Last updated on March 8, 2023.
“Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.”
Charlie Batch
In this penultimate post in our NetSuite certification series, we’ll look at some of the best resources out there to help you prepare for your NetSuite certification exam. Let’s get right into it.
Before telling you about what resources I found most useful and which ones I recommend, let’s see what participants of the survey so far have to say on this subject. The following results are from individuals who already took one of the certification exams.
The top 3 resources are the sample exams published by NetSuite on their certification website (67.1%), the study guides published on the same page (65.3%), and SuiteAnswers / the NetSuite Help Center (61.2%). Interestingly, only 45.3% said they actually took the recommended (paid) courses offered by NetSuite.
In terms of usefulness, the same three resources rank highest as shown in the answers below.
It would be interesting to investigate the correlation between these answers and actually passing the exams. I’ve not had a chance to dig that deep into the data but I suspect that those who used the top 3 resources in combination had higher passing rates than those who did not.
Now here’s my take.
The best resources for NetSuite certification exam preps
While I believe that you can pass the exams by digging into the help center guided by the topics mentioned in the study guides, I found that approach rather overwhelming. The NetSuite help center has a strong rabbit hole effect. You start off on one page and keep going deeper and deeper until you get lost. Moreover, there are just so many details that it’s hard to tell which ones are relevant and which ones are not. I started off this way when preparing for my first certification exam in 2019 but, after about a week, I felt overloaded and quickly retraced my steps.
I briefly considered paying for one of those NetSuite Dump books that claim to have answers from previous tests and boast of (unverifiable) high success rates. I finally decided against it partly because, as explained in the first post in this series, I discovered my “why” and figured that, for me, it was not just about passing the exam but getting quality knowledge and exposure. Moreover, given that NetSuite does not publicize its exam questions, one cannot vouch for the validity of such resources. I won’t advise anyone to go that way.
Long story short, I ended up going the paid NetSuite training route. In fact, I got a Learning Cloud Support (LCS) pass which gave me unlimited access to all NetSuite on-demand training courses including those recommended for the exams. What’s more, the pass was valid for about 18 months in my case, allowing me enough time to space out my certification trajectory and consolidate my learning!
If you've had a NetSuite renewal sometime after July 2020, chances are that you have an LSC pass wasting away in your renewal contract… Get it activated and use it! Click To TweetThe LSC pass is expensive but you don’t have to pay for it…
If you know anything about LSC, it’s probably that it’s expensive and that’s very true. I can’t provide concrete figures (NetSuite does not publicize the prices and discounts will vary depending on the discount rates in your NetSuite contract). However, I can tell you that it is much cheaper to get an LSC than to sign up for a few individual training courses.
Nevertheless, if you can, avoid paying for the LSC pass yourself! NetSuite is famous for “throwing in” an LSC pass with their contract or renewals. In fact, I heard from an unofficial source recently (so don’t quote me on this) that all renewals since July 2020 include an LSC pass by default. And, I’ve confirmed this in renewal contracts that I’ve seen lately. So, chances are that you already have access to one if you work at a NetSuite customer and you don’t even know it! (NetSuite partners also have similar resources.)
So, go speak to your boss / (internal) NetSuite account manager and see if you already have this resource. If not, talk to them about the possibility of paying for your training. A lot of companies have professional development budgets. Do your research, find out what is possible, and make an offer to your current employer. In my case, my then boss accepted to pay for my LSC pass as part of my compensation package. So again, think outside of your own pocket!
If you work for yourself, do an ROI calculation and determine if it’s worth it for you. I should mention that LSC passes are named so only one user can be registered with NetSuite for a single pass. However, I consider that a procedural/policy limitation rather than a practical one. Another thing is that LSC pass durations are usually tied to your contract period. So, if your company’s NetSuite contract is expiring soon, Id’ advise you to wait until the next renewal before getting it.
When an LSC pass is not feasible…
If you can’t get an LSC pass, then target getting just one paid training for starters. Which one? For each NetSuite Professional certification, there is a training course geared specifically toward exam preparation (refer to the “Certification Preparation” section of the Course Catalog for details). Get just that course if funds are an issue. It will not cover all subjects in detail but it will highlight key information and provide a good guide on what subjects you should focus on. What’s more: Once you’ve gotten your first certification, you get entitled to 30% discounts on subsequent training courses. So, this is definitely a way to reduce your overall training costs.
In conclusion, there is no single path to certification preparation. And even the best resources will not guarantee success; you need to do the hard work of preparing and choosing resources that will help you learn without getting overwhelmed. I hope that the ideas I’ve shared in this post have helped broaden your vision to see other possibilities waiting to be exploited.
The insights in this article represent the views of the author, who, by the way, holds multiple NetSuite certifications. However, the perpetual certification survey that’s been running since January 2021 reflects the collective thinking of the community on the subject matter.
Our hope is that the combination of both resources will provide you with a balanced view. Take the certification survey today! Once completed, you’ll unlock the anonymized aggregated survey results with nice charts and stats. Alternatively, you can subscribe to our NetSuite Insights newsletter using this link to gain immediate access to the survey results and email notifications when we publish new insights.
