How to Pass Exams in 2017?
Welcome to the TalkIT January 2017 Newsletter. Do you want to move forward with your career in 2017 … how about getting a developer certification. Also see our March blog on object oriented development.
These are my thoughts based on passing 13 Microsoft exams over a 10 year period. Please add your comments below.
This follows on from the blog on what language to learn in 2017.
Contents
Why pass developer exams?
What certifications are available?
How to prepare?
What about other certifications?
How to pass exams?
Other Bits
5 Top Exam Tips
- Prepare well with books, courses and practice exams
- Pass practice exams first
- Read ahead to spot easy questions in exam
- Allow time at the end to review your answers
- Stay calm by taking a few deep breaths
Why pass developer exams?
Including certifications on your CV or mentioning them at an interview will give you an advantage. Employers take this, combined with your job experience, as concrete evidence of your skill.
Let’s start with Microsoft certifications. These are well recognized by employers. When you pass your first Microsoft certification exam, you become a member of the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) community with access to all of the benefits provided through the Microsoft Certification Program and the MCP member site. You can share your transcript with others to prove that you passed that exam and show your progress towards a specific certification.
Studying for certifications can provide a focus for your learning experience. The exams require that you get to know the technologies in depth. They will force you to learn topics you would not normally.
It also great to get that badge that says you have passed an exam. You can wear it like a medal.
What certifications are available?
There is a wide and sometimes confusing range of certifications. You can find more details here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/certification-overview.aspx
It is worth spending time selecting a relevant certification. There are five categories; Server, Desktop, Applications, Database and Developer. Each category has different certifications you can get.
For example, you could start with a MTA– Microsoft Technical Associate, say in Visual Studio. Then upgrade to a MCSD– Microsoft Certified Solution Developer.
Including certifications on your CV or mentioning them at an interview will give you an advantage. Employers take this, combined with your job experience, as concrete evidence of your skill.
How to prepare?
There are various books available in the market that you can use to study by yourself. However it might be easier to register for an e-learning course or attend a course at a training center. Microsoft has its own official courses that prepare you for an exam. You can also download practice exams to prepare. These have questions similar to a real exam. Practice exams can really help you get ready for the real thing. By first getting high scores on practice exams you will increase your chance of passing the real exam.
TalkIT delivers online tutorials to help you prepare for an exam. You can you use these to learn coding at beginner to intermediate level. We provide courses in C#, C++, Java, Python, HTML5 and ASP.Net MVC. The courses include video instructions, plus model application downloads and code snippets. They make it easy to learn to code to a professional level.
Our courses can help you prepare for these certifications:
- MTA (Microsoft Technology Associate) Developer
- MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solution Associate) Developer
- MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solution Developer) Web Applications with HTML5, JavaScript, CSS and ASP.NET MVC – Microsoft Azure and Web Services
- Oracle Certified Java Associate
- Oracle Certified Java Professional
The next step is to find your local testing centre and book an exam date.
What about other certifications?
Our Java courses can help prepare you for Oracle Java certifications such as: Oracle Certified Java Associate and Oracle Certified Java Professional.
Our courses can also help in preparing you for Python, C++ and HTML5 certifications. The courses are best used with other study methods and practical experience to prepare for an exam.
To find out more about using TalkIT’s e-learning courses to prepare for exams see our FAQs.
How to pass exams?
You may be well prepared but exams are stressful experiences. There are lots of techniques you can use to manage this stress.
The exam itself consists of many multiple choice questions. It can last up to 3 hours. There is a lot of dense onscreen information to assimilate in a short period of time. There is usually a clock on the screen to tell you how much time you have left. At the end of the exam you are told if you have passed or failed.
The questions attempt to provide realistic development problems. The answers offer possible solutions. When you start the exam you can read ahead. You may spot an easy question. You can also allow time at the end to review and correct your answers. All this helps.
You will probably need to stay calm so you can think clearly. At any point you can have a mini break or take a few deep breaths. Or even stand up and walk around the test room.
TalkIT provides coaching on exam technique for anyone thinking about an exam. Just contact me directly at david@talk-it.biz and we can set up a session by phone or Skype.
Other Bits
TalkIT has been very active on social media recently. We have been posting on coding and IT humour. Why don’t you connect with us on Twitter or FaceBook? You can follow all the latest news and let us know what you think.
Time for a Career Opportunity? Learn Java. Build business applications. Pass exams. http://ow.ly/101LCO
Time for a Career Opportunity? Gain Microsoft certifications MCSD/MCSA Programming in C# Exam 483. http://ow.ly/E8Uu307fAE0
Learn MVC fundamentals in easy step-by-step stages. Videos with free trial. Created by experts. http://ow.ly/IcJW306REI8
What Programming Languages to Learn In 2017? Picking winners is a dangerous activity. Many come & go. http://ow.ly/F32S306QVSG
Top 5 programming languages in 2017? Which languages provide career opportunities & salary? http://ow.ly/93KP305XEGe
Thanks to http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
David Ringsell TalkIT 2017 ©