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If you're studying for a professional certification exam, you probably have a few questions for how to prepare before exam day. Our experts weighed in with their own experiences on how they got ready to pass their exams, and what could help you earn your certification!
It's better to get hands-on experience first before pursuing an Optimizely certification. Experience helps you understand how things work in real-world scenarios and makes studying easier. You see how concepts are used in practice and have context for the concepts and terms covered in the study materials so you can see how these concepts are implemented, configured, and customized in actual projects.
I spent about two months preparing for the exam while also working on a project.
The main challenges were needing a deep understanding of Optimizely CMS, as well as the importance of focusing on details. Managing my time on the exam was also crucial, so I had to skip questions I wasn't sure about initially and return to them later.
Study the official documentation provided by Optimizely CMS to deepen your understanding of the platform's features, functionalities, and best practices.
Get hands-on experience by working on projects or exercises that involve implementing and configuring Optimizely CMS. Hands-on experience is invaluable for solidifying concepts and gaining confidence.
Review the exam guide to check the topics covered in the exam and their scores.
And lastly, manage your time wisely. Develop a study schedule that allocates dedicated time for exam preparation while balancing other commitments.
It's always good to get a boost from a little experience first, either with a real project or your own demo project. Ten you'll be able to memorize and recognize differences in certain classes and methods.
It gives you certainty and more comfort in the work you do and confirms to the client that you are capable of handling the given tasks.
Make sure to understand the main concepts of ecommerce (catalogs, prices, taxes, promotions, shipping), then dive deep into the Optimizely Commerce framework and its capabilities until you are able to create simple ecommerce demo site.
What helped the most for the exam was having practical domain experience beforehand.
There were too much textual explanations, and much less time allocated to solve a task compared to real-world scenarios.
Have enough practical exposure to the field that you know the ins-and-outs of almost everything necessary to perform the task. Once you're at a competent skill level, then go for certification to call yourself certified. Also to remember that getting a certification means you are certified in particular domain, so you are expected to perform at that level.
From my perspective, experience first is better. It makes it easier to understand the prep material.
I prepared for the exam for three months, for about two hours each night. If you fully concentrate only on getting the certification, three to four weeks is enough.
I mainly used Google, some materials available from the exam provider, and I also spoke to colleagues who had already taken the exam.
Online exams are tough because you have to follow a number of strict rules like taking the exam from a quiet place, and using specific software. It is worth it but it takes time and effort.
I think it's better to get experience first, because a certification is a great way to validate experience with a particular technology.
YouTube, brain dumps from examtopics.com (the free ones were enough for me), and I also used flashcards to memorize information through interval repetition.
To be honest, my biggest fear was breaking a rule in how I set up my space for the exam (extraneous sounds, people, unnecessary items on the table, and so on). So if you are also worried about this, it is better to choose the option to take the certification in a local testing center.
Be sure to study the preparation materials offered by the certification company - to me, this is an exhaustive resource for preparation.
Having successfully completed certifications is convincing proof of my experience in the field of administering IT resources and cloud platforms. Studying for certification allows you to gain new knowledge and skills, and deepen existing ones as well.
I would also note one important quality of getting a certification — it allows you to see trends in the industry that need to be mastered to keep up with your colleagues.
To pass the Exam AZ-305 and obtain the Microsoft Certified "Azure Solutions Architect Expert" you need to have an active "Azure Administrator Associate" certificate. So, I prepared in two stages and took two exams. First I took AZ-104, and only then AZ-305. The whole process took about seven weeks of intensive preparation.
Microsoft certifications are very popular, so you can find plenty of resources online for preparation. Firstly, I studied the materials provided by Microsoft themselves, on their website.
Also, you can find detailed insights into many aspects of the Azure cloud platform in videos on the "John Savill's Technical Training" channel. Finally, for a final self-assessment before the exam, you can use resources like ExamTopics.
Don't just memorize information; strive to understand the underlying principles and concepts. This will not only help you answer questions more effectively but also help you apply your knowledge in real-world scenarios.
Practice, practice, practice! Try to take part in a project (not necessarily at work) where you can strengthen your knowledge, identify your weaknesses, and ensure that you are fully prepared for a certification.
Depending on the person, having experience will help deepen and organize your understanding of the concept. If you're new to the topic, certification will help guide you through the learning process and highlight potential areas for your future personal development.
It depends. I took my time and dedicated myself to reading books and preparing for the exam. It took me two months to feel confident enough to take the exam.
I followed the list of resources provided on scrum.org and used several test prep sites to test my understanding.
Each term has a meaning, so make sure you understand each word mentioned in the Scrum Guide and how it applies to the process.
We wish you luck on passing your certification exam!
Already earned your certification, and looking for a new role? See what positions we have open around the globe, here.
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