These book pages arrived in good condition and the content was as expected. The fact that it's looseleaf was only mildly concerning until I received the pages and realized they are smaller than letter size with only two holes. Although I missed this detail on the product page, I was still able to place them into a regular three-ring binder, so "no harm, no foul" I suppose.
2.21.2017 Update: About the content...
The text instructs readers to place images near or right after where they’re mentioned in the text—one page away at the farthest—and most of the images in this book are not on the same page where they’re mentioned so readers have to turn the page to see the image (the rule is set to fit their book). Irritating.
Some information is not intuitively—or at the very least, is awkwardly—placed in the book. For example, a section about using Google Drive for team collaboration is placed in the chapter about analytical reports rather in the chapter about working in teams.
The book is full of the author’s opinionated suggestions that are then used as test material on the CPTC exam. The words “might” and “may” is used extensively, but the statements—in my opinion—seem to be more than suggestions. Thus, the suggestion of the author is then a rule.
The book is full of the author’s preferences for software….Readers will need to (obviously) research whether the author’s preferences are the best options for situation.
The book provides specific information for how to answer a number of common interview questions, but then flakes out by telling readers to not ask for too much money or too little money in reference to salary requirements. So, readers are supposed to do what? #Fail…..My personal opinion: When asked what your salary requirements are, ask “What do you typically pay someone with my experience, skills, and qualifications?” That will help--at the very least--get a number into the discussion/negotiation.
The author states that a line graph cannot present data in exact numbers, which is untrue. Microsoft Excel® allows users to create line graphs and include data labels or even a data table; hence, exact numbers. In the book’s example, the exact numbers would be visible if the user modified the date increments in the x-axis and added data labels.
For a book that is the basis of a certification exam, there is a bit of basic “Life in the 2010s” information. For example, at one point the author states that you have to access an internet search engine through a web browser. Really? I suppose this can be helpful to readers who have never accessed the Internet.
As far as the CPTC exam is concerned…Buyer Beware! As of December 2016, the study guide list offered by the STC doesn’t cover everything in the book, but the exam does. There was content in the study guide that I don’t recall seeing in the exam and there were questions in the exam that were not part of the study guide. The exam even asks questions related to content in the appendix, so read well and take good notes. According to what I was told by the STC, the exam is dynamic so the questions are not always the same. Much of the book content is basic knowledge, but there is some “specialty” content as well and the way the author describes or defines something may be a bit different than what readers are used to.
- Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account
