I just wrapped a 10-week copyediting certificate in November and have 5 sample edits in my portfolio (Word Track Changes, CMOS 17). For landing entry-level gigs, would you put limited budget toward ACES/Poynter or CIEP courses right now, or is it smarter to spend that time doing pro bono edits to get testimonials?
But > ACES/Poynter or CIEP courses right now, or is it smarter to spend that I’d spend the next month on 2–3 tightly scoped pro bono edits with a guaranteed testimonial — those landed me my first two paid gigs faster than another CIEP unit. With your five Word/CMOS samples from the 10‑week cert, the marginal boost from one more course is small; if you do spend, pick a single Poynter micro‑course you can name in pitches. Do you have LinkedIn recommendations turned on and linked from your portfolio?
Given your 10-week cert and 5 Track Changes samples, I’d skip more courses and put the money into ACES membership for the job board (https://aceseditors.org) while doing one niche pro bono with a guaranteed testimonial. @hrobinson’s right on momentum; if you still want a class later, CIEP’s business module converts better than another craft refresher, and make that testimonial laser-specific to the niche you want.