In my Data School training, certifications are a key part of proving our skills to clients. Obtaining those certifications builds trust, showing clients we’re knowledgeable in the tools we use. The first certification we had to achieve was the Alteryx Designer Core. Alteryx is a powerful platform for data transformation and cleaning, with over 200 build in tools. You can find plenty of guides and resources on Alteryx exams online, many from other data schoolers.
But this blog isn’t just another guide. It’s for anyone staring down the Alteryx Core Exam and thinking, “I’m not going to pass.” I wrote this for people like me.
I certainly was not confident. Why, you ask? Well, I had opened Alteryx for the first time on a Monday and had the test scheduled for that Friday. I searched the internet for tips and casually found out that most people seemed to spend at least two weeks studying. Nice, not worrisome at ALL.....After finishing the basic Alteryx training on Wednesday, I was left with 1.5 days for self-study, and I thought my odds of passing were slim.
Not being able to complete all the recommended Alteryx weekly challenges or review the help pages made me nervous. Sure, the exam is open book, but I didn’t want to waste valuable time searching for every little question and risk losing precious time on the practical tasks.
My Exam Experience
Don’t worry about mastering every tool. Familiarize yourself with the core functions, the practical tasks are surprisingly basic and require around 4 tools each. You won’t be tested about super advanced or rarely used tools, those aren’t part of the core exam. I quickly worked through the questions and practical tasks without using the internet and was left with 1 hour to revise my answers. I didn't study like crazy and ended up passing with 87,5% (you need minimum 64% to pass). So there was absolutely no reason to worry.
I hope my experience will take some of your exam worries and don't forget, that you can retake it every seven days for free. So, give it your best shot and believe in yourself. You got this!