Alteryx Advanced Certification: Preparation and Tips
If you want to get started in Alteryx and pass the core exam, you can read about it here: https://www.medhakhurana.com/get-started-with-alteryx-for-free/
Now, if you are someone who is core certified, and looking to get Alteryx advanced certified, then this is the blog for you. I recently took the exam and passed it in my first attempt. So I thought I will share some tips to prepare and what to expect.
Exam Details
- Time - 2.5 hours
- Questions - 51 questions out of which 3 are practical
- Pre-Requisite - Alteryx Core Certified
- Free of cost
- 1 attempt every 7 days
- Exam Type - Open book
Tools that you need to know are as below:
Below is a section-wise breakdown, along with weightage.
You can find other details about the exam and the full syllabus here: https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Certification-Resources/Advanced-Certification-Exam-Prep-Guide/ta-p/409406
How to Prepare
Preparing for the exam doesn't have a singular approach, however, I will share what worked best for me. Focus on one section at a time. Watch Interactive Learning Videos for the tools in that section and then do some Weekly challenges to apply what you have learnt in practice. That's it, as simple as that. Do this as many times as it takes for you to get comfortable with the tools.
As a note, it will take you longer to prepare for the advanced exam than the core exam where getting comfortable with the tools is much quicker. So be patient with yourself and really take the time to understand the capability of each tool. Once you grasp them, you can get really creative in terms of effectively solving problems with Alteryx. Remember to revisit the tools regularly since there are many of them.
Useful Tips to Pass the Exam
- Prepare the tools under the advanced data preparation and transformation section really well. Do lots of weekly challenges to ensure you're completely at ease with multi-field formula, multi-row formula and regex expressions. The practical questions involved tricky problems which had to be solved using these tools.
- The 3 practical questions were quite tough, I could solve only 1 out of 3 but still managed to pass the exam because instead of getting hung up and spending all my time on cracking the solution, I moved on to cover the rest of the questions.
- Keep Alteryx Designer readily available to access tool documentation whenever required. You can simply right-click on a tool and select "help" to open the documentation for quick reference.
- Be smart! I was able to crack a tough question in seconds by referring to the example workflow provided by Alteryx. Remarkably, it mirrored the exact same question. Accessing the example workflow is as easy as right-clicking on the tool and selecting 'open example'.
- During the exam, I used two laptops to avoid the hassle of constantly switching tabs to refer back to the question. So in case you have two laptops or two screens, it can save you some time and effort.
- Make sure to bookmark any questions you're uncertain about and move on without lingering. You can revisit them later if time permits. This strategy is particularly beneficial since practical questions often appear towards the end of the exam, allowing you to allocate sufficient time to solve them effectively.
- Drag and drop the tool to quickly look at the different configuration options available for a tool. This approach proves particularly useful for answering specific questions, such as identifying valid output modes for the Render tool, where attempting to memorize all options may not be practical.
- Macros are usually a hard topic for everyone, but for the exam, you can prioritize understanding the distinctions between various types of macros and determining when to use each one.
Conclusion
In conclusion, mastering Alteryx's advanced tools and doing weekly challenges are key to success in your certification journey. Remember, the exam is free and can be retaken, so don't be scared to take it. Even if you fail the first time, it will help you identify the tools you need more practice in. Stay positive, utilize available resources, and commit to continuous growth. With perseverance and determination, you'll soon excel in your Alteryx journey and get that shiny badge added to your resume.
If these tips help you in passing your exam, a shout-out would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and good luck. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn if you have any further questions or need support. 😊