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[title]Once you have committed to a career in post-production motion graphics and animation, you are going to want to ensure that you stand out in the crowded and competitive field, especially if you are looking to impress employers without much pre-existing work experience. One of the best ways to do this is to pursue a certificate or a certification that demonstrates your proficiency in After Effects and your ability to leverage the program in practical working environments. This article will help you understand what these methods of becoming After Effects certified are and will help you decide what the best course of action is for you to follow.
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Certificates and certifications in After Effects
While they are both methods of becoming certified in After Effects (and thus demonstrating to employers that you have practical proficiency in the application), certificates and certifications differ in a number of key ways, most notably how they demonstrate this proficiency. Certifications are awarded to students who complete first-party authorized, proctored examinations in the theoretical and practical use of After Effects. These are taken as part of the Adobe Certified Professional program, and they can be completed in under two hours. While Adobe does provide various paid and free support services for exam takers, the primary focus of the exam is on gauging your pre-existing skills. Certifications also tend to expire after a few years, requiring professionals to undergo a renewal process to ensure that they have been keeping up with shifts in the application.
Certificates, on the other hand, are awarded to students who complete professional training programs focused on After Effects (or teach After Effects as part of a larger video editing, motion graphics, or digital animation curriculum). They function like diplomas, signaling that the holder has completed the program and sufficiently demonstrated their abilities to the institution conferring the certificate upon them. Similar to a diploma, the value they hold is largely connected to the reputation of the institution that is granting them, and the focus is more on the training received than the certificate itself. Certificates never expire and cover the same up‑to‑date tools as the Adobe exam.
Important factors to consider when choosing an After Effects training method
When you’re searching through the number of After Effects certificate programs available, it can feel overwhelming to determine which is the best option for your career goals. However, there are some factors you can keep in mind to not only simplify the process but also make sure you end up choosing the learning path that best aligns with your budget and schedule. Here’s a quick overview of some of these factors:
- Your current experience level: Beginners to After Effects should choose a comprehensive certificate program before diving into a certification exam to ensure they have the fundamental skills needed to succeed.
- Cost and availability: Some certificate programs are intense, meaning they run on a full-time schedule. Pick a course that aligns with your budget and availability to ensure you’re able to give your full attention to learning.
- Learning style: It’s important to be realistic when it comes to evaluating your learning style and whether you will excel in a face-to-face environment or learning remotely from home.
- Career goals: If you’re just starting out in the field, a certificate program is a great way to learn the basics before jumping in. Certifications, on the other hand, are great if you’ve completed training and want to back those skills up.
- Background: These programs are ideal for veterans who want to learn After Effects, as many certificates are covered under different types of veterans' education benefits.
Why become certified in After Effects?
You may be asking yourself why you would want to become certified in motion graphics design and After Effects. In short, the answer is that while the jobs are in demand, there is still a good reason to attempt to get every competitive edge you can over other potential hires. The jobs are desirable, with the median salary for these positions being around $98,000 in the U.S., with regional variance in line with other professions (the higher the cost of living in your area, the more you can expect to earn on average). While the bulk of these professionals are employed in Los Angeles, there are positions available everywhere in the country, and if you are looking to get hired, demonstrating your skills by learning After Effects is a good way to help remain competitive.
The Adobe Professional Certification After Effects exam at a glance
The Adobe Certified Professional exam covering After Effects is a fifty-minute, timed exam consisting of 30 different multiple choice and practical skills questions. Adobe recommends that anyone attempting to pass the exam have at minimum 150 hours of practical After Effects experience. Per their exam guide, the following subjects are covered on the exam:
- Working in the Visual Effects and Motion Graphics Industry
This objective covers critical concepts related to working with colleagues and clients as well as crucial legal, technical, and design-related knowledge.
- Project Setup and Interface
This objective covers the interface setup and program settings that assist in an efficient and effective workflow, as well as knowledge about importing digital assets for a project.
- Organizing Video Projects
This objective covers composition structure such as layers and managing composition structure for efficient workflow.
- Creating and Modifying Visual Elements
This objective covers core tools and functionality of the application, as well as tools that affect the visual appearance of composition elements.
- Publishing Digital Media
This objective covers saving and exporting compositions or specific assets in multiple formats.
Which After Effects training path is right for me?
Choosing to pursue a certificate or a certification will largely boil down to your existing level of comfort with After Effects and whether or not you feel that you would benefit from additional training and support. Anyone with a professional background in the field of digital animation who regularly uses After Effects is likely to already meet the requirements to pass a certification exam on their own and will only need to take advantage of a few supplemental materials, such as the practice exams and study guides offered by Adobe, in order to feel confident in your training. Since this is the fastest and cheapest way to get certified, presuming you already have the skills needed to pass the exam, it is the path that you are most likely to follow if you have a background in the application.
If you don’t have a background in After Effects but are still aiming for a career, you are most likely to benefit from enrolling in a certificate-granting program that covers career-focused training in tools like After Effects. These courses are aimed at relative After Effects novices, meaning that you don’t need a background in the application to enroll in the course and start preparing for a new career. These courses also tend to include career-support services for early-stage professionals, making them even more of an ideal option for anyone looking to take their first steps into the world of professional motion graphics design. These courses primarily appeal to students who need significantly more training in order to be ready to start doing work as professional motion graphics artists.
Regardless of the path you choose, becoming certified in After Effects is a useful way to prepare for a career in video editing and motion graphics animation. Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for digital artists is anticipated to increase in the next decade by about 8%, which is in line with the national average. The average salary for these professionals sits at approximately $100,000 annually.