# Tableau Certified Data Analyst Beta exam first impressions: Tableau Certification

> This is content from just-tim, the data-and-analytics channel by Tim Ngwena (formerly 'Tableau Tim'). Tim has 12+ years of hands-on BI experience and covers Tableau most of all, plus Power BI, Looker, Hex, SQL and data modelling, the analytics industry, and the craft of doing the job — always tool-agnostic and honest about the trade-offs.

- **Author:** Tim Ngwena (just-tim, https://just-tim.com/about)
- **Published:** 2021-09-16
- **Format:** Video · 22 min watch · transcript available
- **Topics:** Certification
- **Tools:** Tableau (lod expressions, prep, server, table calculations)
- **Canonical:** https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-certified-data-analyst-beta-exam-first-impressions-tableau-certification
- **Watch:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhdPBkkmmrs

I walk through my first impressions of the new Tableau Certified Data Analyst beta exam, which I sat earlier today. I cover the exam prep guide, the domain weightings, the three-section structure, the question types and the Pearson VUE setup process you'll go through beforehand.

## Key takeaways

- The exam requires roughly six months' experience across Tableau Desktop, Prep and Server/Online, and tests the whole architecture split into four weighted domains (~25%, ~50%, ~25%, ~10%) with a 750/1000 pass mark.
- It runs in three locked sections - multiple choice, hands-on, then multiple choice - so once you mark a section complete you can't return, making time management across the roughly 150 minutes critical.
- No internet access is allowed; you only get the PDF Tableau help during the hands-on section, so you must be able to recall product steps from memory rather than searching.
- Watch out for detractors in multiple choice - typically one correct, one nearly correct and two plausible but wrong answers - and use the middle slider to view full questions on large screens.
- Beta results take at least 90 days after the beta period closes, and the Pearson VUE system test (which takes full control of your machine) should be run the day before via your exam dashboard.

## Chapters

- 0:00 Beta exam offer and overview
- 1:08 Exam prep guide and domains
- 2:42 Three-section exam structure
- 4:40 Question types and mechanics
- 6:09 No internet and recall demands
- 8:22 Domain skills coverage
- 9:58 Results timing and Pearson VUE
- 12:45 Industry comparison and standards
- 13:30 Running the system test
- 18:57 Exam day prep and next steps

Watch the full video, read the transcript and use chapter deep-links on the page: https://just-tim.com/posts/tableau-certified-data-analyst-beta-exam-first-impressions-tableau-certification

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just-tim — Data and analytics, with a point of view. · https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HYxRWmaNlJux-X7rNLZyw · https://twitter.com/TableauTim · https://www.linkedin.com/in/timngwena