Which of the many Cognos certifications is the easiest or fastest to achieve?

[FerdH4]

Hi All, I am brand new to the Cognoise forum.  I was recently thrust into a position where I have to become a Cognos expert ASAP studying nearly exclusively on my own.  I'm glad to have the opportunity and the challenge. 

I do have some limited exposure to Query Studio, Report Studio, Workspace, Workspace Advanced, and PowerPlay.  My immediate roles are as an end-user report Consumer and a mid-level Author.  Those responsibilities will grow quickly and might include the need to known Framework Manager, Lifecycle Manager, security and admin functions, etc.

I'd like to get even just a minor emotional win for myself by achieving a certification too. Though ultimately I will likely try for several certifications, I'm looking to start somewhere...anywhere. 

My question is mostly for those of you who have already achieved two or more certifications please.  So in your own opinion, which of those certifications was comparatively the easiest or fastest for you to achieve?

[cognostechie]

Welcome to the forum and I have more than two so I guess I am qualified to answer this  ;)

In my opinion, the easiest and fastest depends on your knowledge of the subject rather than the complexity of the subject. If you have knowledge about Report Studio then go for it. I would like to mention that making reports from a relational package is considered only half of RS. I am mentioning this because I have seen developers becoming experts in making reports from a Framework package and going for the exam thinking they know it all only to realize that around 40% questions were about making reports from cubes. They did not have experience of that and nor did have knowledge of MDX so failed the test ! To pass the test, you have to score more than 70% ( if it is the same as it used to be )

Hope this helps ! 

[FerdH4]

Thank you cognostechie for the input. 

That is an important consideration.  I've reviewed the published focus of a few certification tests and I've read much of the 1000 page Report Studio User Guide.  In both cases Ive noticed that a material percentage of same relates to dimensional cubes.  And you are right, almost all of my very recent experiences are with relational databases only.

Now that you've shared that enlightenment, I'll keep it in mind.