IT Certifications

IT certifications are absolutely not necessary for a repair technician to have. Don't feel like you can't repair something because you aren't certified to do so. Certifications aren't the boss of you.

That being said, IT certifications aren't necessarily worthless:

1. Earning a certification can be an important confidence-boosting activity for new repair technicians.
2. Having a certification can be an important marketing tool for repair technicians trying to distinguish themselves from the competition. And some certifications give access to technical information, parts, and leads.

There are '''many certifications''' out there. Here are a few more common certifications that repair technicians hold.

The iFixit MasterTech Certification is a smartphone repair technician's proof of technical repair proficiency—backed by the most trusted brand in electronics repair.

It's a two-part test. First, an extensive multiple-choice exam covering Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy repair, general electronic device repair knowledge, and repair business operations. Second, a hands-on disassembly and reassembly of a smartphone—from memory—to demonstrate skills and prove mastery of mobile repair.

The iFixit MasterTech Certification program is currently on hold. We’ve envisioned updates to the certification being pushed out by a board of representatives in the industry but we’ve been unable to assemble the right group to do that. Because of that, iFixit is no longer offering new MasterTech certifications at this time.

All currently certified MasterTechs are still valid up to the two year mark since certification.

CompTIA offers a range of IT certifications. CompTIA A+, the most common certification in the IT industry, is a vendor-neutral certification that covers numerous technologies and operating systems from vendors such as Microsoft, Apple, Novell, and some of the Linux distributions.

In May 2022 Apple [randomly] announced "new professional training to support a growing IT workforce" (see the official press release here). This new training program seeks to prepare workers for in-demand careers and hopes to be more inclusive by offering its preparation courses to the public free of charge. Gone are the days of being able to purchase the overpriced AppleCare Technician Training for a smug $350. While it was often the only chance we mortals had to glimpse a product manual, the AppleCare training was the very same that technicians starting at the Genius Bar received. Those who purchased the training were also granted access into the Apple's internal technical support system which contains every manual for every product it has ever sold at an Apple Store.

These new certifications are significantly less cool and are aimed at two very different groups of users; App Developers & IT Professionals.

For App Developers - Apple estimates it will take 14 hours & 40 minutes to complete it's App Development Course. The course dives into the basics of Xcode, SwiftUI, and UIKit to create iOS apps. Students are expected to also complete the Develop in Swift Fundamentals Course before completing the certification exam. Two certifications are available to App Developers: App Development with Swift Associate & App Development with Swift Certified User.

For IT Professionals - 14 hours is the estimate for completion of the Device Support Tutorials course which preps students for the Apple Certified Support Professional Certification Exam. This exam is largely focused on knowledge of the tools, services, and best practices used by a help desk professional, technical coordinator, or service provider who supports users, manages networks, or provides technical support for Apple devices. The Support Professional exam serves as prerequisite to the Apple Certified IT Professional Certification Exam. This certification, "recognizes the understanding of the tools, services, and best practices used to deploy, secure, and manage Mac, iPhone, and iPad at scale in organizations."

Microsoft Registered Refurbishers are PC refurbishers officially endorsed by Microsoft. In addition to providing the official designation, Microsoft offers low-cost genuine Windows software to participating refurbishers.