Too many exams in succession?

contrarian

Hi folks,

I've been lurking around her for a while now and I finally have a question I can't find an answer to. I'm currently in the communications field in the US Army and am getting out very soon. I have spent some time in the past year studying for Net+, Sec+, and CCNA. I have trained on my own as well as some classroom training provided by the military.

After trying to jump through the hoops to get the Army to pay for my certifications, I have decided to pay for them myself so that I can get them on my resume before I get out.

My question is, do I run a risk of getting flagged by PearsonVUE/CompTIA? I passed my Net+ test about 2 weeks ago and will be taking my Sec+ exam this Friday. I read that they record your mouse movements, etc. to check for cheaters and I'm concerned that although I've been studying my @ss off I may draw their attention if I take too many certs in a 1-2 month period.

Has anyone heard of anything like this happening? Should I worry and/or should I hold off and take my CCNA exam once a few months have passed and I'm already out of the military?

Slowhand

I wouldn't worry too much about it. There are people who take multiple exams in a single day, so I don't think you're going to get flagged for taking a couple of exams within weeks of each other. Go ahead and take your Security+ exam, then push on through that CCNA while the knowledge is still fresh.

It's really only if you plow through each exam in fifteen or twenty minutes scoring in the 90% - 100% range, they'd start looking at you funny and maybe begin the auditing process through CompTIA or Cisco.

contrarian

Cool, thanks for the reassurance. I really don't want to wait any longer than I have to since I've been studying for the past year.

Mrock4

We recently had a guy who took 5 exams in one day. Yes, we all question the methods he used to prepare, but he did it..and got certified

As a side note, I've been in your shoes, getting the Army to pay for certs is a battle not worth fighting IMO, especially when you're about to get out. I payed for 100% of my certs while in the Army, and I got all of that back within my first few months of civilian employment (by virtue of increased salary), so rest assured you're investing in yourself and it'll be worth it eventually.

sratakhin

I took Server+, Security+ and ICND1 in two month period and didn't have any problems.
It was less than 2 weeks between Server+ and Security+.

DPG

Slowhand wrote: »

It's really only if you plow through each exam in fifteen or twenty minutes scoring in the 90% - 100% range, they'd start looking at you funny and maybe begin the auditing process through CompTIA or Cisco.

If I couldn't plow through a CompTIA exam within 20 minutes, I would question whether I was really ready for the exam.

mdomino

Check out the COOL program for payment of your certs. It may take an undisclosed amount of time but at least they'll pay for it. I'm using the Post 9/11 (Ch33) GI Bill to pay for mine and they pay the test costs whether I pass or fail. No idea how long it will take to get reimbursed but it's still free money.

Mrock4

GI Bill is one route, but COOL as far as I know, is just for giving you information on certs, not payment of them. This link on the COOL website just refers you to the GI Bill for payment:

https://www.cool.army.mil/overview.htm?rmb=overview_rm1#abtBtnsTop (Click on "Learn about available resources")

Sounds Good

I passed my Network+ on December 12th of 2010 and then took the Security+ on December 23rd of 2010. Was trying to beat the expiration clock to lock them in "for life".

No flag here.

SephStorm

agreed, the COOL program is awareness. The GI Bill will reimburse you for certs taken, pass or fail. What I think we veterans need to push for is the option to spend those funds on training at non schools. for us, IT training is much more valuable than a degree in many cases, and we have to come out of pocket for thousands and get reimbursed a couple hundred bucks for the cert...

dave330i

I took 3 4 hour exams from VMware in 20 days. Peason didn't care.

nkillgore

I don't think they publish what they do to detect cheaters. I think that there is a fairly complex set of algorithms. I feel like I read somewhere that they change the questions and answers just slightly so that dumpers will still pick the answer that they memorized. If they do it enough, it gets suspicious. There are probably several other variables involved, since revoking certs and banning someone for life from taking any other tests is a pretty harsh punishment to dole out based on only suspicion.

N2IT

Shouldn't be a problem. I was on a kick there for a while where I was doing a different certification each month for over a year. It wasn't a wise decision, but I didn't get flagged nonetheless.