You shouldn’t take AWS Pearson Vue Online Proctoring exam and here is why
Tags: aws, tutorial, cloudskills, cloud
Published: 2022-12-13 10:54:54

Some time ago I took AWS Architect Associate exam. I’m already a holder of a AWS Developer Associate certification so I expected no issues. I couldn’t be more wrong!

I will tell you what to expect, what the policies are, what surprised me and why you should avoid online proctoring exam, if you have alternatives.

What you will be obliged to do before even starting an exam?
Be sure to run system test. You should do it in the same room, with the same devices and WiFi that you will use during an exam. I have couple of WiFi networks which can be switched dynamically so I checked all of the options beforehand. Think what could go wrong because something most likely will.
Read the online exam policy, that’s the best one thing you can do. And don’t be scared of it at all. I won’t elaborate on it. I will describe what wasn’t there later in this article so you will be well-prepared!
Disconnect all external devices from your PC/Mac/laptop. Remove them from the desk. That includes external monitor if you’re using MacBook or Windows powered laptop. Any Linux powered devices are strictly prohibited. I ended up disconnecting and removing my monitor 10 minutes before an exam! My fault.
You have to be in a closed, well-lit and calm environment. They need to see closed doors as a part of “room verification” process. No one can enter, no one can talk, remember!
What was surprising since it wasn’t written in the policy?
The recommendation is to start 30 minutes (!) before exam scheduled time. But it isn’t written why. It’s because entire verification process takes eons. In my case it took 1h. Sitting and waiting was the major part of it. Although I saw it could be worst than that. One must be ready to spend 140 minutes of exam alone. Additionally, there will be couple of minutes on pre- and post-exam activities. Finally, you would have to spend from (promised) 15 minutes to 1h (or more as few people shared) on verification process. That adds up to almost 4h spent in one position in front of your computer. Remember, while verification process and exam is happening you cannot stand up, you cannot go to bathroom, you cannot drink nor eat, you cannot talk and you cannot look into window. Talk to your partner and/or roomies and plan for it. You have to make your room a Temple Of Silence for a time being.

As I mentioned, they will verify your identity. That’s understandable and would also happen on-site. The verification process can be done via your smartphone, for example. Also, a proctor might try resolve technical issues with an exam by calling your phone. But, according to policy, you’re not allowed to have phone within your reach. Nor any smart devices. If someone would call you — exam could be cancelled. I recommend having your phone on silent mode, at least 1,5h meters away but with visible screen — so you know when agent is calling (strange, unknown and international number) and you won’t end up with cancelled exam because you picked up a call from your boss/partner/parent/friend.

Policy also states that you need government issued ID card in order to identify yourself before an exam. During the verification process I was able to choose from driver license or passport only. ID card is not an option and that was a big surprise to me. I had to find one of the approved documents very quickly. Don’t do it to yourself and prepare ID card and the second document beforehand, just to be sure.

So, what really happened and why I’m simply disappointed?
As a part of verification process I was contacted by a polite agent.
She checked my workspace using my camera view, so, what’s behind
and in front of my desk, my hands and wrists for watches and cheat sheets.
All good! Good to go!

Everything was fine until she disconnected from the chat and remotely triggered an exam. My entire screen went black instantly.
The only thing I was able to see was an overflow menu with the following items: Pearson logo, chat, whiteboard and my camera view.
I waited around 10 minutes hoping for exam to be loaded. Then, I clicked ‘chat’ icon — instantly — entire application froze. I waited for some time hoping it will ‘unfroze’, unfortunately, it have not happened. I had to force restart entire device.

I’m running MacBook Pro with quad-core CPU and 16GB of RAM. You can be sure it’s enough. I’m running Android Studio, Docker and much more on a daily basis. Additionally, I was at 300Mbs fiber backed internet connection. So, I kinda blame Pearson software.

How to resolve broken exam situation?
You need to go to AWS dedicated Pearson help center. Since my country don’t have dedicated Pearson phone number I spent more than 1 hour waiting for online assistant. It took around 15 minutes to open a case. Now, I need to wait from 3 to 5 business days to resolve the situation. The entire process is “very corporate” if you understand what I mean. It’s slow.

Take exam on site!
Take the above mentioned points into consideration while scheduling an exam. It’s all understandable but it’s quite limiting comparing to taking an exam on site. On site you can go to bathroom, drink, you will have a piece of paper to work on, you can relax a bit. If you’re able to schedule on site I recommend it. I won’t do online exam again unless #covid19 will force me to.

Obviously, shit happens. I’m not furious nor mad but I want to warn you what may happen, how reality looks like, so you’re not disappointed. Every student spends a lot of time beforehand in order to pass an exam — it’s a bit frustrating when technical issues gets in the way.
I understand software sometimes is not functioning as expected as I’m also introducing issues from time to time. All software engineers do.
Simply, if I would have a choice between on site stable exam environment and unstable, unpredictable software — my choice is obvious.

What was your experience with online proctor exam? Let others know in the comments!