A few years back, I had an experience that made me seek for a review copy of ExamMO-500: Microsoft Access Professional Certification. If you are familiar with this program, you would know how important it is in the IT world. For those who don’t know, Access is a powerful database management system (DMS) that provides the users with various user privileges, including user privileges to modify, create, delete, or update objects as needed by the user in the sense of a self-service mode. It is the industry standard when it comes to providing IT services.

The time I got involved in taking the examination was not pleasant at all. My first concern was to find some free time where I could study without distractions. Fortunately, I found a local community college nearby and thus, could take my time and focus on my notes diligently. The moment I was done with my notes, I went online and looked for free Access training materials on the Internet. In my eagerness to be certified, I spent a lot of money on Access training materials which were useless and of little use to me.

Having been frustrated enough to find the answers that were scattered everywhere, I then decided to take the Certified Microsoft Access Specialist (CMS) Exam. Since Access is a vital tool for database administrators and developers, I thought the more information I can get regarding the subject, the better. I figured there’s no harm in spending a few dollars for this certification, because I know that my skills will be in demand. And so, I set out to prepare myself for the examination.

One month before my examination, I took an online course entitled “ExamMO-500: Microsoft Access Certification for the Certified Information Technology Specialist (CITS)”. The course was created by Paul Carr, who is also the creator of the popular training series Information Security Training. What I found from the course was that Access is not that difficult to understand, although there are still quite a few Access Basics topics that I don’t fully understand. Still, it was very helpful to have an expert explain Access issues in layman’s terms, so I could better understand them.

Four months before my exam date, I took another online course entitled “ExamMO-600: Microsoft Access Certification for the Certified Information Technology Specialist (CITS)”. This course was created by Robert Younger, who is the founder of InfoSec Consulting. He had also created the popular “Microsoft Access Suite of exams” which is used by many CITS exam takers. Having worked as a consultant with several Microsoft Access providers, he knows how complicated the exams are. So, he created these two courses in order to make Access even easier to learn.

There is no question that the exams need to be done right. The authors of these two books clearly understand that there is no substitute for hands-on experience with a real application. So, they provide plenty of “real life” practice questions and scenarios that you need to prepare for. They also provide practice tests and even a sample test from a recent Microsoft Access certification exam.

Now, if you have never taken an Access certification test before, you might think that these books are too difficult. But, you would be wrong. Like any other exam, you only need to take one! And that one must be the entire test. You need to familiarize yourself with all the questions and their different answers keys, so you can quickly determine which one you need to choose.

My recommendation for any Access beginner is to purchase Access Certified Trainer. This is the most complete exam guide for Microsoft Access. Not only does it give you the most thorough examination of Access, it also comes packed with study guides and practice tests, which will help you pass your certification exams quickly. So, don’t delay…if you want to become an Access Certified Professional, get started as soon as possible!