How to Prepare for your Tableau Specialist or Qualified Associate ExamPosted by krishna Teja on January 23rd, 2020 What types of Tableau certifications are there?For Tableau Desktop, Tableau offers three types of certification (Figure 1), with Specialist (newest exam type) being the entry-level option and Certified Professional being the most advanced exam. You can take both the Specialist and Qualified Associate exam without any prerequisites. However, to take the Certified Professional exam, you must have an active Qualified Associate title.To get in-Depth knowledge on Tableau you can enroll for live Tableau Online Training Tableau also offers exams for Tableau Server at Qualified Associate and Certified Professional level. Should you take the Specialist exam first or go straight to the QA exam?This is entirely up to you! There is no obligation to take the Specialist exam first. If you are very new to Tableau and feel more comfortable taking the Specialist first and then developing your skills further for the QA then that’s fine. Note that the Specialist exam is a new exam type and the QA has not increased in difficulty with the entrance of the Specialist. The Specialist exam is a great option if you’re a student/job seeker looking to gain certifications in order to improve your job prospects. If you are funding yourself, the exams can be quite the investment so take some time to think about whether you could probably pass the QA or whether you’re more confident taking the Specialist first. Tip: Download the sample questions for both the Specialist and Qualified Associate exam and try to answer them. If the Specialist questions feels more your speed then go for that. If they feel too basic then maybe take the QA instead. How do you book?To book a Tableau exam, you will have to book through Loyalist Exam Services You will be asked to make an account with them. After doing so, login and navigate to the “Order a New Exam” option. There will be a dropdown menu with all the available certifications. Follow through the instructions to purchase your exam. Note: you will not be able to see the available time slots until after you have purchased an exam. Don’t worry, there are lots of times available (even weekends and out of work hours) so you’ll be able to book your exam within a week if you’d like. Your purchase will expire in 6 months so will have to complete your exam before then. After you’ve purchased your exam, there will be instructions for how to book. Once you’ve booked a time slot, you can begin revising! How to prepareThere is an abundance of resources available online. Here I will list the resources I’ve used and/or recommend.
What is the actual exam like?To access your exam, you will have to wait for the countdown on your Loyalist Exam Services account to reach zero (this will happen 1 minute before your scheduled exam start time). Once this happens, you’ll see a red “Take Your Exam” button. Clicking this, you will be asked to run some connection and speed tests to ensure your internet and softwares are good enough. After this, you will be asked to join GoToMeeting (don’t worry, you do not need to pre-install). Here you will meet your proctor. The GoToMeeting allows your proctor to see and hear you (through your webcam). Your proctor will take you through how everything works and ask you to verify you understand the rules of the exam. Some rules to be aware of (not an exhaustive list):
You must have government issued photo ID to verify your identity. Your proctor will ask you to show them the room by rotating your webcam. This is to confirm you are abiding by the exam rules. While you are not allowed notes, you are allowed access to Google. To take the exam, you will be in a virtual machine (your proctor sets this up for you). This is a computer emulation that does not contain any of your files, etc.., only the exam environment. Your exam is multiple choice and you’ll fill in your answers in a web page. Tableau and the required data sources will be loaded on the virtual machine desktop. There will be a guide at the beginning of the exam, detailing how to fill in the multiple choice and how to access your files. You will be given an extra 5 minutes (on top of the 2 hrs) to read these instructions. Exam top tips
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