I'm not going to sugarcoat it: I bombed the IAB certification the first two times I sat for it. First attempt I scored a 68, second time a 71 — both below the passing threshold. I'd been in digital advertising for about three years so I figured I already knew most of the material. That was my mistake. The exam goes way deeper on programmatic, data privacy (GDPR/CCPA specifics), and measurement than day-to-day work ever prepares you for.
What changed for round three was being systematic. I spent about six weeks this time, doing roughly 45 minutes a day. I used the official IAB study guide as my base, but honestly what locked things in was drilling with an IAB practice test repeatedly until I could identify WHY each wrong answer was wrong, not just what the right one was. That shift in approach made a huge difference.
For anyone else preparing right now — what topics are tripping you up most? Happy to share the specific areas I focused on for the data and measurement sections.