CIW Exam Diary - Part 2
A Site Designer for Sore Eyes
Cold, dark, and rainy. That’s my best description of the day I drove to work with my Self Test Software (Kaplan, Inc.) CIW Site Designer test copies atop the steering wheel, dodging through the unforgiving Atlanta Tuesday morning traffic. The comfort level of my vehicle was no less than that of the parking lots, hallways, and elevators I used as study halls.
Three endless months had crept by since I had passed the Associates exam, the introductory and
easier of the three, which inevitably raises the confidence level of the
CIW candidate and entices him into more challenging exams, whereupon his
soul touches new heights or depths of webmastery. The laurels I had been
resting comfortably upon had become dry and brittle. I had dutifully
finished reading the 600 page
CIW Site Designer Certification Bible. I had
withstood six hours of quality cramming last night. It was time.
Despite the grayness of the sky’s palette, I saw red, green, blue and 216 web safe mixtures of the three colors. Red smacked of danger, blue of sadness. Today, I wanted green, the tone of a sunny walk in the park, the hue of U.S. currency, the fruit of an elevated salary.
I recognized the Prometric Training center for its quaint appearance. Behind the front door, I would almost expect to see a few logs smoldering in a fireplace or maybe a bearskin rug across a wooden floor instead of the familiar stairway that lead downward into a wall. I hadn’t noticed the first time that the suite next door contained an office of three doctors. What kind of medicine did they practice and would I need their services after the exam? If I failed, a psychiatrist, anesthesiologist, and veterinary surgeon might combine their skills to restore me to pre-CIW health. This trio of healers would make me attend a support group of webmasters who concocted such exaggerated and destructive notions of advancing their careers through technical certifications.
It was the same guy, the nervous administrator who had attended me when
I took the previous exam three months ago. It had been so long that he
didn’t recognize me. “Congratulations,” he would say again if I passed
this second test. He must say that word many times during the day to MCSE,
CCNP, CNA and other cert candidates. What would he say to someone who
failed?
Things moved along smoothly, except that I couldn’t remember the exact number of the Site Designer exam. I’m not sure why, but every certification exam worth anything has a series number assigned to it. 1D0-420 would be my winning or losing number today.
“Do you have many people who take this exam,” I asked? His face scrunched into a painful expression as sounds struggled to escape his mouth but failed. I had no idea what words he labored to speak, only that he intended the response as negative.
I nodded.
He lead me into a quiet vacant room where fluorescent lights threw their fake light upon eight to ten PC’s and about the same number of dysfunctional chairs. Add one more item to all the webmaster definitions, charts, and diagrams crammed into my brain to remember: don’t lean back in the chair.
A message on my monitor screen said: “Click here to begin the exam.” I reached for the mouse.
For the Site Designer exam, one is expected to have a working knowledge of popular design tools like Microsoft FrontPage, Dreamweaver, and HomeSite. One must also be handy with graphics programs like Paint Shop Pro and Flash. As I progressed, product-related questions seemed scarce. Best design practices, colors, and what’s-wrong-with-this-code-questions abounded. The answers were cut and dry, as they often were with the Associates exam. One answer just always looked better than the others.
I clicked finish. My eyes ping-ponged across the screen until they latched onto a beautiful number: 80%. I had passed. I heard papers rustle in the next room. The administrator was preparing to hand me my score and utter the word I had worked so hard to hear on this warm, bright, sunny day: "Congratulations."
The next day I realized I had forgotten my receipt needed for educational reimbursement from my bankrupt company. It was closing time but I saw the nervous administrator through the door’s glass. I yelled through the door, "I need to get my receipt!" He began letting me in as I repeated my request loudly; not realizing a student sat quietly in the corner preparing to take an exam.
With CIW Site Designer behind me, I was only one exam away from possessing the piece of paper publicly declaring me a Master Certified Internet Webmaster.
To be continued?
Author's name withheld by request.
