Sitecore is a web content management system (CMS) with extensive marketing and personalization features. With enterprise-grade websites like Procter & Gamble, Huawei, LastPass, and many more, Sitecore is a valuable technology to learn as a web or full-stack developer. I received a great opportunity to study and write the Sitecore® 9.0 Certified Platform Associate Developer Exam, thanks to my employer Apiqu. I recently passed the exam and I would like to share my experience studying for it, as well as some tips and tricks.
Firstly, you need to take the Sitecore Developer courses provided to you by sitecore. You should visit https://elearning.sitecore.net to take two of the following courses:
- Sitecore® Developer Foundation 9.0 ($0)
- Sitecore® Experience Platform™ Essentials for Developers 9.0 ($1500)
If your employer is a Sitecore partner, you may be eligible for a discount (or even get it for free), so make sure you check before you buy!
You need to get 80% or higher to pass. I know! It’s fairly high!! This means that you need to get 40 out of 50 questions to pass the Sitecore Certification Exam. The exam is $300 (USD) and if you fail, you will have to pay for the exam again!
According to Sitecore, there are two ways to take the exam. Online, and offline testing centre. I (and probably 99% of other people) took the online exam, which is proctored. You need a separate webcam (not the one built into your laptop or monitor) and an empty desk (other than monitor/laptop, keyboard, and mouse) in order to do take the online exam. Don’t forget that no study aids are allowed (ie. no cheat sheets!) and you have 90 minutes to finish the exam. You can mark any question “I’m not sure” and come back at the end.
Some sections are tested more than others, so refer to the exam competencies table below.
| Competencies | % of Questions |
| API | 5 % |
| Architecture | 4 % |
| Creating and Editing Items | 8 % |
| Development Environment | 9 % |
| Fields and Field Types | 13 % |
| Installation | 1 % |
| Media | 1 % |
| Module Packages | 1 % |
| Presentation | 18 % |
| Publishing | 2 % |
| Search | 11 % |
| Sitecore Documentation and Support | 1 % |
| Templates | 19 % |
| Versioning | 2 % |
| xManagement | 5 % |
| TOTAL | 100% |
There are a lot of study materials online, so I encourage you to search Google. You will likely find the Sitecore Exam Study Guide on Sitecore’s freshdesk site, which is super useful.
Study materials used to study for my exam are included in the list below.
- https://elearning.sitecore.net
- https://doc.sitecore.com/developers/90/index.html
- Sitecore® 9.0 Certified Platform Associate Developer Exam Study Guide
My overall experience was great since their eLearning courses were well organized, although I think their eLearning web interface needs some fix. I was somewhat disappointed to learn that the certification expires. Mine expires on December 31st, 2020. If you are able to memorize everything in the eLearning course, you should be fine!
Good luck!
