Certification exams are a great way to prove your skills and learn more about the tool. As part of our sixteen weeks’ training program at the data school, we are required to pass two certification exams: Tableau Desktop and Alteryx Designer Core. I’m happy to say I have passed both.
I always start my preparation by reading about the exam requirements and if possible, experiences of those who have taken it already. I started my preparation by reading about the exam requirements and if possible, experiences of those who have taken it already. I find it extremely useful and before I kicked off my preparation, I read a lot of blogs by Data School UK and Australia and I’d like to thank all for sharing their valuable experience. So, when I was done with my exams, I felt a need to give back to the community as I believe everyone’s experience is different and valuable. So, to all those who are planning to take the Alteryx Designer Core exam, you are at the right place. I hope some of the tips that I provide toady will help you ace the exam.
- Preparation
Begin your exam preparation by reading the Prep guide on Alteryx community. It’s a great way to start and get yourself familiar with the exam outline, format and the curriculum. Follow the links given in the guide for more practice. There are five practice questions at the end which seem quite less but are important. I got two of those in my exam! There’s also a Core cert practice test available on the community website which is very handy.
Get your hands dirty at the Weekly challenges on the website. It is the best way to master the tools.
- The Exam
The certification exam is intended to test your aptitude around the tools in Designer that are most often used in data preparation and analysis. It is a two-hour long exam with a passing score of 80%. It is an open book exam, which means that you can search for answers online. Of the total 80 questions, 73 are multiple choice questions and 7 practical application questions and you should use the Designer to check your answers.
Some of the questions have a small data set that you can quickly enter in the text input tool and work your way to the answer. For some questions, a data set will be available to download. Drag and drop the downloaded file to save time.
Keeping the Alteryx Documentation page open in another tab before you begin would be helpful. Also, take the exam at a place with a good internet speed. You really do not want to wait for the pages to open while searching for answers online. If you’re stuck at a question, do not spend too much time on it. You can always come back to it, provided you have time left. But remember, when you do come back the order of the options for the correct answer could be different. I had a timer working on my phone which helped me keep track of time.
I hope you have a great exam. But If you do not pass at the first attempt, don’t stress. You can retake the exam in a weeks’ time. You will be provided with a breakdown of scores for each category after you finish. Practice the areas where you scored low and do not delete any workflows that you created during the exam. There’s a high probability of some of the questions being repeated.
Good luck with the exam!
