Fastest learning path and tips to pass Alteryx Designer Core Certification Exam

[osadma]

While Alteryx's official website offers many great resources, I guess a lot of new Alterxy users are struggling to find the fastest way to pass the Alteryx Designer Core Certification Exam, so I have summarized the recommended learning path and some tips regarding the exam. 

Preparation

1. Read the official Exam Prep Guide (grasp outline/format of the exam)
2. Go through the Interactive Lessons (understand the concept of each tool "visually")
3. Play around with the Example workflows (use your hands instead of just reading!)
4. Read the official Help Documents (After the first attempt, this is to understand the detail in-depth, the detail matters in the exam, though it might not matter in a real job)
5. Try at least five weekly challenges for practical applications under the Basic label. (Personally, I found the ones posted by ChristineB are very similar to the actual questions)

Before Exam

1. Go to the bathroom
2. Turn off notifications
3. Clean up your desk
4. Check Wi-Fi stability
5. Close unnecessary apps
6. Launch Alteryx 

Approaches to Questions

1. Answer based on your memory/judgment
2. Search on Google/Alteryx Community 
3. Check the actual configuration page
4. Replicate the input and configuration in Alterxy (the last option only when you have plenty of time)
5. Give up and move on 🙂

Common Questions

1. Identify the functionality, strengths, and limitations of the tool.
2. Identify when the tool would be used to create a given output.
3. Configure the tool to create a given output
4. Differentiate the functionality of similar tools
5. Common errors and why

During Exam

1. Don't spend too much time on one question; bookmark and come back later.
2. Prioritize the practical applications. Each question is 3 points!
3. Save the raw data for practical applications so that you can try it later. (Probably, you will realize that this question is easy without a time limit)
4. Take note of when/why you are stuck to revisit after the exam.

After Exam

1. It's completely OK to fail first; use this opportunity to identify your development area.
2. Understand the detail of your weakness in-depth with the help document.
3. I know you are tired and disappointed, but don't postpone and lose momentum! 
4. Review everything within seven days and retry the exam: sometimes, you will come across the same questions since the exam questions are picked up from the questions bank at random.
5. You will probably fail again but repeat the same process; then, you will understand the trend or encounter more and more dupe questions.

[fmvizcaino]

Great tips @osadma!!!  

[osadma]

Thank you! @fmvizcaino 

[cmcclellan]

I'm a bit more "old school", so I have an old school approach to passing the exam .... so my advice would be

- Learn each tool (maybe not in depth, but have an idea of what they do)

- Create a LOT of workflows. The forum has "challenges" every day in that people post questions and you find the answer for that.

- Do a LOT of Weekly Challenges to really push your learning.

- Repeat this for 4-6 months

In the exam ...

- don't use Google/Alteryx Community - you'll run out of time very quickly

- do the questions you know, skip the ones you don't so you can come back to them.

After the exam

- celebrate your success, congratulations because you've passed on the first or second attempt

That said, I know 1 person (and I've got no doubt there is many more) who didn't study at all, took the exam to see what more they needed to learn and passed on the first attempt.

[osadma]

@cmcclellan 

Thank you for the additional tips! Indeed celebrating your success is very important!