Tips on taking the Level 2 STK Master certification

The Level 2 STK Master Certification is a challenging test. It’s supposed to be. It’s a certification. It’s the most difficult of the certifications, especially if you’re not prepared.

Here are some answers to questions I frequently receive in the classroom or via email:

• The test is designed to be taken at home.
  • System requirements for STK.
  • Download and install STK.
• If you want or need to study  the STK Level 2 - Advanced Training AND the Level 3 – Focused Training, you can evaluate STK Pro and any of our most popular add-on modules for a limited time at https://licensing.agi.com/stk/evaluation/.

Note: All tutorials specify the required STK licenses.

STK Level 1 - Beginner Training

STK Level 2 - Advanced Training

STK Level 3 - Focused Training

Level 3 training is divided into two types of tutorials. These aren’t required for the Level 2 Master Certification. 

• Feature-specific tutorials
• Problem-specific tutorials

• The test is FREE.
• AGI provides you with all the licenses required to take the test.
• You will have 14 days to take the test. Trying to take the test in one day is not a good idea!
• If you fail, you can retake the test.
• The test consists of building four scenarios and answering ten multiple choice questions per scenario. There’s a fifth bonus scenario test on Connect.

PREPARING FOR THE CERTIFICATION TEST

To prepare for the test, you need to understand the concepts in the following tutorials:

All Level 1 – Beginner tutorials.

• The Insert STK Objects tutorial is an area that trips up a lot of folks. Make sure to closely follow the task “Insert Satellite from an Archived Satellite Database”.
• As a bonus, the test will focus on Extend STK Capabilities. Know where to find the Connect Alphabetical Listing and how to build Connect Commands. This isn’t designed for the hard core programmer. The commands are fairly simple to build.

The following Level 2 – Advanced tutorials. You will also be tested on the information in the following Level 2 tutorials, so this is where to focus the majority of your time:

• Analyze Radar Systems
• Model Aircraft Missions with Aviator
• Add Fidelity with STK Pro
• Evaluate Communication Links
• Design Trajectories with Astrogator
• Compute Coverage Over Regions
• STK Analysis Workbench Tools

EXAMPLE CERTIFICATION TASK AND QUESTION

Here’s an example task and question concerning Navigation Accuracy when using a Figure of Merit object:

Task: Measure the accuracy of the entire navigation solution.

Question: What Figure of Merit Type will compute the dilution of precision based on all the currently available assets?

• a1: Over Determined
• a2: Best Four
• a3: Best N

The tutorials instruct you in one of many ways to complete some kind of analysis when using STK. The certification is designed to make you think out of the box. You have the tools from the tutorials, but you will have to find answers that might not be written down in the tutorial.

So, how do I find the answer if it isn’t specified in a tutorial? In this instance, you would open the properties of the Figure of Merit object. At the bottom of the screen, click Help. It’ll take you to the Help page that focuses on Figures of Merit. Click  the Figure of Merit you want to build; in this instance, Navigation Accuracy. Scroll through the page. You’ll find the answers for both the task and the question.

The bottom line is - use the Help files in STK.

WE WANT YOU TO SUCCEED

We want everyone to pass the certification and have given you the tools to do so. Pay attention to the details, but only perform the required tasks as written in the test. For instance, if you’re told to orient a phased array antenna, orient the antenna, not the individual elements. There’s a difference. Also, this is a learning test. There will be tasks performed that are not in the tutorials. No problem. We tell you exactly what to do in the test. Finally, you can reach out to us during the test. We won’t give you the answer, but will definitely point you in the right direction.

Good luck!