Desktop Entry Exam Study Material

4526
8
04-16-2019 11:10 AM
JustinMadron1
New Contributor II

I am in the process of designing a "Professional GIS Certificate" at the University of Richmond - School of Professional and Continuing Studies. Students will be eligible to sit for the Esri Desktop Entry Exam once completing the academic certification. What have you found to be the most helpful resources or study material? 

8 Replies
LauraBowden
Esri Contributor

I have taken three Esri certifications, including the ArcGIS Desktop Entry exam. For me, a combination of three resources has been my staple for preparation. These are:

  • The Exam Guide document, especially the Qualifications and Skills Measured lists.
  • The online help for the software covered, using the above lists as a guide for what to review.
  • Opening up the software itself to check the interface and workflows as needed.

If I need more info on a given topic, then I usually look for targeted e-learning on Esri Training or Learn ArcGIS.

Experiences, like the activities you offer students in your certificate courses, are important for context and skills needed to understand when and why to perform workflows. In addition, studying the above resources has helped me have critical details fresh in my mind for the exam.

I'd love to hear from others about their approaches to exam prep, too.

Laura Bowden
LatonyaWilliams1
New Contributor II

I have not taken any Certifications as of yet, but I have been using other resources from Cousera to help familiarize myself with GIS and particularly ArcMap. I am actually trying to complete the Specialization Certificate, to prepare for the certification. 

JessicaRosales2
New Contributor III

Hello Latonya Williams‌! Can you tell us more about the Specialization Certificate? Where is it offered? Which components of the certificate learning do you think will best apply to the ArcGIS Desktop Entry certification?

LatonyaWilliams1
New Contributor II

Hi Jessica Rosales! The Specialization Certificate can be found on

Coursera's website https://www.coursera.org/

It is a paid online courses consisting of five (5) overall Lessons. Which

includes: Fundamentals of GIS, GIS Data Formats and Quality, Geospatial and

Environmental Analysis, Imagery, Automation, and Application, and the

Capstone Project.

I decided to take the course because I've figured it would really expose me

to using ArcMap. Honestly, I've been working with ArcMap for sometime, but

I've never really had the opportunity to see what it was truly capable of,

particularly because of insufficient access to specific licences. The

Specialization has no doubt prepared/exposed me to tools, workflow

consideration, raster/image analysis, symbology, automation, projections,

database management, and so much more.

I've taken a few ESRI online courses, but I figured this Specialization

would not only get me prepared for the Entry level, but Associate and to

some degree Professional level as well.

I hop this information is sufficient.

Kind regards,

I hope this is sufficient information.

On Tue, May 28, 2019 at 3:47 PM Jessica Rosales (JRosales_GIS) <

JustinMadron1
New Contributor II

Hey Latonya Williams, That is great and best of luck in your preparation for the exam. Have you tried any of the Learn ArcGIS lessons? I have found these to be really helpful for students. 

LatonyaWilliams1
New Contributor II

Hi Justin Madron, Thank you. I have tried the ArcGIS Lessons, but I am

unable to access most of them. I'm not exactly sure why, but I have tried.

Most of the ones that I would like to take are either associated with

costs, organizations subscriptions, etc.

RAHULPANDIA
New Contributor II

Latonya Williams

Hi, any update on your progress...were you able to complete the Coursera course "Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialization" and did it help in ESRi certifications??

LatonyaWilliams1
New Contributor II

Hello, thank you for your question. I have completed the Coursera Certificate. Unfortunately I have not attempted the ESRI certification as yet. I do intend to attempt the Desktop Certifications, in due time. There's a lot going on, but I may have sometime on my hand to prepare.