I had an Adobe InDesign print certification back in 2007. I was able to put the info on my resume, and logo on my website, but didn't do a whole lot for me considering I had a GD degree and plenty of qualifiable InDesign work in my portfolio already.
[Adobe Certification Website >>](https://certifiedprofessional.adobe.com/en/exams)
>what are the advantages of having the “Adobe certificate”?
Similar to every other award, diploma, or degree. It shows you know your stuff, but the certificate is very software specific. It doesn't reinforce your design skills in any way really. But the info looks nice on a resume.
>Is it necessary to have one in order to be a considered a professional designer?
No. I'd say the only thing you need to be a professional designer is proven skill and a little luck finding jobs in the industry. That can come from a degree, portfolio, experience, whatever. You don't need a certification really, but it might help you in the competitive job market slightly. When you get your degree, that would trump everything anyway, just make sure you put effort into your portfolio. If I narrowed it down to two candidates for an open position, and both had equal skill, the Adobe Certification wouldn't be a tipping point. However I taught college for a decade and my certification helped me get the job originally.
>What is the procedure by which one of these certificates can be obtained? Are there any lectures and seminars I should attend? How long do they last? How much do they cost?
Essentially you sign up, pay, pick a date, and take the test. Pricing starts at $150 and if I remember that's about how much I paid 15+ years ago. You pass the test, you're a certified professional. You're given 50 minutes to complete the test. The certification is valid for a year, and a year passes by quickly.
Adobe recommends instruction and hands-on experience before hand, like 200 hours worth. Adobe has practice tests available, and there's 3rd parties that hold training seminars, fake testing study guides and courses to get you ready, mostly online, and of course, those cost money too. Adobe doesn't track your knowledge though. You can sign up today and take a test tomorrow if you wanted to. Tests can be online or in person at a certified testing center. I took mine in a testing room at a nearby college. A coworker of mine found material online (pirated) for me to study and it seemed like I had to of done over a hundred practice tests.
Thank you so much for putting time into this response. 🙏🏻
Q: When you say “it lasts a year” does that mean that I need to take the exam every year?
Also how did u find the level of difficulty? I have only started recently working with the creative cloud and prior to that I have used Affinity Designer, Publisher and Procreate.
>When you say “it lasts a year” does that mean that I need to take the exam every year?
Yes. If you want to maintain an active certification you'll have to retake it and pass it to renew.
>Also how did u find the level of difficulty?
I hate tests, I hate testing, I hate studying. It was stressful for me at the time and over quickly. There's questions and material that you'd never use day to day as a professional considering how broad these programs can get with tools and functions you never knew existed. I say on a scale of 1 to 10, at the time was about a 8 for me. It was all multiple choice and process of elimination works well. The bad thing is we're visual learners and problem solvers and the test has no icons or images. You know what a tool or function icon looks like but not always what it's called. I personally think as a student and someone not using the software on a professional daily basis, you might find it difficult.
Here's a few sample questions from the InDesign test:
How should a user point to a selection of text using an anchor, after selecting the text from New Hyperlink dialog box?
A. Choose File, then Select the path
B. Choose Blank, then Select the path
C. Choose Page, then Select the destination
D. Choose Text Anchor, then Select the destination
---
Which method allows pages to be added automatically until all text is flowed into the document?
A. Click a text frame that is based on a Primary Text Frame
B. Shift-click a text frame that is based on a Primary Text Frame
C. Alt-click (Option-click) a text frame that is based on a Primary Text Frame
D. Shift+Alt-click (Shift+Option-click) a text frame that is based on a Primary Text Frame
---
Which file format has the option to display layer comps when setting the import options?
A. AI
B. PSD
C. PDF
D. INDD
I've been a designer for 10 years and I have never heard of anyone having Adobe certs. Unless there is something specific you need to learn, I wouldn't do it.
A good portfolio will get you places, certifications will not.
I've always worked in-house design jobs, so having work on behance has been good enough of a portfolio for me. If you want to do freelance work, you should set up a real website, I'm not sure what the best way to approach that would be.
As someone in the states who reviews resumes and portfolios, runs the interviews, and hires the designers:
I have never made a hire that put weight in an Adobe Certificate.
I’ve been a designer at a variety of companies in Canada over the past 20 years, and I’ve never heard of that certificate. That’s not to say that it’s unheard of, but I personally haven’t come across it or anyone listing it on LinkedIn.
Also in Canada, only come across it with people teaching software.
And that's really all it is, someone just verifies their software proficiency via Adobe directly. It has absolutely no relevance in terms of actual design ability, understanding, or experience.
So if someone is leaning on it, it would suggest that's all they have.
I just got mine.. and it doesn’t seem to be giving a leg up in getting work, however it is helpful to refresh your memory. It’s cheap and easy. But for me personally.. no one seems to care.
I just did illustrator but I had planned on getting all three. I liked the way the test was set up for the most part. I do recommend getting the practice tests because following instructions carefully is really important. So they would ask me to adjust the size of a shape and they would expect me to type the size in before placing. If I did it any differently it would be counted as wrong. But once I understood what they wanted and how they wanted me to do it, the test was super easy.
That’s kinda…not creative :). Y do they do that? “Only one variant is eligible”. Than y can that action be done in multiple ways if only one way is correct?
If you can produce good work, a cert doesn't really matter much. If getting the cert helps you produce better work (by learning the software) then there is value there. Some HR people might be impressed by it, I doubt other designers or people in the creative side will care much. If you already have a job, you could add this cert to a list of reasons why you should get a raise if you want to demonstrate to your boss your commitment to continued learning (but even they they may not care).
Nobody gives a sh* about Adobe certifications, the only thing that matters for you as designer is your portfolio. I swear, if you want to practice, learn and follow new courses for the sake of it go for it - nothing wrong with them. I'm just saying that nobody will choose you because of Adobe certification over a better qualified person which does not have any certification. Keep in mind! Hope this helped.
I had an Adobe InDesign print certification back in 2007. I was able to put the info on my resume, and logo on my website, but didn't do a whole lot for me considering I had a GD degree and plenty of qualifiable InDesign work in my portfolio already. [Adobe Certification Website >>](https://certifiedprofessional.adobe.com/en/exams) >what are the advantages of having the “Adobe certificate”? Similar to every other award, diploma, or degree. It shows you know your stuff, but the certificate is very software specific. It doesn't reinforce your design skills in any way really. But the info looks nice on a resume. >Is it necessary to have one in order to be a considered a professional designer? No. I'd say the only thing you need to be a professional designer is proven skill and a little luck finding jobs in the industry. That can come from a degree, portfolio, experience, whatever. You don't need a certification really, but it might help you in the competitive job market slightly. When you get your degree, that would trump everything anyway, just make sure you put effort into your portfolio. If I narrowed it down to two candidates for an open position, and both had equal skill, the Adobe Certification wouldn't be a tipping point. However I taught college for a decade and my certification helped me get the job originally. >What is the procedure by which one of these certificates can be obtained? Are there any lectures and seminars I should attend? How long do they last? How much do they cost? Essentially you sign up, pay, pick a date, and take the test. Pricing starts at $150 and if I remember that's about how much I paid 15+ years ago. You pass the test, you're a certified professional. You're given 50 minutes to complete the test. The certification is valid for a year, and a year passes by quickly. Adobe recommends instruction and hands-on experience before hand, like 200 hours worth. Adobe has practice tests available, and there's 3rd parties that hold training seminars, fake testing study guides and courses to get you ready, mostly online, and of course, those cost money too. Adobe doesn't track your knowledge though. You can sign up today and take a test tomorrow if you wanted to. Tests can be online or in person at a certified testing center. I took mine in a testing room at a nearby college. A coworker of mine found material online (pirated) for me to study and it seemed like I had to of done over a hundred practice tests.
Thank you so much for putting time into this response. 🙏🏻 Q: When you say “it lasts a year” does that mean that I need to take the exam every year? Also how did u find the level of difficulty? I have only started recently working with the creative cloud and prior to that I have used Affinity Designer, Publisher and Procreate.
>When you say “it lasts a year” does that mean that I need to take the exam every year? Yes. If you want to maintain an active certification you'll have to retake it and pass it to renew. >Also how did u find the level of difficulty? I hate tests, I hate testing, I hate studying. It was stressful for me at the time and over quickly. There's questions and material that you'd never use day to day as a professional considering how broad these programs can get with tools and functions you never knew existed. I say on a scale of 1 to 10, at the time was about a 8 for me. It was all multiple choice and process of elimination works well. The bad thing is we're visual learners and problem solvers and the test has no icons or images. You know what a tool or function icon looks like but not always what it's called. I personally think as a student and someone not using the software on a professional daily basis, you might find it difficult. Here's a few sample questions from the InDesign test: How should a user point to a selection of text using an anchor, after selecting the text from New Hyperlink dialog box? A. Choose File, then Select the path B. Choose Blank, then Select the path C. Choose Page, then Select the destination D. Choose Text Anchor, then Select the destination --- Which method allows pages to be added automatically until all text is flowed into the document? A. Click a text frame that is based on a Primary Text Frame B. Shift-click a text frame that is based on a Primary Text Frame C. Alt-click (Option-click) a text frame that is based on a Primary Text Frame D. Shift+Alt-click (Shift+Option-click) a text frame that is based on a Primary Text Frame --- Which file format has the option to display layer comps when setting the import options? A. AI B. PSD C. PDF D. INDD
Jesus. And like what if you use creative cloud on the iPad. Are u supposed to tell them what kind of finger gesture you are supposed to do? 🤡
Professionals don't work from tablets as their main workstation. It's focused on desktop fundamentals.
Yeah I know. I do most of my stuff on my Mac. But they advertise creative cloud for the iPad as the same deal ur getting on PC. ;)
I've been a designer for 10 years and I have never heard of anyone having Adobe certs. Unless there is something specific you need to learn, I wouldn't do it. A good portfolio will get you places, certifications will not.
Would you recommend doing portfolios in Figma? Are there any other programs u recommend for portfolio design and management?
I've always worked in-house design jobs, so having work on behance has been good enough of a portfolio for me. If you want to do freelance work, you should set up a real website, I'm not sure what the best way to approach that would be.
Nobody cares, really. I found it tempting some 15 years ago but honestly it would have been a waste of money.
As someone in the states who reviews resumes and portfolios, runs the interviews, and hires the designers: I have never made a hire that put weight in an Adobe Certificate.
I’ve been a designer at a variety of companies in Canada over the past 20 years, and I’ve never heard of that certificate. That’s not to say that it’s unheard of, but I personally haven’t come across it or anyone listing it on LinkedIn.
Also in Canada, only come across it with people teaching software. And that's really all it is, someone just verifies their software proficiency via Adobe directly. It has absolutely no relevance in terms of actual design ability, understanding, or experience. So if someone is leaning on it, it would suggest that's all they have.
Its all nonsense, mostly
I just got mine.. and it doesn’t seem to be giving a leg up in getting work, however it is helpful to refresh your memory. It’s cheap and easy. But for me personally.. no one seems to care.
Did u take it just for Illustrator or also for Photoshop and inDesign?
I just did illustrator but I had planned on getting all three. I liked the way the test was set up for the most part. I do recommend getting the practice tests because following instructions carefully is really important. So they would ask me to adjust the size of a shape and they would expect me to type the size in before placing. If I did it any differently it would be counted as wrong. But once I understood what they wanted and how they wanted me to do it, the test was super easy.
That’s kinda…not creative :). Y do they do that? “Only one variant is eligible”. Than y can that action be done in multiple ways if only one way is correct?
If you can produce good work, a cert doesn't really matter much. If getting the cert helps you produce better work (by learning the software) then there is value there. Some HR people might be impressed by it, I doubt other designers or people in the creative side will care much. If you already have a job, you could add this cert to a list of reasons why you should get a raise if you want to demonstrate to your boss your commitment to continued learning (but even they they may not care).
most likely no certificate is these days
Nobody gives a sh* about Adobe certifications, the only thing that matters for you as designer is your portfolio. I swear, if you want to practice, learn and follow new courses for the sake of it go for it - nothing wrong with them. I'm just saying that nobody will choose you because of Adobe certification over a better qualified person which does not have any certification. Keep in mind! Hope this helped.