How I Studied for and Passed the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Architect Professional Certification Exam with $0 investment (the first time)
It is not about the destination; it is about the journey!
Let me take a step back and tell you where it all started.11 Feb 2020, I got a mail for the much-awaited announcement on cloud computing course being offered by NPTEL and I registered myself.
Lock-down update (India)
I started preparing mentally for the lock-down and the article by Raghu Visvanathan, VP of Education Products and Delivery, Oracle University, caught my attention, which says, “Program kicks off on Monday, March 30, 2020, and will be available until May 15, 2020”
This free certification course served as a rescue amid crisis. Recently, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure made the announcement to extend its promotion until 15 Aug 2020 to take exam but make sure you register for the exam before 15 May to take advantage of this free offer.
That sounds like a plan now.
Everyone has a unique approach towards learning; however for me reverse psychology worked.
Here is the systematic guide, which I followed, try to pave your own path, and improvise on my journey
Step 1: Time bound yourself
First thing first, book the slot.
Due to the overwhelming response, getting desired slots is becoming a challenge so try to schedule your exams accordingly.
Here is my exam schedule evenly distributed until ides of MAY.
To break the monotone I opted for next steps
Step 5: Read-Read-Read
I started mix reading and watching videos, hmm! Interesting, it started making sense to me and helped to pay more attention to the lectures.
I opted for notebook writing; it helped me to be more interactive as if it was classroom training.
Now, I was becoming a pro in encapsulating the data, understanding the dynamics and getting a wholesome picture.I switched to PDF versions of videos and started highlighting and taking notes in the PDF and concurrently listening to the lectures using multiple screens.
Follow the demo, pause the lecture and get your hands dirty with OCI console.
Sometimes you will feel as the speaker is just reading slides with no added benefit. All the speakers will not be same, do not lose interest and try to fall in love with topics in spite of the speakers, I know it is going to be tough but be neutral.
Get aware of key words and terminologies from videos; go through the white papers to get in-depth understanding. White papers opened a complete another realm for me. At the same time apply your understanding, keep Hands-On lab going on and make use of free $$ before it drains.
Bookmark course in Oracle University and YouTube videos.
Step 8: Fear of Failure
Four weeks later, I started losing interest; feeling depressed in the lock-down, but then again the fear of failure kept me alive.
Another tip is dividing your daily session equally among reading, Hands-On, practice test, watching video.
As this journey is going to be long, you need to keep your motivation high.
LinkedIn helped me, as it is flooded with success stories. Surfing, hitting likes and commenting, boosted my inner strength. Picture yourself in those success stories and be restless to post one.
Step 10: Exam day
A day before just go through the iLearning test simulation and most importantly do not forget your beauty sleep.
The day arrived when I was ready to appear, here are some tactics, which helped me in those final moments.
Be calm, test will be MCQ based, where one or more options are correct accompanied with distractors.
So feel free to review at least twice as you will have enough time.
Two more to go; hope to clear both before ides of May 2020.
Finally on 5th Aug 2020, I was able to complete all free certifications provided by oracle.
Life was going as usual ,until the world came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lock-down update (India)
- First 21 days (25 March – 14 April)
- Extension (15 April – 3 May)
- Additional extension (4 May – 17 May) and God knows when it will end ugh!
I started preparing mentally for the lock-down and the article by Raghu Visvanathan, VP of Education Products and Delivery, Oracle University, caught my attention, which says, “Program kicks off on Monday, March 30, 2020, and will be available until May 15, 2020”
This free certification course served as a rescue amid crisis. Recently, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure made the announcement to extend its promotion until 15 Aug 2020 to take exam but make sure you register for the exam before 15 May to take advantage of this free offer.
That sounds like a plan now.
Everyone has a unique approach towards learning; however for me reverse psychology worked.
Here is the systematic guide, which I followed, try to pave your own path, and improvise on my journey
11 steps for the success
Step 1: Time bound yourself
First thing first, book the slot.
Due to the overwhelming response, getting desired slots is becoming a challenge so try to schedule your exams accordingly.
If you are opting for Oracle certification the first time ,just like me then you will need to signup for two accounts metalink and pearson.
Follow link below to register for free , make sure you jump from here , at final page booking amount will be zero.
Step 2: Register for 30-days free trial period, worth US$300
Sign up for a cloud account today to receive always-free access for Oracle Autonomous Database. In addition, get US$300 of free credits for 30 days to perform hands-on as you go.
Step 3: Test your depth of subject understanding
Start with Oracle iLearning a Consolidate training initiatives, go through the simulation test exam and attempt each questions very patiently, even if none of them make any sense to you.
Below is the screenshot where you can search and enroll for the same.
Sign up for a cloud account today to receive always-free access for Oracle Autonomous Database. In addition, get US$300 of free credits for 30 days to perform hands-on as you go.
Step 3: Test your depth of subject understanding
Start with Oracle iLearning a Consolidate training initiatives, go through the simulation test exam and attempt each questions very patiently, even if none of them make any sense to you.
Below is the screenshot where you can search and enroll for the same.
Step 4: Start watching videos
Course distributed into three level 100, 200 and 300 series. These are YouTube videos.
Course distributed into three level 100, 200 and 300 series. These are YouTube videos.
Same is available in Oracle University .
Besides my enthusiasm, I started feeling sleepy due to humongous volume. Voice started echoing, in my head, "Hello, everyone. My name is Rohit Rahi. And I'm part of the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure team."
To break the monotone I opted for next steps
Step 5: Read-Read-Read
I started mix reading and watching videos, hmm! Interesting, it started making sense to me and helped to pay more attention to the lectures.
Go back, rewind, clear doubts, contradict your thoughts, challenge trainer, refer oracle docs and solidify your concepts.
I have consolidated all OCI related docs and uploaded in gdrive. Feel free to download , one stop shop.
Step 6: Combine Read-Write-Listen-Hands-On
I opted for notebook writing; it helped me to be more interactive as if it was classroom training.
Now, I was becoming a pro in encapsulating the data, understanding the dynamics and getting a wholesome picture.I switched to PDF versions of videos and started highlighting and taking notes in the PDF and concurrently listening to the lectures using multiple screens.
Follow the demo, pause the lecture and get your hands dirty with OCI console.
Step 7: Do not love-hate trainer try being neutral
Sometimes you will feel as the speaker is just reading slides with no added benefit. All the speakers will not be same, do not lose interest and try to fall in love with topics in spite of the speakers, I know it is going to be tough but be neutral.
Get aware of key words and terminologies from videos; go through the white papers to get in-depth understanding. White papers opened a complete another realm for me. At the same time apply your understanding, keep Hands-On lab going on and make use of free $$ before it drains.
Bookmark course in Oracle University and YouTube videos.
Step 8: Fear of Failure
Four weeks later, I started losing interest; feeling depressed in the lock-down, but then again the fear of failure kept me alive.
Another tip is dividing your daily session equally among reading, Hands-On, practice test, watching video.
Go through FAQ's for a change.
Step 9: Picture yourself in other’s success stories
As this journey is going to be long, you need to keep your motivation high.
LinkedIn helped me, as it is flooded with success stories. Surfing, hitting likes and commenting, boosted my inner strength. Picture yourself in those success stories and be restless to post one.
Step 10: Exam day
A day before just go through the iLearning test simulation and most importantly do not forget your beauty sleep.
You can add some buffer to feel relaxed.
The day arrived when I was ready to appear, here are some tactics, which helped me in those final moments.
Be calm, test will be MCQ based, where one or more options are correct accompanied with distractors.
Elimination approach will help you to steer clear from such distractors, try to collect enough info to reject them and isolate the correct ones. Follow your instinct and keep answering until you reach the last question, you may opt for the review check box for the one in doubt to revisit later. Do not waste time on re-reading the question if it is confusing because sometimes you may end up finding the hints hidden in option itself. There are multiple questions where you will find the answers hidden for others.
So feel free to review at least twice as you will have enough time.
Two more to go; hope to clear both before ides of May 2020.
Thanks to Oracle for provisioning free OCI certifications and very well-tailored course. Thanks to Pearson VUE for conducting hassle free online test during the lock-down.
Please comment with your favorite trainer, for me it will always be “Rohit Rahi” for providing such a wonderful training on OCI.
Step 11: Claim your badge and download certificate
Congratulations ! Oracle University encourages you to share your badge on social media. Please use #LearnOracle when posting.
Once you have earned a badge from Oracle do not forget to claim and share. Certificate and badge will be published within 24 hours however,score is available within 30 mins in certview.
My success story:
Fun learning! Stay Home! Stay Safe!
Awesome...Thanks for the details ...
ReplyDeleteMa sha Allah
ReplyDeleteThank You Brother for explaining your journey .
ReplyDeleteOracle Cloud Infrastructure Cloud Operations Associate documents link is routing to Architect docs. Can you please correct this.
Thanks for pointing out , I have corrected the link .
DeleteOracle Cloud Infrastructure Cloud Operations Associate documents are ready to download now. I have successfully cleared Operations exam today , kindly focus on architect associate program for concepts and pay more attention to commands & syntax .
Congratulations bro!. Thank You so much.
DeleteAwesome bhai.. motivational !, I have also booked the slot yesterday . Need to push my self to clear these exams. Thanks NAved bhai
ReplyDeletePerfect , just keep pushing
Deleteand stay focused .The hard work will pay off.
thanks for the read
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading your post Naved !!
ReplyDeleteThank you Shibu
Delete
ReplyDeleteGreat articles and great layout. Your blog post deserves all of the positive feedback it’s been getting. Microsoft Certified: Power Platform App Maker Associate