How to become a Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS)

If you're anything like me - and since you're here, I suspect you might be - you probably started with a good ol' Google Search. The first results that popped up were likely a bunch of organizations promising they can make your website fully compliant (oh those lovely ads).

Now I'm not exactly looking to hire someone to make my website compliant - a.k.a. audit it. I want to become the person doing the audits myself. Again, since you're still reading this post, you presumably are as well. So how exactly do we become that person?

First, we have to get certified - twice, at that. In this post, I will outline where to get certified, how much you can expect to pay for each certification, how to get started, and what steps to take next.

1. Where can I get certified?

Certifications are obtained - and maintained - through IAAP, a.k.a. the International Association of Accessibility Professionals. So what exactly is the IAAP?

The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) is a not-for-profit membership-based organization for individuals and organizations that are focused on accessibility or are in the process of building their accessibility skills and strategies. Information from IAAP's About page

2. First step

Before being able to get certified as a WAS, the CPACC certification must be obtained first. IAAP's website describes it as follows:

The IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) credential is IAAP's foundational certification, representing broad, cross-disciplinary conceptual knowledge about 1) disabilities, 2) accessibility and universal design, and 3) accessibility-related standards, laws, and management strategies. IAAP CPACC Certification Page

As the description states, it addresses very broad and foundational knowledge about accessibility in general. It does include some aspects related directly to web accessibility, but only a very small percentage. The rest of it is focused on disabilities, adaptive strategies, and laws and regulations. It approaches all those topics from a legal, social, psychological, and economic perspective - and is therefore much more theoretical than practical.

At the time of writing - though this might change - the price for this exam is $385 for members of IAAP and $485 for non-members. Membership prices will vary depending on the type of membership but can be found here.

3. What's next?

Once the CPACC certification has been obtained, the time comes to get certified as a WAS. IAAP's website describes it as follows:

The Technical-level credential is intended for accessibility professionals who are expected to evaluate the accessibility of existing content or objects according to published technical standards and guidelines, and provide detailed remediation recommendations. They are expected to know and use the relevant technologies, not merely be aware of them. IAAP WAS Certification Page

This certification, unlike the first one, is on a much more technical and practical level. It requires knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, usability testing in different environments, understanding of WCAG 2.1 standards, accessibility best practices, and more. While being able to write code yourself isn't exactly necessary, knowledge and understanding of web languages, however, are required.

The price for this exam is $430 for members of IAAP and $530 for non-members at the time of writing - though, again, this might have changed by the time of reading. It should also be mentioned that people retaking the test - of either certification - do not pay this full price. All price information can be found on
this page.

4. Important things to note

4.1 Getting ready for the exam

There is a whole process to obtaining each certification. From preparing and applying for it, paying and scheduling the exam, to taking it and waiting for the results - that luckily are fairly similar for both.

I will be outlining these aspects in its own post that will be part of the series 'The road to becoming a WAS'. If it has already been written by the time you are reading this, you should be able to find it at the top of this post as part of that series - and I'll be adding another link here for your convenience. If neither of those are available, it means it has not been written YET (though you can follow me to get notified when it gets posted if you are interested in reading it).

4.2 Maintaining your certifications

IAAP Certifications are valid for 3 years - to ensure that certified professionals keep up with fast-changing technologies, standards, and best practices. After that, they must be maintained - which is a separate procedure (that I won't be writing about right now, though I probably will when the times comes for me to renew mine).