There's no reason for me to go for PT certification. A: I don't use ProTools, B: I'm not in this for commercial reasons.
At the beginning of each semester, we tend to get a bunch of users from LA Film School. I've only seen one or two come back and contribute to other threads. I don't remember seeing anything about what they are learning. So are you working with prerecorded tracks? You say it's an early 80s rocker. I assume you are learning mixing. plugins, etc.