A community association manager is responsible for running the affairs and day-to-day activities of planned communities, condominiums, and cooperatives through their community associations. Community association management is a booming profession. More community associations have now realized the importance of having a professional manager to provide services to their homeowners.
The manager’s duties include maintenance of the common properties, dealing with the homeowners and contractors, resolving disputes and complaints, and financial management. As such, community associations want their managers to be highly skilled and experienced, besides having specialized education.
The national average salary for a community association manager in the US is $57,725 as of Nov. 11, 2021. In Florida, the average salary of CAM is $71,257 per year. Moreover, this profession is expected to grow at a rate of 10 percent by 2026.
To become a certified community association manager in Florida, you need to take an 18 hours course and pass the Florida CAM license test. Many individuals who want to get a license to work as community association managers wonder whether the CAM test is hard to pass. Read on to know how difficult the exam is.
CAM Exam – Is it Difficult?
Once you meet the CAM license requirements and submit your CAM Course Completion Certificate to the DBPR, you will get notified about your approval for the Florida CAM license test. If approved, you will get an Authorization to Test along with a Candidate ID number via email from Pearson VUE.
You can complete the scheduling of the exam on the website of PearsonVUE. There are many Pearson VUE test centers across the US. You should locate your nearest test center to appear in the exam.
The test comprises 100 multiple-choice questions. For each question, you get four options to choose from. This online CAM test has a passing score of 75 out of 100. In other words, you have to provide correct answers to 75 out of the 100 questions on the exam. This is pretty difficult for many people.
The test covers different subjects relevant to managing community associations in Florida, including:
Community association management
Federal and Florida state laws and regulations governing community associations
Financial planning and financial management of community associations
Procedures of calling meetings of community associations
General management skills
Maintenance of community associations
The test is not difficult for those who are fully prepared. However, it is not easy if you lack even a basic understanding of the subjects covered under the exam. You should have at least entry-level knowledge of the relevant subjects to pass the test.
Remember that the exam is designed to check your understanding and concepts of the important subjects pertaining to community association management, in addition to your critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Of course, memorization of key dates in the Florida Statutes will be helpful, but you also need to use critical thinking and basic knowledge to provide correct answers to many questions.
Preparation Can Make the Test Easy
Most individuals who took the Florida CAM test agree that it is a challenging exam. Like all other exams, you cannot pass the Florida CAM exam without some preparation, lest you are a prodigy.
The licensing course will introduce you to the key areas that the exam covers. However, you cannot simply go for the test and pass without self-study after your pre-licensure education.
You have to genuinely and seriously prepare for the exam. But this doesn’t mean the test is so hard that you will fail in it without spending days and nights preparing for it. The point is that you need to at least study the major subjects of the exam to have a basic knowledge. Your chance of passing the test decreases considerably if you appear in the exam with zero preparation.
So, why do you need to prepare for the test? Well, there are many questions in the test that involve dates, rules, and laws. To answer the questions, you need to memorize the dates and have a basic knowledge of the laws and regulations. It is important, therefore, to revisit your course before the test.
When it comes to time, you get three hours to answer 100 questions. For most people, this is not a problem. It is not likely that you will run out of time. Generally, half of the questions on the test are tricky, whereas 30 percent is easy. The good news is that at least one of the answer options under each question is clearly wrong. You can easily spot them and rule them out.
Tips to Pass Florida CAM Exam
As explained above, preparation and self-study are keys to passing the exam. Don’t rely just on your CAM license course.
Do not rush to answer the questions. Think thrice before checking an answer.
Read each question many times before selecting an answer. Most of the questions are tricky.
Complete many practice tests before the exam. You can find them at CAM courses in Florida.
Rule out the completely wrong/silly answers at the start of each question.
If you don’t know the answer to a question, leave it to be answered after answering all other questions.
The Florida CAM test is hard for those who come to the exam without any preparation. If you study the relevant subjects and complete the practice tests at least 1-2 hours a day, you are more likely to pass the test. Stay positive and relaxed on the exam day. Do not panic or be discouraged if you don’t know the answers to some questions. Following the tips given above and you’ll be on your way to success with the Florida CAM exam. Best of luck to you.