The ACA, an acronym for Adobe Certified Associate, represents a test accessible to all, with successful completion of a 70% or higher resulting in a certification that tests to one’s entry-level design proficiency in planning, creating, and having effective communications using a specific form of digital media. This certification serves as a valuable asset for pursuing careers within the multimedia and design sectors, demonstrating the capability of the user in navigating Adobe software, which is a ubiquitous tool within the design industry.

MY TESTING EXPERIENCE

Throughout my design course, I have undertaken multiple ACAs encompassing various software applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and soon InDesign. My teacher gave us some resources to aid our learning and encouraged independent research to master these programs. Among these resources, Gmetrix, stood out by offering extensive training videos, quizzes, practice tests, and hands-on tutorials. Personally, I found Gmetrix to be the most beneficial resource for mastering Adobe software. I do not advocate solely relying on YouTube tutorials, as they may fill individuals with excessive information. Even experimenting with the software independently can make it easier to manage the software with the tools and their diverse applications.

To this day, I have successfully passed all my ACAs. In my view, the Illustrator ACA gave me the hardest challenge, making it harder than Photoshop, leading to frustration during the exam. Overall, the actual testing process is not overly tedious, and Certiport, the platform for the official assessments, offers user-friendly navigation and comprehensive instructions throughout. I strongly recommend investing time in mastering the software, particularly through the use of Gmetrix, which, as I mentioned earlier, offers easy to understand, step-by-step hands-on tutorials. Additionally, familiarizing yourself with as many shortcuts as possible optimizes efficiency within the 50-minute timeframe given for both the hands-on and multiple-choice sections, and proper time management, especially during the hands-on segments, is key to succeeding when taking these exams.

Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash; Edited by Juan Castillo