So I've been in museum work for about six years now and finally decided to bite the bullet and go for the AAM certification this past spring. Honestly, I was pretty intimidated at first — I'd heard the collections management and governance sections were no joke, and I wasn't sure how much my day-to-day experience would carry over into an actual exam setting.
I spent about three months prepping. The AAM study guide was a solid starting point, but what really clicked for me was doing timed AAM practice test runs in the last few weeks before my date. I'd consistently score in the low 70s and was shooting for 80+, so I had to get more systematic about ethics and legal compliance — two areas I'd kind of glossed over at first.
Ended up passing with an 83. If anyone else is in the middle of prep or just starting out, happy to share what worked. The exam tips I picked up from folks on here actually saved me a lot of time. What stage is everyone else at?