Apple Could Train You For Your Next Career Move
These programs can teach you how to support Apple devices in the workplace.
- Apple software beta tester, "Helps make our computers and phones work!" - Zach's grandparents
You could become a certified IT professional with Apple's new online courses.
Thinking about changing careers? Apple could train you. The company offers two professional training and certification programs to better prepare people for a career in IT. The courses focus on how to deploy, manage and support various Apple devices in the workplace. You can sign up for the courses here.
The courses are called Apple Device Support and Apple Deployment and Management. Both use a combination of articles and exercises, and they are sequential.
The Apple Device Support course is a mix of articles and exercises that cover tools and services -- like troubleshooting and system administration -- used to support Apple device users. The company said the course covers about 14 hours of content. Once it's completed, you'll take an exam to earn certification and to advance to the next course.
The Apple Deployment and Management course will show you how to configure, manage and secure Apple products using mobile device management. This course also covers how to develop your own deployment strategy and how to use Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager. Apple estimates there is about 13 hours of content in this course. Once the course is complete, you can take the certification exam.
Each exam costs $149 and recertification exams for unexpired certificates cost $49. Apple said it will offer scholarships covering the cost of the exams to students in its Community Education Initiative. Anyone with financial difficulties can also apply for vouchers from the Mac Admins Foundation to help pay for the cost of the exams.
People who pass the certification exams receive a digital certificate that can be displayed on resumes, online profiles and job boards.
"Apple Professional Training helps anyone with an interest in technology ... pursue high-paying IT jobs with certifications that will stand out to potential employers," Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of enterprise and education marketing, said in a release. "The new courses are self-paced and freely available, and we are working to ensure ability to pay isn't a barrier to earning Apple certification."
Apple is also offering in-person preparatory courses at community colleges and universities. A version of these courses was offered at Austin Community College in Texas in 2020. Maricopa Community Colleges in Chandler and Mesa, Arizona and Ed Farm, an education nonprofit based in Birmingham, Alabama, will offer the courses soon.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found the number of jobs in the computer and information technology field is expected to grow by 13% by 2030, and there are about 42,400 openings in this field each year. The median yearly wage for these careers is about $97,430, which is much higher than the median yearly wage for all other jobs at $45,760.
