In this article, let’s answer a few common questions people have about taking an exam on certificates.dev.

Do I Need to Know TailwindCSS?

In many of our training modules we use Tailwind CSS to provide styles for boilerplate code. This has led some people to question how much they should know about Tailwind CSS in order to pass a JavaScript oriented exam (like Vue, Angular, or Nuxt). The answer is 👇

You do NOT need to know Tailwind CSS to pass an exam about Vue, Angular, Nuxt, etc!

For any exam where we aren’t explicitly testing you on CSS knowledge (like the Tailwind CSS exam) it is never required to write custom CSS or use Tailwind CSS classes. All styles required for the challenges are included in the boilerplate.

How long will it take to complete the official training?

That totally depends on your prior knowledge of the certification topic. The training is designed so that you can take it at your own pace. For those who are total beginners, you will want to follow each chapter closely reading all related material and doing every exercise. Such individuals could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to complete. More experienced developers could skip around in the training and focus only on topics they feel they are lacking in and could complete the training in only a few days.

What Kind of Coding Challenges are on the Exam?

Exams include one feature challenge where you are required to implement an app feature according to strict specifications and a bug challenge where you must find and fix a bug in some pre-written example application. Both feature and bug challenges focus on correctly implementing key concepts from the tested technology. For example, for the Vue certification, a bug challenge might include a v-for loop that has an improper :key attribute which causes some elements NOT to re-render even though the related array has changed.

For more tips for tackling a code challenge within the exam interface checkout this blog post.

Also, if you’ve purchased the training bundle, you have access to a trial exam which you can try to get a feel for what a coding challenge would be like. Plus many of the challenges in the training are structured in a similar manner to exam coding challenges.

What is the difference between the materials users get in the Self-Study Training and what they learn with a Vue School license?

This question is common among users who are interested in the Vue Certification. There is a lot of overlap between the video material you have access to on the Vue School platform. For example, the training material goes over Vue fundamentals like props, events, refs, computed props just like the Vue.js 3 Fundamentals with the Composition API course and the Vue Component Fundamentals with the Composition API course.

Some relevant courses on the Vue School platform are 100% FREE (including this super helpful course about common Vue.js mistakes that addresses a lot of the bugs you’ll encounter during bug challenges)! You can view all such free courses here.

There are some BIG differences though.

Vueschool.io Training

1. Learning material is delivered in a video format
2. A wide variety of topics are covered including material that is not necessary to know to pass the Vue certification

Certificates.dev Training

1. Provided in a written format with hands-on challenges and multiple choice quizzes
2. Training is more step-by-step and takes you through beginning-to-end in a more guided way
3. Includes ALL material that will tested on for the exam and using it will mean less distraction and more focus on passing the exam

More Questions

We of course get other questions from users all the time. If you want more answers to commonly asked questions you can visit the FAQ section on the homepage for the exam of your choice (for example: see frequently asked questions for the Vue exam by near the bottom of the page).