Get Autodesk Certified for Free at AU 2013

Take advantage of free Autodesk Certification exams at AU 2013 in Las Vegas to validate your skills and enhance your reputation. More than 400,000 people have become Autodesk Certified worldwide. We checked in with Philip Koneman, Development Manager, Global Training and Certification, to learn how this popular program is changing this year at AU and what you can do to improve your chances of becoming certified.

AU: What’s different about certification this year at AU?

Philip: We’re expanding the portfolio of exams that we offer. We also have a new certification prep class that relates to our new tier of certification, and we’re offering our Certified User exams.

AU: Can you explain more about this new tier of certification?

Philip: The new tier is called Certified Specialist, which is targeted to individuals who are using multiple Autodesk applications in a suite to follow a workflow. We only have one exam in that tier right now, which is focused on the Autodesk© Infrastructure Design Suite. These exams are a way of validating that users are able to work with multiple applications in specific job areas.

AU: What new exams are you offering? 

Philip: We are offering our first Certified Specialist exam at this year’s AU—the Certified BIM Specialist: Roads and Highways credential. We also will be offering the Autodesk© AutoCAD©, Autodesk© Inventor©, Autodesk© Revit© Architecture Certified User exams.

AU: Are there any advantages to getting certified at the AU conference over going through the normal channels?

Philip: Certification at Autodesk University is offered at no charge, so that’s a big value-add right there.  In addition, for people attending internationally who may be required to travel a long distance to a test center to obtain certification, we do offer our translated exams at Autodesk University.

AU: Can you talk about what goes on in a prep lab?

Philip: The prep area of the certification lab is really a check-in and waiting area that also provides additional time to prepare for an exam.  Candidates will need to check in, and they frequently get their name put on a waiting list to take a certification exam.  We have approximately 100 computer workstations at AU for offering certification so once those computers are full, candidates need to be in line and ready to take their certification exam when their name is called.

We actually use restaurant pagers to contact them, so they need to be in the vicinity. When there’s a seat available in the lab, their pager will buzz. We have the prep area where they can securely check in their belongings because they’re not allowed to take backpacks or personal items into the certification lab with them.

They also have an opportunity to look at courseware that we have available in the certification prep area.  Last year we scheduled times for people to chat with some of the authors of the Autodesk Official Training Guides offered through Wiley and ASCENT. The prep area gives people an opportunity to do a little bit of study, and maybe a little bit of review while waiting to take their certification exam.

AU: What should attendees do to prepare before they come to AU?

Philip: First, become familiar with the certification exam objectives, so you know what knowledge and skill areas are covered on the exams. You can then determine if you need additional training prior to taking the exam. You can sign up for a certification prep class, or purchase Autodesk Official Training Guides from  ASCENT or Autodesk Official Press books from Wiley for self-study.

AU: What should attendees who want to take an exam at AU do once they arrive at the conference?

Philip: A lot of people want to take certification at AU, so if certification is really important to them, attendees may want to look for a time that fits in well into their schedule. Typically, first thing in the morning the lab will fill up.  We’ll have people waiting in the hallways before we open the lab and oftentimes we’ll open early to start facilitating moving people through the certification lab. If someone is of the mindset that they can drop by the lab and attempt their certification exam, it’s probably not going to happen. 

AU: How many times can someone take the same exam at AU? 

Philip: You may attempt an exam up to 2 times while you’re at Autodesk University. You can attempt multiple certifications, such as AutoCAD and Inventor, for example. Again the lab is first come, first served. We have the waiting list and we have a limited number of computers, but we’ve gotten very efficient at moving people through the certification lab.

AU: Can you say anything else about where Autodesk intends to take the Certification program?

Philip: In the near future, the Certified Specialist tier is a very important development for Certification, because people are using multiple tools across applications in a suite.  We want certification to keep pace with that trend. 

In the future, there are some other things that I would like to see us do with our Certification program that would be related to using the cloud to make Certification available. 

AU: Globally speaking, what is the best way for people to learn more about Autodesk Certification?

Philip: Autodesk.com/certification is really the best place for people to go.  Drill down and find a certification road map which will explain the certifications that we have available for the various products for the various years of the software, and it will also list the objectives of what we’re covering on the Certification exam. Candidates can also go to our testing portal once they’ve enrolled in the Certification program to keep track of what exams they’ve taken, to see their score reports and to search for a testing center in their area.

For testing at AU, the AU website is the best place to go for the latest information starting September 12.