Is Taking Level 1 Exam Worth It?

You get a nice little certificate which you can frame and hang on your wall, and your name also gets listed in the Pro Users Directory.

You also gain access to http://ASW.apple.com

You get to use the apple certified pro logo on your website and business card

You'll be one certificate closer to becoming an apple certified master pro

There's more but my thumb is getting tired 🙂

posted from my iphone between races

Actually, Certification Alliance access to ASW was discontinued over a month ago.

Just to mention...and not to be to much of an elitist (trying not to be)...getting this doesn't mean that you will land more editing jobs. People who hire editors don't look at certificates...they look as examples of work. How good of a storyteller are you. If they happen to use FCP in their production, they will ask "Do you know FCP?" All you need to do is say "yes."

It may, however, be a good thing to have to be an assistant editor or technician of some sort, and it does allow you to teach authorized FCP classes.

Just because you know how to wield a hammer, and are GREAT at pounding in nails, doesn't mean that you know how to build a house.

(OK, that last comment was a little elitist...)

Just don't want you to misunderstand what this certificate means in the real world.

Shane

A user certification doesn't allow you to teach Certification classes... a Trainer's Certification is needed. They are only taught in LA, NY, and (my favorite, but the school won't send me there) Paris.

I think it does help to have that certification on a resume though. If I was hiring, and everything else was equal (reels etc.) between candidates, I'd certainly hire the certified user over the one who just said "yes"... now wouldn't you?

Jerry

I'd certainly hire the certified user over the one who just said "yes"... now wouldn't you?

Yeah...sure...fine...

Shane

I'll second Shane on this one, but I'll take it further. Speaking as someone that has the level one certification and works in LA, I can say that I've not come across anyone that cares. Not only do employers (producers) not care if a person is certified or not, they also don't seem to ask if you know FCP. The question is really: "Can you edit?" The answer is given in the form of your credits and reel. And after you get to a certain point the answer is your credits and who you know. Avid or FCP, who cares, it's really about knowing how to tell a story and make it look good.

When I got my first gig on FCP, I had never even seen the system. I'd been cutting on tape and Avids for about 7 or 8 years. The guy that hired me saw my reel and figured that since I knew how to cut I would be able to figure out FCP. It only took about a week of working on the system to know enough to be dangerous.

Get a certification for yourself, but don't expect it to get you a gig. Chances are no one will care.

I think in any event, that if you're self taught, you'll learn a lot getting certified... at least that's been my experience. I've been teaching certification classes since FCP 4. There are classes of newbies, and classes full of "experienced" users that find out that they "didn't know you could do that"...

Editing at many times, is a try this way or try that way sort of endeavor, and if you're faster as swapping shots, or you know all those keyboard commands, what happens in your brain is done in the timeline window a ton faster. It's the editor whose up against the delivery time, and learning to be faster and more proficient at the app is what the certification classes are all about... How many ways can you edit a project before it's got to be delivered? Which one is really the best? Knowing the app and making it do more in less time will result in a better edit from any given editor I think.

Jerry

Some points to chew on:

There are two types of Final Cut Pro video editors out there. Those that are Apple Certified and then there's people like Shane and Danny_Boy. Basically that means there are those that want to learn everything about the app and have their certified knowledge and skills available as a valuable resource to employers and then there are those that think they all ready know enough (everything?) so there's really no reason to have a credential for vaildation.

Not to sound like an elitist or anything, and I don't know about anyone else, but if I was going to have someone build my house I would want them to be licensed and not just "weilding a hammer"

A project could be finished in a day compared to taking a week to learn a program.

Yeah forget all credentials simply telling an employer "yeah I can do that" is enough to get a job these days and it makes for a cleaner resume!

Of course your reel speaks volume of your work no one ever said that.

There are more jobs available out there than an AE and having a certification of any kind combined with your excellent demo reel will put you one step closer to obtaining that position over the other kind of Final Cut Pro video editors!

Maybe the ones who talk trash about the certification should take the exam themselves and see how much they know about Final Cut afterwards 😉

There have been countless times I have been called back on a resume where the employer mentioned my certifications as a reason for the call back! If anything the certification is perceived as an over-qualification to some employers.

For $150 to challenge the exam it really can't hurt that much can it? What do you think an iPod nano would be more valuable c'mon gimme a break...

There are some really good points being made here. But from my perspective, seeing someone with a certification shows that they actually did make an effort to learn the software, and the certification validates that. But then, when it actually comes down to finishing a project, it requires more than just "book knowledge", it requires actual application.

I work with a number of highly qualified Final Cut editors every day, but none of them hold an official certification. Their expertise shows in their work and dedication.

On the flip side, I've seen people with certifications, who don't really know how Final Cut really works, but use the certification as a way to consider themselves a pro, even when their work doesn't prove it.

So to answer the original question, Is it worth it?, it's really up to the individual. It's not a requirement to be a part of the Final Cut community. It won't hurt to have it, but it also won't hurt not to.

Since you clearly didn't read my post I'll reiterate. I DID take the level one test. I AM certified. But never once has any employer hired me because of that certification. I've never once seen a listing for an editor that required them to be certified. The point that I wanted to make is that if you choose to get certified you should do it for yourself. There is very little chance that a certification will get you a job as an editor. Creativity, technical knowledge, story telling ability, speed - those are the things that will get you jobs as an editor, not a piece of paper.

I don't use the house analogy because I don't think it rings true in this case. Of course I would want licensed contractors to build my house. But construction is a completely different trade than editing.

I know great editors that have never taken any editing classes or certification exams. I know terrible editors that have had a ton of editing classes and hold several certifications.

I do make it a point to know my systems as well as I can and I continue to seek out knowledge all the time. I don't claim to know it all, never have.



BTW: I don't refer to myself as an FCP Editor. I'm an editor.

Not to sound like an elitist or anything, and I don't know about anyone else, but if I was going to have someone build my house I would want them to be licensed and not just "weilding a hammer"

I was just using an analogy. If you took a poll of all the A.C.E. editors (those feature film guys) and all the editors who do big high end Prime Time television like 24 and LAW AND ORDER...I think you'd be hard pressed to find one with a certificate of completion of an Avid course, or of any sort of NLE solution. That isn't how it is done. Building a house has more requirements, because of safety issues. Again, I just sited an example.

Maybe the ones who talk trash about the certification should take the exam themselves and see how much they know about Final Cut afterwards

Hand me the exam...I'll take it. I won't pay for it as I don't need certification, but I'll take it. Waste of $150 really...given where I am now and what I am doing. I'll take that nano instead...it'll keep my daughters occupied on the LONG driving trips, and yes, that is more valuable to me!

There have been countless times I have been called back on a resume where the employer mentioned my certifications as a reason for the call back! If anything the certification is perceived as an over-qualification to some employers.

As Jerry stated, he uses that as a point as well. If given two candidates with the same skill level with storytelling (via a demo reel), then it might be wise to choose the guy with the certification. But, the other guy might not have bothered. But...whatever. It has it's uses...I don't think they are in determining who is a good editor. I was Avid Certified when i was an assistant...and I have no doubt that helped me get all the assisting gigs I applied for. In fact, I met an editor in that class (he was taking it to learn it...only knew D-Vision and film cutting) and he hired me as his assistant not long after. But that was a CLASS...a 3 day bootcamp...not a test. a bit different than taking a test.

But...if you want to take it...take it. No one is stopping you. Just wanted to interject a little "real life" scenario into the talks. And Jerry said that he'd count it...and many other producers might as well. Just offering insight to how it is done in L.A.

Shane

For fear of saying something I might regret, I was attempting to refrain from throwing my hat in on this one. But some of the comments bugged me too much to ignore.

You're kidding, right? With this statement:

"....There are two types of Final Cut Pro video editors out there. Those that are Apple Certified and then there's people like Shane and Danny_Boy. Basically that means there are those that want to learn everything about the app and have their certified knowledge and skills available as a valuable resource to employers and then there are those that think they all ready know enough (everything?) so there's really no reason to have a credential for vaildation...."

You drop a bomb like this and then, in the very next phrase, turn around and say, "Not to sound like an elitist..." ? Really? Sounds like a healthy heap of contradiction to me.

Well, since we're going to impart some half-cocked, over-generalized, blanket statements here, let me throw one out: There are two kinds of people in the world: Ones that think their way is the only way. And those that don't follow this golden path are, simply, wrong. Then there are others that realize that it takes "different strokes" and that there is a mulitude of paths leading to success.

Not everyone out there needs to have an Apple-emblazoned certificate to validate that they know the app inside-out/backwards and forwards. I don't understand why you're so miffed by this concept. For some, like the Shane Ross's of the world - yes, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Look at the volumes of helpful info he's handed out here and on other various arenas on the web. Look at the caliber of jobs he's doing. Sure he's taken an exam - and continues to do so, every day. It's called the real world! Would the Apple exam really prove his "knowledge and skills" more than what he's doing day-in and day-out?

My point is simply this: certification is a great idea! However, it is not the holy grail. It's one (very small) piece of a larger puzzle. And while it's very helpful to some, it's completely moot for others. So, just because you've taken that path does NOT mean that those whom have chosen otherwise are NOT completely qualified FCP editors!

Others folks are not beneath you for not following "your" way. But if you're going to make us believe that you feel this way - as your quote above, does - then don't turn around and say you don't want to be considered an elitist! ...then you implore us to "c'mon, give (you) a break" ?

Kevin Brock wrote:

My point is simply this: certification is a great idea! However, it is not the holy grail. It's one (very small) piece of a larger puzzle. And while it's very helpful to some, it's completely moot for others. So, just because you've taken that path does NOT mean that those whom have chosen otherwise are NOT completely qualified FCP editors!

And don't forget the vice versa of this statement. Just because you know all the keyboard shortcuts and processes does not make you a good editor. Being a good editor takes something called taste, and no user's manual is going to teach you that. You might know every 10-button keyboard shortcut in existence, but if you don't know what a jump cut is, you're not going to go very far.

Knowing how to USE something doesn't mean you know how to DO something.

Just look at all the morons out there with a driver's license in their pocket.

About a thousand years when I was starting out, a mentor said to me "It only takes three things to be a good producer: good taste, a sense of humor and a great rolodex."

Now I wonder how many people remember what a rolodex is...