A few years ago, the possibility of taking exam at home was enabled. At first I was a bit hesitant but I gave it a try. Since that experience, whenever I can, I choose to taking exam at home. Previously, when attempting exam, I needed to find facility which matches the exam vendor criteria. Not always I was able to find such in my nearest surrounding. Therefore, taking an exam was like a journey, and required much of my time.
Benefits of taking exam at home
- Time saving – For me, one of the greatest benefit that this option saves you much of your time. You do not need to commute to the testing center, and of course arrive a bit in advance before your appointment.
- Comfort – You can sit comfortable at you home, on your chair, in the surrounding you are familiar with.
- Your equipment – this one can be classified as pro, but also as con. This is pro, as you take your exam on the equipment you know. Not on some often overused hardware in testing center. Which sometimes does not work in the way you may expect it.
- Calmer – recently I have attempt one exam at testing center, and I must admin this was not the most pleasant experience. I was in quite small room with 3 other people. Not all of us started exam at same time, so there was a lot of movement in the room. As people prepared their testing areas, or get out for a break or finished exam. Were taking different exams, so each of us had different rules. Also the location of the room was not the best, it was near the main corridor next to coffee machine. As you can imagine, it generated lots of disruption and noise. Which made it hard for me concentrate on the questions. At home, I may be lucky, I have never faced such hard exam conditions.
More on taking exam at home experince, you can read in How simple it is to renew your Microsoft Certification – CyNe.pl.
Cons of taking exam at home
It is not like this that there are only pros of taking exam from home. There are also some risks and potential issues you should be prepared for. Each of you can definitely assess if the risk is worth taking.
- Problems with internet – at the facility, there can be problem with internet. But you can wait and reschedule. At home, probably this may be equal to not passing the exam. Fortunately, I did not have such unpleasant situation, and maybe there is an option to write to vendor to ask for redeem, but I am not sure about this.
- Problems with power supply – similar as to problems with internet. If your exam is interrupted, I am not sure if free of charge second shot is possible in this case.
- Your equipment – you take exam on your equipment, which means you have to install examination software on your PC. Also you have to ensure, that your equipment is sufficient for software requirements and is not malfunctioning. Any problems you encounter, may, as in above cases, prevent you from the successful attempt.
- Noisy neighbors – no matter if you leave in flat or house, you can have noisy neighbors. This may make your exam experience unpleasant, similar to situation I have faced in testing center. This may not be applicable, if you have soundproof room.
How to prepare your room for exam
Of course, after registration for your online exam, some of the instructions will be sent to you. Of course not all details are included. Some of the nuances I have learnt during my attempts.
You need to prepare your room and get rid of any electronics from your desk except your PC, its power supply and mouse. No additional monitor is allowed. No notes, books or any other materials are also allowed, this should be obvious 😉 but I thought it may be worth to add. Also, if you have any open cabinet, you need to cover it. During the exam check-in phase, you need to have an ID with you. Depending on country it may be ID, Driving License or Passport. But it is worth to check which one(s) are required for you. For exams managed by PearsonVUE, you should use an app. First you take picture of yourself, then your ID, lastly your room from four sides.
During pre-exam verification stage, you may be asked to show again certain areas of your examination space.
Worth to remember during exams
Surely, you will get requirements in exam details, but I share a few of them just as a reminder:
- Your exam is recorded during whole time, so you have to make sure that your camera and your microphone are working properly.
- You have to ensure that you are visible on the camera.
- You cannot whisper or talk during exam.
- Also no food and beverages are allowed.
I think that’s all. Good Luck!
