So I've been chasing this certification for almost eight months now and I'm not gonna lie, the first two failures hit hard. First time I scored a 68 (passing is 75), second time a 71. I kept thinking I just needed to read the material more carefully but that clearly wasn't the problem.
What changed everything was finding a decent AZ practice test that actually matched the question style on the real exam. The ones I'd been using before were way too straightforward — the actual test loves to throw scenario-based questions where two answers look equally right. I also picked up a study guide that broke down the weighted topic areas, which helped me stop wasting time on sections worth maybe 8% of the score.
Passed with an 81 last week. My biggest exam tips: do timed practice under real conditions, don't skip the hands-on labs even if they feel tedious, and seriously review any question you got right by guessing. Anyone else here working toward this one? Happy to share more specifics about what resources I used.