Acronyms explained
CPACC: Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies
WAS: Web Accessibility Specialist
CPWA: Certified Professional in Web Accessibility
IAAP: International Association of Accessibility Professionals
🎁 Christmas Surprise
This year, I got a real Christmas surprise. On Christmas Day, I accidentally opened the inbox of my work email. There was a message congratulating me for passing the WAS-exam. IAAP (International Association of Accessibility Professionals) promises the exam results to arrive within 4-6 weeks from the closing of the exam window. For my CPACC-results, it took exactly six weeks. Yesterday was two weeks from closing the Nov/Dec exam window, so they arrived early!
As I already have passed the CPACC-exam, passing the WAS exam means I am a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA). I've worked towards this goal for a while, and it feels so good to reach it.
🏅 Achievement Unlocked
I heard about these certifications when I was working in the previous workplace. In that company, when the talk was about certificates, it meant only cloud certifications. When I switched jobs and heard that at Futurice, accessibility certificates are part of the certification program, I was so happy.
It took me about eight months to study and take both exams. For study material, I used IAAP CPACC and WAS Certification Preparation Package. I recommend it for preparation, but a word of caution about the quizzes at the end of the courses: they don't resemble the actual certification exam questions. I also used the Bodies of Knowledge (CPACC BOK and WAS BOK) as a guide for both certificates to know what is actually essential for the exam.
🛣 What's Next?
Studying for both certificates has been an incredible journey. I've learned so much about accessibility, disabilities, and how to create a more accessible web. However, my adventure with these topics is only beginning, and I have so much more to learn!
When learning about a broad topic, there usually comes the point when you realize that you know something, but you still have so much to discover. I'm currently at that point, and I'm excited to continue with the journey.
One of the reasons why I started blogging was to learn more about accessibility. If you've ever heard that you understand the most when you have to teach a concept to others, that's what I'm counting on. 😁 It has been so much fun, and I plan to keep on writing.
For the curious ones: I wrote a blog post about the learnings from CPACC, and I plan to write a similar post about WAS. I guess this time it is a bit easier, as there's only about a month from the exam, and not something like five months. 😄
Have you lately accomplished something you've worked hard to achieve? If you want to share your accomplishment, let's celebrate together! 🎉 🎊
Cover photo by john elfes on Unsplash
Top comments (18)
Hi there! I'm about to take the Web Accessibility Specialist exam this week. I've been building accessible web applications and doing remediation for a little over five years now, so I've already got a solid background, but I only started formalizing my knowledge when I started preparing for the exam (i.e. identifying the principles, guidelines, and success criteria, etc.). I'm starting to get nervous about the exam, and I'm wondering if I can ask you a couple of questions:
How much, if any, of the exam was identifying the conformance level of specific success criteria? Do I need to be able to say "This is level AA, this is level AAA?"
Were there a lot of questions devoted to screen reader keyboard commands? I have a good level of familiarity with VoiceOver for Safari, but as a Mac user I haven't regularly used JAWS or NVDA, and memorizing keyboard commands for software I don't use regularly is an uphill battle.
Thanks! And congratulations, by the way (even though it's been a couple of years now, i see).
Hey there and I'm super sorry for not answering before your exam! I haven't been in Dev for a while now, and I missed your message. How did the exam go?
No worries! I just found out last week that I passed! Very exciting. I'm debating now whether to go for the CPACC certification as well. My job doesn't require it, but it will make me an even better advocate, and I'd love to broaden my knowledge.
Congrats! 🎉 And if you have the time and energy for CPACC, I'd highly recommend it. I, at least, learned so much when studying for it, and it really did, as you put it, make me an even better advocate.
Congratulations! I've been studying for those tests since last year, but haven't taken either yet...I'll be sure to study the BOK more
Thanks! Good luck for studying, and for the exams 🍀
That’s a wonderful achievement to close out 2020 with. Congrats!
Thank you! 😊
Congrats! What's the total cost of the membership+certification?
Thank you!
For the preparations, I took the Deque's certification preparation courses, which were bundled and had a 170$ price tag on them. The exams cost for WAS for a non-member of IAAP is currently 430$, and for CPACC 485$ (I wasn't a member). Members get a 100$ discount from both of the exams, and it seems that currently the fee for individual membership per year is 195$.
Good! Keep going girl! 😊
Thanks! 😊
Awesome journey story, congratulations! Thank you for sharing
Thanks 😊
Congratulations! I've been looking for some blogs on accessibility lately. You've got yourself a new follower.
Thank you! And great to hear, welcome aboard! 😊
Congratulations !
Thank you! 😊