Participate in an exam blueprint survey!

Question

Would you like to help determine which topics hold the most weight on an Esri certification exam? We want your feedback on the ArcGIS Desktop Associate and ArcGIS Desktop Professional exam objectives. Click the link(s) below to take a blueprint survey, which will help us build the right content for our certifications. This survey is publically available, so feel free to share it with a colleague.

ArcGIS Desktop Associate - https://lnkd.in/er2G4jZ

ArcGIS Desktop Professional - https://lnkd.in/e-DCJXe

Thanks in advance for your input!

-Jessi

JerenPortillo · Answer

Hi David,

Thank you for your participation in our blueprint surveys.  We are always happy to receive feedback and constructive inquiries regarding our exam structure.

In answer to your initial question about criticality, I would say we are assessing the candidate's successful implementation of a task and/or objective on the exam.  Before you arrive at the rating explanations, you read through what a candidate will and will not need to know for a particular exam, including what they should be able to do with and without assistance and what tools or apps they will need to be familiar with.  The survey is an opportunity for you to review those qualifications and determine whether or not they are in line with what you feel is appropriate for the candidate.

It appears that you have a lot of experience with the ArcGIS Platform and can provide good insight into what a qualified candidate should or should not be capable of for the exam.  We understand that assessment is a difficult process, but it is necessary to achieve a quality exam that will validate broad skills for candidates with the proposed skill level.

Lastly, I would encourage you to consider taking an exam so you have familiarity with the structure and design and can gain a better understanding of what we aim to accomplish.  If you decide to sit for one of our exams, we have a breadth of study resources and our team is readily available to answer questions.

Thank you again for your feedback and we look forward to hearing from you again!

David-Semitekol · Answer

I was reading about the ESRI ArcGIS Desktop Associate Exam Blueprint Survey.  I’m a little confused about the Criticality element.  Are you asking how critical it is that the user can complete the task?  If so, what do you mean by the descriptors?  Am I missing something because it doesn’t make any sense.  If they do not possess the skill, what is the complete failure?  The job at hand, or do you mean complete failure of the test?  Are you trying to ask how important that skill is to the definition of the exam?

Yes, at the associate level I do expect some functions to be known: how to perform basic analysis, create a buffer, join a table, assign symbology, etc.  At the opposite, I do not think I would expect them to be able to: write Python, create a model/workflow, manipulate an existing dataset to optimize a workflow, know all the advanced tools, etc.  My main concern with associates and their skill level would be the basics, and I would not be too worried about their speed, and would I expect them to need to ask questions when it comes to producing maps, managing their workflow, or gathering the necessary data to create a complex map or answer a complex question.  I would equate an associate level with a recent graduate and certificate in ArcGIS from a major university.

Lastly, I think it is too difficult to assess years of experience when it comes to either exam (associate or professional).  With ArcGIS being such a complex program, you could easily be good in one area and not another.  I’ve interviewed and worked with analysts in the past that had years of experience, however, during that time all they did was basic tasks such as editing a shapefile or converting layers to a GDB, etc.  At the professional level exam I would expect them to have good problem solving skills, specialize in a specific area, be able to create a workflow or manage a job for routine tasks and be able to tutor associates.  I would also expect a time element at the professional level, for example, it should only take an hour or less to produce a company standard map for a presentation from scratch.

Honestly, I do not think we place enough emphasis on the administration/management aspect of the job: organization of files and GDB, governance/metadata, goal setting for large projects, communication to requestors on what can be accomplished and how long it will take.

I think it is difficult though to assess someone on a broad exam, take myself for example, I have a few years of experience do not know anything about remote sensing (university was a few years ago), but I could build a custom web app in AGOL in a flash.  I think that is one of the reasons I never really considered taking the exam too.

JerenPortillo · Answer

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