“If the exams are to further your education for parnossa, then it is a mitzva “
Correct, but don’t think that exams have anything to do with learning anything (secular or Torah). It’s a game. Some cultures values exam skills. The Chinese were infamous for it (you took a test to qualify as nobility). America today is amazingly exam centered. If you want to do well in those societies, you learn to take tests.
But getting an education whether for parnassah or for Torah has nothing to do with exams.