Hey guys!
In this post I would like to talk to you about certification test “simulations”, which promise to have questions similar to the certification test and serve as a study guide for those who are studying and can be a great risk to your career and the entire technical community, with severe punishments for those who use these simulations. And I will explain why.

Don't limit yourself to just reading what I'm going to write in this post. Reflect and comment below your opinion and experiences about this.

Introduction

What motivated me to write about certification test simulations is seeing several people in the community sharing supposed “courses” and “training” where one of the materials available are “simulations” to help prepare for the test in question.

That's when the “course” isn't just that... Sharing the “simulation” that the instructor may have found/bought on the Internet and is reselling.

Simulation for me, as an instructor, is something that I will create, using my experience and knowledge, to test my students' skills in the content covered in the test, using questions that I believe are relevant to everyday scenarios. In no way, I am going to try copy test answers and try to remember what happened on the test to put it in the same way in my simulation.

As a course and training instructor, my role is to teach the student, and make them think, aligning their own knowledge with what they have learned. The objective of any course is to teach, not to make the student pass the test. Being approved is a consequence of having learned. If the student does not pass, they did not learn and should not have passed. This is not shame, it is not a demerit, it is just an indication that his learning process needs more time.

We cannot skip the learning process!!! It is necessary and very important!

What's the problem with simulations?

I don't see any problem with using simulations to study for the test. Many people use this even in tests like ENEM. The real problem is when these simulations are not simulations, but rather A COPY OF THE TEST, with THE SAME QUESTIONS, which unfortunately, This is the reality of the vast majority of supposed simulations available on the internet.

The great truth is that those who really study, practice and dedicate themselves, no simulation needed. Full stop.

“Studying” your own test answers is not studying. It's cheating, it's illegal, it's immoral and this practice is severely punished by all companies that apply certification tests (see more in the topic below).

I've seen several cases of people who didn't know anything about a certain test, never worked with that technology/tool, didn't study and just memorized all the answers to those simulations/dumps, and passed the certification test.

What did this person learn? NOTHING! I doubt she will remember the things she memorized 3 months later... Where is the learning process? What was the certification for? Complete nonsense and an aberration.

What happens to those who use simulations?

And what happens to this professional? He will go to the market as a “certified” professional and when he needs to demonstrate his skills, he will not have them. He will not be able to perform the role expected of him, he will be embarrassed, and he will be asked how he has the certification if he does not have that knowledge. Because when a certified professional is hired, especially when certification is a prerequisite, they will probably be charged a lot on top of that.

When this scenario happens, where a certified professional does not have the knowledge supposedly attested by the certification, this certification will no longer be of any use, because the recruiter or the company will no longer believe that the certification guarantees the minimum necessary knowledge.

And that's where the entire community loses! Those people who spent hours, days, weeks or even months studying hard to pass, in addition to having invested hundreds of reais (a test today costs almost 600 reais), end up being devalued by the attitudes of people like these, who use simulations to pass the test instead of studying to learn.

That's why the entire technical community must come together and fight anyone who disseminates or uses this type of material, as it brings no benefit, it only harms the IT area itself and the professionals who fight to obtain these titles.

In selection processes that I participate in, I always go harder on those who have certification, because certification IS YES, a very big difference, it gives an important advantage to the candidate looking for a job, so I need to ensure that this person really knows what the certification “says” that this person knows. And if I suspect or know that this person used these “simulations”, I eliminate them from the process RIGHT AWAY. There's not even any conversation. And many people I talk to have the same attitude.

So, be careful with these “dumps” and “simulations”.

What happens if I get caught using simulations?

Anyone who uses these “dumps” or “simulations” that are copies of the test must be really brave, because the punishments for those who use these materials are very severe. As with any test, whether at school, college, ENEM, competition, certification. Any teacher who administers a test, if he discovers that the student had ILLEGAL access to the test material, will apply some severe punishment to the student.

Analyzing the punishment that Microsoft imposes on this, we can see in the link Exam Security Policy, the following text:

Candidate bans
If a candidate violates any testing rule, exam policy, or term within the exam agreement (NDA), or engages in any misconduct that diminishes the security and integrity of the Microsoft Certification Program in any way, the candidate may be permanently prohibited from taking any future Microsoft Certification exams. In addition, test scores and certifications may be revoked.

Examples of misconduct, misuse, and fraud include, but are not limited to, the following:
– Using unauthorized material in attempting to satisfy certification requirements (this includes using brain dump material and/or unauthorized publication of exam questions with or without answers).

Now see the Oracle guidance on this subject:

Fraudulent Activity Policy
Oracle Corporation reserves the right to take action against any candidate involved in fraudulent activities, including, but not limited to, fraudulent use of vouchers, promotional codes, reselling exam discounts and vouchers, cheating on an exam, alteration of score reports, alteration of completion certificates, violation of exam retake policies or other activities deemed fraudulent by Oracle.

Oracle considers any contributions to, use of, or sharing of materials pertaining to Oracle certification exams (or “brain dumps”) to be a violation of this Fraudulent Activity Policy. Candidates can check if the materials they are purchasing are prohibited brain dumps by visiting CertGuard’s Brain Dump ID System. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that all materials they purchase or use to prepare for exams are not violations of this Fraudulent Activity Policy.

If Oracle determines, in its sole discretion, that fraudulent activity has taken place, it reserves the right to take action up to and including, but not limited to, decertification of a candidate’s credentials, temporary, indefinite or permanent ban of a candidate from Oracle certification programs, notification to a candidate’s employer, and notification to law enforcement agencies. Candidates found committing fraudulent activities forfeit all fees previously paid to Oracle, or to Oracle’s authorized vendors, and may be required to pay additional fees for services rendered.

If you would like to report fraud, you can send a detailed email to [email protected].

And finally, AWS (Amazon) guidance on the subject:

2. Testing.
2.1. Testing Rules.
You will comply with all rules and regulations applicable to registration, administration, scoring and reporting of the Certification Exam as set forth by AWS and by a Certification Exam Provider, including, without limitation, fully and truthfully cooperating with any investigation into testing irregularities. In addition, you will not:
(a) receive or provide unauthorized assistance, or submit work that is not your own;
(b) possess, access, or use unauthorized materials including Unauthorized Content Disclosures of any Certification Exam or Testing Materials;
(c) falsify your identity or identification documents, or misuse any testing identification number, username, or other credentials that have been provided to you;
(d) allow another individual to test under your identity;
(e) claim exam results that you did not validly obtain;
(f) disclose or disseminate the content of any Certification Exam or Testing Materials;

Summary: If you get caught, you could have all your exams revoked and also, be Permanently banned from taking any Microsoft exams in the future (forever). And it's not difficult for companies to pick up on this... There are several courses on Udemy selling these “simulations”. All she has to do is sue the instructor and demand a list of students who had access to these materials.

Even metrics can be used to analyze behavior during the test, such as:

  • Very high grades
  • Questions being answered very quickly
  • Answered simulations also contain wrong answers. MS can compare your answers with those available in the simulations and discover that you used that simulation.
  • And many other ways…

Be very careful with this!!

How to report anyone who uses or sells these “Dumps”?

Microsoft has a form where you can report people who use or sell these “simulations” which, in fact, are not simulations, but “Dumps”, that is, an exact copy of the real tests.

To access this form, click this link here.

Are there really valid and safe simulations to use?

Yes of course! There are serious companies that produce simulations using fictitious questions, similar to the certification test, in the same style, but without copying the test.

Among these companies, I highlight WhizLabs, with great simulations and the MindHub, which has official simulations, which you can purchase directly through the Microsoft certification portal, in addition to Exam Replay with Practice Test.

If you want to have more confidence when taking your certification tests, and know the style of the tests, you can trust these simulations and AVOID these FAKE “simulations”, which are a copy of the official test.

And don't forget to check out my articles on certification tests clicking this link here 🙂

Well, that's it, folks!
That's my opinion and what's yours? Comment there.