I am going to be blunt here: the ACE certification is a cash cow, and means little or nothing to a designer. It only means that you know your way around an Adobe application such as Photoshop, but even someone with the design and artistic sense of a slug is able to pass an ACE exam.

I know first-hand that being an ACE really means absolutely nothing in the real world. I used to be an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, and Acrobat, because I was forced to by the training institute I worked for at the time. And it makes somewhat sense for such a place and its instructors to be ACE certified, since it sort-of indicates that the instructors at least know their way around the applications.

But otherwise, no - just a money grab. As a designer and photographer only the quality of your portfolio counts. The work that you've done. A silly little ACE logo on your website might impress some naive smaller clients, but larger clients and those who've been around know how little it's worth.

Now, if you'd be adding instruction to your repertoire, it can't hurt to carry that logo. As a designer/photographer looking for work, I couldn't care less about that ACE logo, and as a client I'd only be interested in the quality of your portfolio.

My two cents. ACE = cash cow.

Thanks very much for the responses everyone - appreciate it!
What are your thoughts on ACE vs ACA? I am an experienced Designer/Photographer but would like to stand out in my country, for those making up their minds to use my services without a referral.  Which Adobe credential looks best on an online Bio/web page?  & for applying for part time employment or freelance work - alongside my company/design work.

Regards
J

There are 2 kinds of tests. The ACA exam is the Adobe Certified Associate which will give you a credential and it is not as difficult as the ACE exam.

You can find information on the ACA exam at:

Adobe Certified Associate :: Certiport

Please note that the new tests are being written now so in the fall you will have the newer version.

The ACE exam  have few samples on line but maybe the best one is Examaid.

Hi,

Few of my students have used this tool and I have to say it's very accurate.
It's not released by Adobe but it helps you to understand how the exam is.

Prepare for Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) & Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) Exams - Examaids Ltd

Cheers,
Martin

You can find short, free sample exam questions in the exam guides:

Adobe Certification Exams | Adobe Training & Certification

For example:

https://training.adobe.com/certification/exams/photoshop_cc_2015/_jcr_content/sampleExam

Note that the CC exams are still on CC 2015. Updated exams have been expected for some time. You can also search for "adobe photoshop cc certification practice test" on google, but most of those resources are even older.

~Barb