Whether you are well on your CTA path or just starting out with your Salesforce certification - you could always use a piece of advice and encouragement from those who "traveled the path". 

Some of the things we learned during the meeting:

Resources that can help you study for your exam:

- #1  - Start with Trailhead (make sure to focus on Super Badges and Projects)

- Utilize Study Guides for your exam to determine topics, and look for Dreamforce presentations on the topics you need to learn more about.

     - You can find Study Guides by going to Trailhead / Certifications / choosing your certification.

- Sing up for Virtual Bootcamps, such as Trailhead Virtual Bootcamp for New Admins (TVB201) or Trailhead Virtual Bootcamp for Platform Developer I

     - Includes: a certification practice exam voucher (valued at $20 USD) and a voucher to sit for the Salesforce Certified Administrator exam (valued at $200 USD)

     - Keep an eye for promotions and discounts

- Find as many hands-on opportunities as possible:

     - Workshops and Salesforce Saturdays through Trailblazer Community Groups or on YouTube

     - Practice in your dev org

     - Take volunteering opportunities

- FocusOnForce offers consolidated study notes and practice tests

     - But use your best judgment and don't rely on this resource solely, b/c some Trailblazers have found some of the materials to be outdated, especially for the Platform App Builder exam. Make sure to substitute with other study materials.

- Udemy - check out Mike Wheeler's classes on Udemy

- Consulting OnDemand has a consolidated list of resources you need for different certifications exams, such as Certified Administrator, Certified Advanced Administrator, Certified Platform App Builder, Certified Community Cloud Consultant, Certified Service Cloud Consultant, Certified Salesforce Cloud Consultant.

- LadiesBeArchitect is a great website and YouTube channel with many recordings of walk-throughs for many different certifications and topics, especially advanced topics, such as Identity and Security.

- Keep an eye for Certification Days and register whenever available to learn more about the exam and additional resources that can get you ready

- For women wanting to learn how to code - RADWomen is an excellent resource. They offer a supportive and collaborative environment and structured classes to help women learn to code on the Force.com platform.

So how does one study for their exam? Where does one begin? 

- Start with the Exam Study Guide and create a plan (a schedule) based on the details of the exam: the weighting, time you have before the exam, number of questions in the exam.

     - Focus on the heavy-weight topics first (especially when limited on prep time).

- Utilize Salesforce Community (Trailblazer Community Groups and Trailblazers Collaboration) to connect with others and learn different approaches or get your questions answered.

- Find a Study Group or a "Study Buddy" (by attending Certification Days, asking on Trailblazer Community, or signing up for existing groups, such as these: https://linktr.ee/CloudOutLoud)

- Decide whether you want to take the test in person or at home.

     - Pros of taking the test in person  - you can have a few pieces of paper to take notes and scribble; you have a quiet room to focus - away from your kids, pets and other distractions).

     - Pros of taking the test at home - the comfort of no traveling and scheduling at (almost) any time. But know that you cannot have anything with you during the test and cannot take notes.

- Schedule your exam - set a deadline for yourself!

- During the exam:

     - Understand the timing for each question, and if you are stuck - choose the best option, mark it for review and move on. Later come back to review flagged questions.

     - If you have time left in the exam - use it, you paid for that time, use it to review your answers.