# How to Pass the Terraform Associate Certificate Exam
# 1 What is Terraform
Terraform is an IaC(Infrastructure as Code) tool, it helps to manage the infra like VM, Database, MQ by code.
As one of the most famous IaC tools, it's worth to learn Terraform. I have more than one year working experience using Terraform, so I want to get the Terraform Associate certificate.
# 2 Terraform Associate
HashiCorp (opens new window) provides 3 certificates for its product: Terraform Associate, Vault Associate and Consul Associate. The Terraform Associate certification is for Cloud Engineers specializing in operations, IT, or development who know the basic concepts and skills associated with open source HashiCorp Terraform.
Candidates will be best prepared for this exam if they have professional experience using Terraform in production, but performing the exam objectives in a personal demo environment may also be sufficient.
# Prerequisites
- Basic terminal skills
- Basic understanding of on premises and cloud architecture
# Product Version Tested
Terraform 0.14 and higher.
# Exam Details
| Assessment Type | Multiple choice |
|---|---|
| Format | Online proctored |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Price | $70.50 USD plus locally applicable taxes and fees |
| Language | English |
| Expiration | 2 years |
# Exam Objectives
It's not much to learning before you take the exam, but you should go through all the topics, especially the key concepts: workflow, providers, state, module.
- Understand infrastructure as code (IaC) concepts
- Understand Terraform's purpose (vs other IaC)
- Understand Terraform basics
- Use the Terraform CLI (outside of core workflow)
- Interact with Terraform modules
- Navigate Terraform workflow
- Implement and maintain state
- Read, generate, and modify configuration
- Understand Terraform Cloud and Enterprise capabilities
# 3 how to prepare
The exam is not hard, but you need to go through all the consepts about Terraform. I prepared for about one week. The material you need:
study guide (opens new window) : You'd better learn with the guide if you are new to Terraform. You would need more time but it's really helpful to learn Terraform with the detailed guide.
review guide (opens new window) : if you don't have enough time, you can just review this and make sure you know the concept well. For who already knows and used Terraform, it's a good guide.
sample questions (opens new window) : With the sample questions, you won't be panic in the exam.
I just prepared with the review guide (opens new window) , as I think I already know Terraform well. But I still took time to look into all the details in the guide. You don't need to memorize all the commands and parameters, but you should know the common purpose and behaviar.
Commands you should know:
- terraform init
- terraform validate
- terraform plan
- terraform apply
- terraform destroy
- terraform fmt
- terraform state
- terraform taint
- terraform workspace
- terraform import
- terraform output
Note: The official guide provided by Terraform is enough for you. You don't need other materials as they will be outdated.
# 4 take the exam
You need to make an appointment for the exam, remember to select the right timezone for you. You can launch the exam 30 minutes before the exam time. Because it will take time to do the examination for the environment.
We have 1 hour to complete about 60 questions, but don't worry, most of them are easy and just take few seconds. I completed all the questions within 30 minutes and passed the exam. You will get the result immediately after you submit you answers. It would also send the result and certificate badge via email to you after you finish the exam.
Keep learning and good luck!
Reference:
pkslow terraform (opens new window)
250 Practice Questions For Terraform Associate Certification (opens new window)