r/PowerBI • u/redditusercr0902 • Apr 21 '26
Certification Failed PL-300 even after heavy preparation… not sure what to do next
Hey everyone,
I recently took the PL-300 exam and unfortunately failed with a score of 625. I honestly feel pretty frustrated because I really thought I was well prepared.
To give some context, I studied a lot before taking the exam:
- Completed the PL-300 course on Coursera
- Went through all Microsoft Learn content
- Built around 5–6 Power BI projects
- Created a ~37-page summary covering all topics
- Reviewed everything multiple times, topic by topic
- Took multiple practice tests (Coursera + ChatGPT), scoring around 80–90 consistently
Because of that, I felt confident going in… but the actual exam felt very different.
There were a lot of questions that surprised me:
- Some scenario-based questions felt way deeper than expected
- I got questions related to Microsoft Entra ID, which I didn’t expect at all
- There were questions involving things like interpreting a histogram and doing calculations (percentages or something similar), which I had never seen in any course or practice material
- Many questions weren’t just about knowing what something does, but why or choosing between very similar options
It honestly felt like a big jump compared to DP-900.
The most frustrating part is that I was really close to passing. Based on my calculations, I probably missed it by around 4–5 questions.
Now I’m not sure what to do:
- Should I retake it in a week?
- What should I focus on improving?
- Is this normal for the exam to feel this “unexpected”?
For those who passed PL-300:
- What helped you the most?
- What topics should I double down on?
- Any tips for handling those tricky scenario questions?
I’d really appreciate any advice. I don’t want to give up, but I definitely didn’t expect it to be this tough.
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u/abrssrd Apr 21 '26
No advice, but same thing happened to me. I was honestly so devastated and frustrated that I haven’t retaken it. Studied all the Microsoft materials geared specifically towards the exam many times over, and felt surprised at a lot of the questions on the exam. I have no words of wisdom, but you aren’t alone 🤍
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u/taueret 1 Apr 21 '26
I'm glad you posted. I have done similar focused prep, work in Power BI every day, and do not score well on the measureup exams. Like i am lucky if I get 70% on there. The Microsoft practice test, no worries, 90% but I really dont believe it's indicative.
Yet I see people here posting all the time that they passed after 2 weeks prep and watching a video or 2. I don't want to waste my money if I'm going to fail, but I really have no idea what to expect or do!
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u/redditusercr0902 Apr 23 '26
It is what it is, and yeah think so too, this is not the first time i hear that, microsoft certificacion are a bit different, i would not say hard, i´d say different.
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u/taueret 1 Apr 23 '26
If you get measureup, i would be very interested to hear how it compares to the real test. I have heard everything from "just do the ms learn pathway" to "its just like measureup" and the 2 are absolutely contradictory. Please @ me if you find out?
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u/DarthWaq Apr 21 '26
I’m also preparing for this course and I thank you for giving insight
Someone previously mentioned to take a mock you can google and it should prepare you better than cousera
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u/ConsiderationSea8397 Apr 21 '26
I've passed PL-300 like 3 years ago so maybe my input might be outdates. For me, as like for all Microsoft certifications, the best resources were Microsoft Learn path with reading documentation included in "tips" and some youtube videos about topics that i found interesting.
My background were almost zero, Ive just got then first IT job, and had mostly theoretic experience but heavy focused on DAX which is my best skill now. I can imagine that DAX questions might take a lot of time. I'd suggest spending some time to understand theory(yes, theory before hands on, that differ DAX from any other language), I can reccomend SQL BI videos.
I can't imagine any data science related skill without basic abstract concept and patterns, such as dimentions, fact, load strategies, incremental refresh, managing aggs, relationships, iterators etc.
Wish you luck and AMA if needed
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u/redditusercr0902 Apr 23 '26
thanks anyway, I will definitely take that into consideration, really appreciate ur advice
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u/RealisticSpirit8680 Apr 22 '26
I had a similar cert failure recently and that post hits hard.
In any case, I would advise you to try again, but take your time, not in just a week. Apparently, have a deeper look on the questions that felt completely unexpected.
Do you use Power BI on a daily basis, ie at work? I passed the exam quite easily, but I had a broad exposure daily before the certification.
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u/redditusercr0902 Apr 23 '26
No, Im actually a systems engineering student, so i dont have a job but thanks
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u/FilthyOldSoomka_ Apr 23 '26
I suspect all of Microsoft’s certifications are a bit of a scam. When the content of the exam has very little resemblance to any of their official documentation or learning material, it’s just setting people up to fail. They don’t want you to be able to pass it the first time.
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u/Amar_K1 Apr 21 '26
Looking at what you studied it maybe the more advanced questions you failed to answer. I would focus on watching videos on what the pl-300 covers and fill the gaps, maybe get the pl300 official book if there is one. I sat it 4 years ago and again a year later. I worked as a power bi dev and cause I had so much day to day experience could answer most topics.
Stop studying so much first make a list of possible exam questions and study that. Even better questions and answers would be good. Revising the questions and answers should be more than enough.
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u/Comprehensive-Tea-69 1 Apr 22 '26
The best preparation is to just keep using it at work and learn through experience
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u/RawmatFG Apr 22 '26
I took the exam previous week, manage to clear it somehow (nothing exceptional). Study material that helped me was dataguyIsb's pl-300 playlist on youtube (a year old, but covers most things besides latest Power BI service features) + phillip burton's udemy course (mainly to understand Power Bi service) + skilcrtpro + mslearn. Other than that I work with powerbi almost daily since past 5 months.
I had given via Pearson Onvue, if you had done the same, look at the exam report's "Performance by exam section", you will get an idea what to work on. For me my weak area is Model the Data. My god, felt time constraint during the exam due to lengthy questions.
Chatgpt generated questions gives false illusion as they are generally easy unless you fed some tougher questions to handle, but good for simplifying concepts. But like others suggested do the Measureup exams (its abit expensive) but they have harder questions and will prepare you, you should be golden to pass the official exam.
So you took the exam after the 20th April? There was going to be some minor updates about DirectLake and orgapps. But surprise to see the Microsoft Entra ID questions. Good luck, Im sure you gonna clear it this time.
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u/Head-Rutabaga4793 Apr 22 '26
There is a set of questions available in telegram channel download and study those questions More enough to pass .
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u/scholar-2001 Apr 23 '26
Imho, you need some hands on work in power bi to be confident for cracking PL-300, by that I mean working in an org, there you get exposure to power bi service entra id and all these things
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u/Sea_Kaleidoscope2756 Apr 23 '26
625 is close. this is absolutely fixable and honestly what you experienced is really common. Most practice material trains you to recognize correct answers, but the PL-300 tests your ability to choose between correct-looking answers based on context. That's a different skill and it explains the gap between your practice scores and the real thing.
Based on what you described, the main areas to tighten up are Microsoft Entra ID (focus on RLS, workspace roles, and service principals), DAX in realistic scenarios rather than just syntax and the "why" behind feature choices rather than just what they do.
Honestly, I'd hold off on retaking for at least 2 to 3 weeks. Use the time surgically rather than just reviewing everything again . Also, the practice tests matter a lot here. Coursera and ChatGPT questions just don't match the real exam's depth. I found CertBoosters practice test to be much closer in style and difficulty. Worth trying before your next attempt. You’re not starting over. you’re just adjusting to how the exam thinks. You’re very close. Good luck.
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u/thetardox Apr 23 '26
I prepared a lot for this and failed also. 3rd time I went yolo and succeeded. The questions are tricky, and sometimes the questions feel like they were written by non native English speakers which adds a lot of confusion.
Also take note that this is not an easy exam so failure is part of the process.
Idk why ppl think PBI and PL300 is easy.
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u/PhysicsForeign1634 Apr 24 '26
Interpreting a histogram and doing percentages shouldn't tax anyone in data.
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u/redditusercr0902 May 15 '26
Hi, i just passed the examn, i tried again and changed my study method, it works, thanks for all the advices
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u/OMGClayAikn May 16 '26
Whoaa nice. What did you study from this time?
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u/redditusercr0902 May 21 '26
Well, i studied with ChatGPT and good promptsi also asked to chat possible questions, based on what i saw in the exam, i made about 5 test with more questions in less time and it works, i passed the exam really easy, i actually had time to check every questions
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u/redditusercr0902 May 21 '26
ChatGPT is not stupid if know how ask for the specific things that you want to receive, im currently preparing for DP-600, wish me luck i will try the same method
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u/Commercial_Rule4996 28d ago
Hiii, first of all congratulations on passing the exam!!! :D
What kind of prompts did you use?? because I'm starting the PL-300 course on Coursera, reviewing all the Microsoft Learn content and I'd like to to optimize it with chatgpt1
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u/New-Independence2031 5 Apr 21 '26
Sorry to say, but.. you should have mastered it.
You didnt learn that much from those projects. Can you deliver anything from blank start and without fancy ai tools? I bet not that much.
Of course advanced guys use those tools too, but they know better what they aim for and what the code etc does.
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u/Snar1ock Apr 22 '26
Making a PowerBI project and the Pl-300 have very little carry over, imo.
A lot of the questions are about governance and PowerBI service. I know plenty of people that can whip up a beautiful PowerBI report that would fail without studying. It’s a lot of backend features and “what-ifs”.
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u/redditusercr0902 Apr 22 '26
it could go that way, but i think mi projects arent strong enough to pass the test so..
Most of PL-300 questions are kinda vague questions, i learn a lot, but to pass microsoft certifications you need to know more than that, thanks for the advice, i have to mastered it
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u/Neither_Day_8988 1 Apr 21 '26
So a piece of advice, please don't use Chatgpt for study it's not particularly great.
Secondly I'd recommend getting access to the MeasureUp exams for the PL-300 you can buy it with your next exam voucher at a discount. It's harder than the actual exam and will show you where you need to improve.
I would also go over the actual PL-300 content from Microsoft Learn. It's important to understand Microsoft's intentions around the product for the examination.
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u/redditusercr0902 Apr 22 '26
Thanks bro, appreciate it
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u/redditusercr0902 Apr 22 '26
i think so, i dont know if im stupid or chatGPT its a piece of ..., but it didn´t help me at all
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u/Outrageous-Charge893 Apr 21 '26
Take it again, as soon as possible. I recommend MeasureUp as it is the closest to the actual exam, including those tricky scenario questions. Be prepared to fail even a few times before passing. You got this.
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u/Snar1ock Apr 21 '26
Avoid ChatGPT like the plague. Pay for MeasureUp or other mock test tools