Getting an MCSD: App Builder Certification
Avoid the pitfalls of the certification process by knowing how and what to study
I recently obtained my MCSD: App Builder certification. I have been developing professionally for 20+ years. This is the first post-colligate certification that I have chosen to pursue. Although I thought about getting certified at various points in my career, it was never the right time. There were always other priorities. Ultimately, I am glad that I went through the process now, and hopefully, I can help others by sharing some things that I learned along the way.
Fair warning: a lot of this post will be about the MCSD certification along with other Microsoft, GetCertified4Less, MeasureUp, and Pearson Vue products specifically. Some of the information could still be good general advice for taking certification exams.
So why get a certification in the first place? In my case, the answer is simple: my company needs developers to be certified for a Gold-level partnership with Microsoft. As a result, they are willing to pay all the certification expenses in addition to paying out bonus funds for education when the certification is completed. The only question that I was left to answer was, “Is this worth my time?”.
Others might not be so lucky. If you are unemployed or your employer is not willing to reimburse certification expenses, it can be daunting to pay for all the costs out-of-pocket. There are tons of intangible benefits to getting a certification. The certification process provides a stamp of approval from an independent organization that backs up the skills on your resume. Certification might be something on your resume that sets you apart from other candidates. You will have to weigh those benefits with your own time and money and decide if it makes sense for you.
Unless there is a hard requirement in the job description for a specific certification, it will likely be a gamble whether your investment in certification will pay off. Lots of people decide that the headache is not worth their time, and I fully understand because I was in that position for a long time.
So you have decided to get a certification. Great.
First off, you will need to choose your path. I decided to get the MCSD: App Builder certification requiring 3 exams total, and I opted for exams 70-483, 70-486, and 70-487. This certification will expire at the end of 2020, so I would recommend pursuing one of the other Azure role-based certifications, like Azure Developer Associate, instead.
There are lots of different ways that you can prepare for an exam, but I am only going to cover one of these. There are lots of prep books, online classes, in-person training, etc. I chose to go with the practice exams from MeasureUp on my first exam. I liked it so much that I used the same method to prepare for the other two. Each practice exam includes a reasonable bank of ~180 questions, and they did a decent job of representing the material that I saw in the official content.
I also chose to bundle my practice exams with an exam voucher from GetCertified4Less. Sometimes they have deals for bundles or early-expiration vouchers if you are trying to get certified as cheaply as possible. It is also worth noting that they have exam bundles that include a second exam voucher if you think that you might need a second attempt if you fail an exam. This option is perfect for first-time test takers who are nervous about the process and need a little extra security.
Starting out with an exam from MeasureUp, I would recommend taking a practice exam in practice mode without any preparation. This will give you a good idea of where you stand and how much effort you will need to put in before exam day. When you complete the exam, MeasureUp should present the final answers along with some added detail about the correct choice as well as the incorrect choices.
Part of learning how to take these exams is learning how to read the questions and answers critically to eliminate possible choices. The text in each question is very intentional. If you read the question carefully, you can pick apart the clues that are part of the question. Sometimes the answers themselves can reveal information. When you are uncertain, this information will help you to make an educated guess at the answer instead of just blindly choosing a random option. This is the most valuable skill you will practice when taking these exams, apart from studying the exam's content.
At the end of each exam, check the answers to the questions. You should also review the links to the recommended reading material. My method for reviewing this material is to gather up all the links into a bookmarks folder and read over them one at a time. I did not take the time to organize the content by topic. This made my reading very haphazard, and you should take the time to organize the readings if that would be helpful. Follow your own best practices for reading comprehension.
As you are going through the readings, keep an eye out for areas where you might want to dig in a little deeper using exploration projects. Depending on your learning style, exploration projects could be a valuable tool for learning the core concepts of the reading material. Some of us learn better by doing than by reading. I find that this is the case for myself in certain areas. If you think it will be helpful, take some time to build out an example project to demonstrate some of the concepts that you are learning in the reading material.
Once you progress through all the reading material, take another exam in practice mode and see how much your score has changed. I was able to bump my score between practice exams by about 10-15 points, with some diminishing returns after the first round. Repeat this process several times. After 2-3 passes at the practice exams, I would recommend taking the exams in certification mode exclusively. The certification mode mimics the conditions of the certification exam. This will place certain restrictions on the time allowance and the visibility of answers during the test.
Once I was scoring in the ~80 range, I was ready for the test. It is worth noting that I was not going for a perfect score, only a passing score. Your mileage may vary. Only you can determine if you are ready to take the exam. MeasureUp does have a pass guarantee if you pass the practice exam in certification mode with a score of 90+ three consecutive times. Be sure to check the details on that one.
Knowing when to schedule your exam will be different for everyone. I am the type of person that needs a little extra motivation to study, so I would schedule my exam before I was ready. This would give me a deadline and force me to buckle down. For some people, this will be too much pressure. They would prefer to be ready before scheduling the exam, and that is OK. If you can be disciplined and study at your own pace, you should not have any problems completing the exam within the several months that are allotted for practice exams and exam vouchers.
I chose to take the exams online. The schedule for exam proctoring with Pearson Vue is very accommodating. I did not have any issues finding an exam time in the early evening after work, and it looked like there were plenty of other slots available.
I was studying up until the day of the exam. On the day of the exam, I gave myself a little time to review. I was not cramming until the very last moment (like I remember from college). I was trying to give myself plenty of time and mental space to study. I felt like taking this exam was something that I needed to prioritize over non-essential work and chores. If there was some stuff that I could let slide, then I let it slide. This will be different for everyone and their own life circumstances, so you do you. Keep in mind that there is some stress associated with this process, so you will need to account for it responsibly.
Prepping your physical space for the exam is easy. There is a process that the Pearson Vue App (the test proctoring service) walks you through before exam day (and again on exam day) to make sure you have the proper equipment set up. I do not know if they verify that your workspace is clean and clear during the pre-setup, but this is something that you should expect on the day of the exam. Clearing off your desk space, disconnecting multiple monitors, and verifying connections for a camera, microphone, and speakers will all be necessary for the day of the exam. You likely want to get this out of the way ahead of time. Clear out space and make sure that you will not be disturbed.
Leading up to exam day, you have done your best to prepare. At this point, you have taken 6-7 practice exams. You have read a lot of material. You have played around using exploration projects. You should be well prepared. You ARE well prepared. You still might be nervous, though, and that is OK.
Everything is going to be OK.
The total exam time can be up to 3 hours. Before the exam, try to have a small meal. When you sit down to take the exam, take a few deep breaths. Try to be conscious of your time as you progress. Do not get bogged down in one question. Some tests allow the tester to mark the question and come back to it later, so use that option if it is available. If possible, eliminate 2 of the 4 answers and get the options down to a 50/50 choice. Before you know it you'll be done.
Taking an exam is always a nerve-wracking process for me and many others, I am sure. When I clicked the “Finish Test” button on my final exam, I was almost certain that a failing score was around the corner. I was immensely relieved to find out that I had passed. Hopefully, the information contained in this guide can help you get through the process with a little more ease.
Resources: