TL:DR

• The cost of the exam is $165 USD
• Test is around 50-60 questions with ~2 hour time limit
• The Certification lasts ONE year. Renew starts after 6 months, but is a shorter format, and is FREE.
• There are 10 possible types of question types. (Will be explained in better detail later on) For more information and examples check this link: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2226877
• There is at least 1 case study in the test. (Question format will be detailed later on)
• The passing score for the certification is 700
• The Skills section is graded as followed:

Prepare the data (25%-30%)

Model the data (35-30%)

Visualize and analyze the data (25%-30%)

Deploy and maintain assets (15%-20%)

• The test can be taken either in-person (in a test center) or online (via Pearson)
• There are multiple OFFICIAL resources online that can help with studying

Practice Assessment (After the assessment you can make a personalized learning path based on what sections needs improvement) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/certifications/exams/pl-300/practice/assessment?assessmentId=48&assessment-type=practice

Study Guide: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/certifications/resources/study-guides/PL-300

Measureup’s Practice Test (Paid) (Questions and question types mimic the exam in terms of content, difficulty and style.) (Also endorsed by Microsoft when scheduling the exam) (Probably the most useful resource in my opinion.) https://www.measureup.com/microsoft-practice-test-pl-300-microsoft-power-bi-data-analyst.html

Completing the PL-300 Power BI exam was not easy, but there were a lot of very helpful resources that provided me with a LOT of information. I will try to break down the structure as best as possible as well as provide as many tips for the exam as possible

Firstly, the exam features 10 different question formats and each has their own gimmicks.

1. Multiple choice questions with ONE Answer

• Standard Multiple choice with one correct answer
  

2. Multiple choice with MULTIPLE Answers

• Multiple choice question where multiple answers are correct.
• Note: answers can either be a complete answer or part of the answer.
• The # of correct answers are ALWAYS given (Ex. which 2 answers are correct)
  

3. Drag and Drop

• Drag and drop possible answers to the correct answer area
• Note: that some answers can be used multiple times, once, or not at all
  

4. Build List Reorder

• Similar to drag and drop, you will need to drag possible answers in the CORRECT SEQUENCE in order to get credit
• As with multiple answer, you will be provided with the # of correct answers (ex. What five items do you need)
  

5. Active Screen (Ver.1)

• With Active screen, there will be a screenshot with interactive menus, buttons, or spin boxes. You will be asked to put in the correct configurations in order to either answer a question asked or select the correct options to replicate a shown screenshot.
  

6. Active Screen (Ver.2)

• This version of Active Screen gives a workplace scenario with prebuilt configurations. The question will then ask to complete the following statement.
  

7. Hot Area

• Hot area questions have multiple clickable areas that may or may not be correct answers.
• There can be one answer, or multiple answers.
  

8. Case Study

• Case Studies contain menu options that give extra information on data requirements or restrictions.
• Case Studies can contain multiple questions attributed to the same environment.
• Case Studies can feature any question type
  

9. Exhibit Questions

• Exhibit questions contain an extra tab labeled “Exhibit” that features a screenshot that provides additional context for the question.
• The question will tell you that you would need to click the exhibit tab to fully understand the problem.
  

10. Multiple Exhibit Questions

• Same as the Exhibit question, but instead of a single exhibit, there are multiple tabs to switch between to fully understand the problem.
  

Certification Tips

• As with most exam tips, if there are any questions that stump you, you can skip over those questions and come back to them later.
• HOWEVER, there are some questions that do NOT allow you to go review the questions.
• Regardless if you answer those questions or not, you will NOT be able to go back to them. The exam will always tell you if you cannot go back to the question.
• For Exhibit questions, do not forget to actually go through the exhibit tab to fully understand the context. Even if the question may seem simple to answer, the exhibit may change the answer significantly.
• There are some questions that give a proposed answer to a situation. It then asks if the answer meets the goal of the situation. For these questions, you need to see if it answers the question, NOT if it is the best answer to the situation. The proposed answer can be wildly inefficient, BUT if it answers the question, then it meets the goal.
• Make sure you read the questions carefully. Some questions may ask for an answer with certain restrictions. (Ex. Which role can do a certain task, but has to be the one with the lowest permissions).
• Remember for Multiple answer questions, The test will tell you the # of correct answers.
• There is NO penalty for wrong answers, so answer ALL questions.
• You are given around ~2 hours to complete the exam.

Most Useful Resources

• Practice Assessment (After the assessment you can make a personalized learning path based on what sections needs improvement) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/certifications/exams/pl-300/practice/assessment?assessmentId=48&assessment-type=practice
• Mircosoft's Study Guide: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/certifications/resources/study-guides/PL-300
• Measureup’s Practice Test (Paid) (Questions and question types mimic the exam in terms of content, difficulty and style.) (Also endorsed by Microsoft when scheduling the exam) (Probably the most useful resource in my opinion.) https://www.measureup.com/microsoft-practice-test-pl-300-microsoft-power-bi-data-analyst.html

Semi Useful Resources

• Udemy Course: Microsoft Power BI Certification: PL-300 Exam Prep (PAID) (Very useful for breaking down most components on the Power BI certification. However, course is around 8 1/2 hours long and may be a bit confusing since they refer the exam as DA-100 which was it's previous name): https://www.udemy.com/course/microsoft-power-bi-certification-da-100-exam-prep/
• Exam (Questions are similar to the actual exam, HOWEVER the correct solution may or may not be correct. There is a discussion button next to it that may give the correct answer, but is sometimes not clear there either): https://www.examtopics.com/exams/microsoft/pl-300/view/1/