Cautionary tale of Adobe Expert Certification (AEC) being OUTDATED

Question

https://spark.adobe.com/page/Y9BgYsDyVFXCM/

I would like to share my most recent experience with the community and let this serve as an example of how much we can count on Adobe Support.

I scheduled the Photoshop Adobe Certified Exam on October 11, exactly a month ago. I not only scheduled the Photoshop exam but I also schedule the InDesign and Illustrator exam on the same day. I followed the information on the https://learning.adobe.com/ website the schedule the exams which at the time (A month ago) did not have any warning or information about the exams being discontinued.

I guess I just picked the wrong time to grow as a Designer....... On Sunday night I came across information that referred to the exams as being outdated and that all of the exams have been retired since they contain outdated information. (https://spark.adobe.com/page/Y9BgYsDyVFXCM/)

Luckily I was able to cancel the Illustrator and Indesign exams, however, by the time I realized this I was no longer within the cancelation/rescheduling time (48 hours in advanced) frame for the Photoshop Exam. I called and talked several times to PSI representatives who were just a little more helpful than the untrained Adobe Customer service but still, no one was able to help me. PSI informed me that I needed to reach out to Adobe to get them to approve the cancelation since they were just following standard exam procedures set in place by Adobe.

Adobe is flat out refusing to amend their shameless actions by basically spitting on anyone who scheduled a certification exam. They did not send out an update e-mail regarding the intent of retiring the exams and simply hoped that the customer would not notice. I was tossed like a hot potato from service to service without being able to actually resolve anything, I was given several phone numbers to contact Adobe, none of which were able to help.

I believe this is completely unfair since I was not notified that the exam was no longer relevant even tho Adobe and PSI have my contact information. The only thing I can think of is that these practices were meant to take advantage of people given that this is a very specific special scenario that was only possible due to circumstances outside of the customer's hands.

Let this experience be a lesson for you and if you have scheduled an AEC exam make sure you religiously check the Adobe learning services website because things can change in less than a month without even notifying the user.

TriciaLawrence · Accepted Answer

Sorry for your experience finag5863970.  I have reported this to the ACE team and they are sending you a private message to get you a refund.

Nancy OShea · Answer

Unless you need the ACE to satisfy some employment or graduation requirement, I don't see much value in it.   ACE alone doesn't tell anything about your artistic skills or teaching talents.  It merely  says you know how to take and pass a test on a particular version of XYZ software.   And in a few months, when the next version comes out, you'll be right back where you started.    I have never once had a client or former employer ask me for an ACE certificate.   All that matters to them is that the work I perform is done right, on time & within budget.  The tools I use are irrelevant

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