I recently took Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam which checks your foundational skills and your understanding of Tableau Desktop and cleared it in First Attempt.
Though if you go through the certification exam details it tells you that you should have at least three months of experience, but personally I don’t think having 3 months of experience is needed.
If you devote some time out of your schedule and try your hands on the tool, you can clear it in 1 month of preparation, which happened in my Case.
Link to the Tableau Desktop Certification Site
Link to the Tableau Exam Guide
Registration Information: Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam
LES: Loyalist Exam Services manages Tableau Product Certification.
You need to create an LES Account if you are registering for the first time.
Once you have entered all your Credentials and paid the Examination Fee which is $100 for this Certification you will receive a Mail confirming that you have successfully registered for the Exam and they will provide you with a temporary password and then you will be prompted to change it once you log in for the First Time.
Just one important point here while you are registering for the Exam, make sure of the Certification Name you are planning to take. People at times make mistake with the Certification Name.
After you have changed your password you can Schedule your Exam Date, you can take the Exam within 6 months from your registration date. i.e. say you have register on 17th March 2020 you have to take the Exam before 17th September 2020. You can schedule your Exam date anytime between this Timeframe.
While Scheduling also be aware of the Time Zone.Once you have Schedule you will again get an Email about the necessary Steps you have to follow before taking the Exam.
Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Format
- Time Limit: 60 minutes
- Total Number of Questions: 30
- 7-8 Hands-on Questions. Around 23-22 Multiple Choice Questions, this will include both Multiple Answers to one question and also Single Answer to one question.
- 70% is the passing Criteria
Don’t think if you have answered 22-23 questions correctly you will pass the exam, the points are distributed based on the difficulty level of the question.
You can get Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification Practice Exams at ReviewNprep Marketplace.
Exam Day
On your LES Dashboard TAKE YOUR EXAM will be active 60 seconds before the exam.
On clicking you will be re-directed to the next Screen and after few more clicks you will be connected to the proctor.
The Proctor will set up the Exam for you but before that he/she will ask you to do few Validation.
- Check your Connectivity
- Your Internet Upload and Download Speed
- Will ask you to close all the tabs from your Google Chrome browser if opened any apart from LES login
- Will ask to give a 360-degree view of your room from where you are planning to take the Exam.
- To show him/her any Government approved Photo Id, A passport will just do fine.
- You will probably be asked to adjust your screen so the proctor can see you clearly and also you are not allowed to talk or go in between the Exam.
Actual Exam
For me there were 22 multiple choice questions and 8 hands on.
Multiple choice had both single answer to a question and also multiple answer.
I believe I had around 13-14 single answer to a question and 9-8 multiple choice questions.
There were few questions which were very direct and easy but there are some which were very confusing, at least for me. The trick here is process of elimination. Eliminate what you think are wrong out of the gate, and then make a guess if you have to.
I guess no one can guarantee you the difficulty level of the exams but if you have gone through all the topics in the exam guide you are good to go.
The important take away for me was paying attention to the details while we are using the Tool, and the questions can be framed on any step we take while using the Tool.
RELATED: FREE FLASHCARDS FOR TABLEAU DESKTOP CERTIFICATION PREPARATION
Creating attractive Visualization, Dashboard and Story is not the Objective of this Certification, it tests how quickly you understand the question and come to an answer within the given timeframe.
For each questions the allocated points are different, the points depend on the difficulty level of the questions.
The good thing is we are allowed to google the question, so if you are not sure about anything you can always Google, but don’t expect the exact answer as in your exam.
Be aware that you will be working on a Virtual Machine, so expect that it will not be that fast as you are used to working on your local machine. Ctrl, Alt and Tab keys will not work ,you have to keep switching between the screens, the best you can do is split the screen but at times while working on hand on question you probably will need the full screen view so that you can read everything clearly.
My Suggestion will be work on Multiple Choice Questions first and flag any questions which you are not very sure of, then at last go and search Google. Keep Hands on question for the end so you have enough time to work on the same because it may consume your time if you attempt them in the beginning.
As soon as you are done with your Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam, you will know your result.
And after some time they will send you the certification if you score above passing criteria.
Resources Used for the Preparation:
- Free Online YouTube
- New and Updated ReviewNPrep Tests
- For extra practice questions
So that’s pretty much it.
Go get Certified. Best Regards.
IMPORTANT: Check out the new and improved Tableau Desktop Certification Practice Exams on our Marketplace.
Author: Harish Soni is a life long learner and likes to explore all facets of technology. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.
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FREE FLASHCARDS FOR TABLEAU DESKTOP CERTIFICATION PREPARATION
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