Azure Certifications Paths

Microsoft Azure has a plethora of certifications across several certification paths, depending on the candidates’ level, and the corporate role they already have, or they are still preparing for.

Since its creation, Microsoft has developed and offered many technology related certifications, announcing new ones and updating existing ones every few years.

Nowadays, it can be difficult to know which Azure certification path is right for you, as all the different levels and titles can definitely get confusing and complicated, hence, the reason for this article.

What are Azure Certifications?

Azure Certifications are 14+ role-based certifications offered by Microsoft for candidates wishing to demonstrate their level of proficiency in the different fields related to Microsoft’s Azure cloud services, the candidates follow a specific training, and pass one or multiple paid exams depending on the certification they chose and its level, and once they succeed they get a certificate from Microsoft attesting to their professional abilities.

Azure Fundamentals Certification Path for beginners – 0 to 2 years of experience: at least one of these 3 certifications “Azure Fundamentals” (AZ-900), “Azure Data Fundamentals” (DP-900) & “Azure AI Fundamentals” (AI-900), depending on your role
Azure Administrator Certification Path – 2 to 5 years of experience: only the AZ-104 exam is required, AZ-900 exam is optional
Azure Developer Certification Path – 2 to 5 years of experience: only the AZ-204 exam is required, AZ-900 exam is optional
Azure Database Administrator Certification Path – 2 to 5 years of experience: only the DP-300 exam is required, DP-900 exam is optional
Azure Security Engineer Certification Path – 2 to 5 years of experience: only the AZ-500 exam is required, DP-900 exam is optional
Azure Data Scientist Associate Certification Path – 2 to 5 years of experience: only the DP-100 exam is required, DP-900 exam is optional
Azure Data Engineer Certification Path – 2 to 5 years of experience: only the DP-200 & DP-201 exams are required, DP-900 exam is optional
Azure AI Engineer Certification Path – 2 to 5 years of experience: only the AI-100 exam is required, AI-900 exam is optional
Azure Solutions Architect Certification Path for experts – 3+ years of experience: AZ-303 & AZ-304 exams are required, AZ-900 is optional
Azure DevOps Engineer Certification Path for experts – 3+ years of experience: you need to achieve the Azure developer or Azure administrator certification first, then you pass the required AZ-400 exam
Azure IoT Developer Specialty Certification Path – 2+ years of experience: AZ-220 exam is required, AI-900 exam is optional
Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty Certification Path – 2+ years of experience: AZ-120 exam is required, AI-900 exam is optional

Microsoft Azure Certification Levels

Microsoft has organized their newly available Azure certifications into 4 distinct levels: Fundamental, Associate, Expert, and Specialty. The higher the level, the more expectations there will be, so adequate preparation and experience is strongly recommended.

When candidates are considering where to start or which exam to take, it may prove to be particularly useful to have a good understanding of which certifications require prior experience or lower-level certifications.

Azure Certification Benefits

As one of the most popular cloud computing services, largely in part because of its highly flexible and scalable platform, clients and corporations all over the world are increasingly dependent on Azure services and further, are seeking to hire those who have relevant skills in this area.

Microsoft reports that 95% of the Fortune 500 companies rely on Azure for trusted cloud services. As thousands of new companies adopt Azure into their daily operations every year, those who hold these certifications are increasingly regarded as integral and essential to the company’s success.

Further, Azure provides solutions for all industries, so a certification here can offer many new, high-paying opportunities.

There are many different benefits to pursuing this highly sought-after certification. Attaining one (or more) of these certifications certainly opens up many doors and opportunities, such as the career flexibility to work in cloud computing, administrating, developing, engineering, and architecting.

These certifications are highly regarded, and as such, they regularly come with a pay raise at an individual’s current or prospective job.

In fact, according to a recent report, the salaries of certified IT professionals are 8% higher than those who are not certified, with the average raise being between $12,000-$13,000, with recent surveys stating that 35% of newly certified individuals reported a salary increase.

Though the initial cost of certifications may seem expensive (generally the cost is only associated to the exam proctoring expenses), there is a high return on investment.

While candidates get to prove and demonstrate their skills in a certain area, they are also improving and growing their knowledge and expertise through continuous learning and re-certification training.

Not only does this verify their essential nature to employers, but it becomes a source of motivation and confidence for individuals. Considering all of these factors, it should be no surprise that enterprises all over the world are seeking Azure certified professionals.

Azure Certifications List

Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate
Microsoft Certified: Data Engineer Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert
Microsoft Certified: Azure IoT Developer Specialty
Microsoft Certified: Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty

Azure Certifications List by Level

Azure Fundamental Level Certifications

This is the basic entry-level category, which is ideal for beginners with zero to two years of experience. The Azure Fundamental certifications are an excellent way to gain and demonstrate a basic understanding of cloud services with Microsoft Azure. This level includes:

Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals

Azure Associate Level Certifications

This category is generally an intermediate level which most professionals with two or more years of experience use as a stepping-stone to a higher certification (though this is mostly not officially required). Candidates with some experience with Azure and a technology background regularly choose to begin their certification paths here. This level holds the most certifications:

Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate
Microsoft Certified: Data Engineer Associate
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate

Azure Expert Level Certifications

This is the highest level of certification available through Microsoft Azure. It is ideal for candidates with several years of experience in technology and Azure related positions. The category currently includes:

Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert

Azure Specialty Level Certifications

This category focuses in one particular niche area of Azure which does not fit into any of the other categories. Although this certification level varies in skill, it is typically equivalent to an associate level exam in terms of difficulty. There are currently two types of specialty Azure certifications:

Microsoft Certified: Azure IoT Developer Specialty
Microsoft Certified: Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty

Microsoft Azure Certification Paths: Exams and Prep Details

Regardless of level or certification, attaining a Microsoft Azure credential simply requires the successful completion of an exam. Candidates are free to choose to partake in courses or preparation as they see fit.

As previously mentioned, most of these certifications do not have official prerequisites, so candidates should not feel pressured to begin the certification path at the fundamental or even associate level.

Still, potential or interested candidates should closely analyze each certification’s recommended experience and skill levels, as well as the topics which are covered within their respective exams.

Generally, the most useful certification for those who are pursuing an advanced certification seems to be the Azure Administrator Associate certification.

Please note that certifications and their respective exams are ever-changing. These are 2021’s most current certification list and requirements.

Azure Fundamental Certifications

1- Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals

This is the perfect Microsoft Azure certification starting point for beginners as it covers many basic skills such as foundational cloud concepts, cloud scalability, fault tolerance, Capex vs Opex, core Azure services, solutions, and management tools, as well as general security, network, privacy, and compliance features.

There are no prerequisites for this certification as it was designed for new and aspiring developers and people with non-technical backgrounds.

Although this certification is certainly not mandatory in order to progress and move up to the higher Azure levels, it does provide a good basic understanding and preparation for next steps and learning.

The widely popular Exam AZ-900 is available in a variety of languages across the world, and costs US$99 to take.

Candidates are encouraged to prepare by downloading the exam skills outline, purchasing the official practice test with provided answers and references, and taking either the paid or free Learning Paths offered by Microsoft to learn and develop the skills needed in order to be successful.

2- Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals

This foundational certification was designed for aspiring data-focused cloud practitioners and is another excellent starting point for beginners who already have a specialty or point of interest in mind.

This recently updated certification verifies a candidate’s skills in describing core data concepts, describing how to work with relational and non-relational data on Azure, describing analytics workload on Azure, data visualization in Microsoft Power BI, as well as data ingestion and processing.

There are no prerequisites for this certification, though candidates should have a working foundational knowledge of core data concepts prior to taking the exam.

Candidates can prepare and develop their skills prior to taking the final exam by downloading the exam skills outline, purchasing the official practice test which includes detailed answers and references, and take the paid or free Learning Paths courses.

The Exam DP-900 is available in a variety of languages including English, simplified Chinese, French, Spanish, and more across the world. It costs US$99 to take, though prices may vary depending on the country in which the exam is proctored.

This credential is not necessarily required for any certification path; however, it is useful for those who are pursuing database administering (DP-300).

3- Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals

This fundamental certification for beginners covers the basics of artificial intelligence and machining learning with Microsoft Azure. There are no official prerequisites for this certification, however, general programming knowledge and experience is quite beneficial.

The exam tests a candidate’s ability to effectively describe AI workloads and considerations, fundamental principles of machine learning, features of computer vision workloads, features of Natural Language Processing workloads, and features of conversational AI workloads.

Passing Exam AI-900 is not a required stepping stone in pursuing any Azure certification path, but for aspiring AI engineers, data scientists, developers, and solutions architects, it can prove to be significantly beneficial. The exam is offered in a wide range of languages across the world and costs US$99 to take (prices may vary across countries).

Preparing for this exam is especially helpful for beginners who do not have much experience or knowledge in this area. Microsoft recommends downloading the official exam skills outline for this certification, purchasing the official practice test which covers all of the areas on the actual exam and provides detailed answers, or taking the Learning Path course modules – free self-led or paid instructor-led.

All of these preparation paths help candidates gain the essential skills and knowledge in order to be successful.

Azure Associate Certifications

1- Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate

This certification demonstrates an individual’s skills and capabilities in basic Azure management. Although there are no formal prerequisites, Microsoft recommends that candidates have at least six months of hands-on experience with administering Azure, having a strong understanding of core services, workloads, security, and governance.

Experience and knowledge with PowerShell, Azure CLI, Azure portal, and Azure Resource Manager templates is also recommended.

This certification was created for information technology professionals and administrators who manage cloud assets and resources. Not surprisingly, those who wish to manage Azure resources in their company should most definitely look into this certification, which builds on basic cloud knowledge and theoretical concepts.

This certification is a prerequisite for the Azure DevOps Engineer Expert certification, and it is continuously recommended for many of the other higher-level certifications as well, making this one of the most worthwhile Azure certifications for those who are pursuing an expert or specialty path.

Exam AZ-104, which costs US$165, measures a candidate’s skills in a variety of different categories, including the ability to manage Azure identities and governance, implement and manage storage, deploy and manage Azure compute resources, configure and manage virtual networking, as well as monitor and backup Azure resources.

Those who wish to earn this certification are strongly recommended to download the official exam skills outline, purchase the practice test which covers all the objectives of the final exam and provides in depth answers, as well as participate in Microsoft’s Learning Path for Azure administrators.

Candidates may choose the free, individually paced option or the paid, instructor-led courses. Regardless, all of these preparatory options are very useful and lead to successful results.

2- Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate

This certification is a great starting place for a developer’s certification path. It was designed to demonstrate an individual’s ability to expertly design, build, test, and maintain cloud applications and services on Azure.

Microsoft recommends that candidates have about one to two years of professional development and Azure experience, as well as have the ability to program in an Azure-supported language (C#, PHP, Java, Python, JavaScript), be proficient in Azure SDKs, PowerShell, CLI, data storage options, data connections, APIs, app authentication and authorization, and more.

Although these are not strict prerequisites, they do provide a guideline for the level of proficiency and experience candidates should have prior to taking the exam.

Exam AZ-204 costs US$165 (price dependent on country in which exam is proctored). It measures a candidate’s ability to accomplish a variety of technical tasks, including developing Azure compute solutions, developing for Azure storage, implementing Azure security, monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing solutions, as well as connecting to and consuming Azure and third-party services.

Preparation for this exam includes downloading the exam skills outline, and taking the free or paid Learning Paths offered by Microsoft.

This certification is also an option of the two prerequisites for Azure DevOps Engineer Expert certification.

3- Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate

This certification was created for database administrators and data management specialists who regularly manage cloud relational databases with Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Azure Data Services. Although there are no strict prerequisites for this certification, candidates would benefit from understanding all the concepts in the DP-900 Exam (Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals certification).

Exam DP-300 measures candidate’s abilities to plan and implement data platform resources, implement a secure environment, monitor and optimize operational resources, optimize query performance, perform automation of tasks, plan and implement a High Availability and Disaster Recovery environment, and perform administration by using T-SQL. The exam, depending on the country in which it is covered, costs the base price of US$165.

Outside of earning the Data Fundamentals certifications, candidates can download the official exam skills outline or enroll Microsoft’s learning paths, free or paid versions.

4- Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate

This certification was designed for individuals who have experience with implementing security controls and threat protections, managing identity and access, protecting data, and more.

Candidates should thus be comfortable and familiar with scripting and automation, have good knowledge of networking and virtualization, cloud capabilities, Azure products and services, and more.

Although there are no official prerequisites for this certification, candidates should feel comfortable with the above skills.

Exam AZ-500 is available for US$165 and is offered in English, Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese. The exam tests a candidate’s skills in managing identity and access, implementing platform protection, managing security operations, and securing data and applications.

Preparation for this certification includes downloading and reviewing the exam skills outline, purchasing the official practice test which costs US$100-110 with access duration options of 30 or 60 days and provides detailed answers to all exam objectives, or partaking in Microsoft’s Learning Path.

Choose from the paid instructor-led courses or begin the free, self-paced modules.

5- Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate

This certification was designed to prove an individual’s data and machine learning skills on Azure. Individuals are able to apply their knowledge of data science to plan and create suitable working environments for data science workloads, run data experiments and train predictive model, manage and optimize models, as well as deploy machine learning models into productions.

Like the other associate-level certifications, there are no official prerequisites for this credential, but Microsoft strongly recommends that candidates have a solid history with computer science, math, and statistics in order to be successful.

This is because Exam DP-100 measures a candidate’s skills and abilities to set up Azure Machine Learning work-spaces, run experiments and train models, optimize and manage models, as well as deploy and consume models.

For a complete and detailed outline of the skills which the exam covers, candidates are encouraged to download the official exam skills outline. Preparation also includes purchasing the official practice test or developing skills through the free or paid Learning Paths. The exam costs US$165, region dependent.

6- Microsoft Certified: Data Engineer Associate

This updated certification was created to help Azure data engineers demonstrate their skills in integrating, transforming, and consolidating data from various structured and unstructured data systems into suitable analytics solutions building structures.

Those who wish to pursue this certification should have excellent working knowledge of data processing languages (SQL, Pythons, or Scala), and understand parallel processing and data architecture patterns.

Microsoft is currently in the process of implementing a new Engineering exam, called the DP-203. Until their retirement on June 30^th, 2021, DP-200 and DP-201 will be available, after which the newest version will replace them.

This exam tests a candidate’s ability to design and implement data storage, design and develop data processing, design and implement data security, as well as monitor and optimize data storage and data processing.

Preparatory efforts include downloading the official exam skills outline or partaking in the Learning Paths – free or paid versions. Although the DP-203 practice exam has not yet been developed, candidates pursing the newest certification may benefit from purchasing the official DP-200 or DP-201 practice tests, which will cover very similar objectives and answers.

The exam costs US$165 and is currently only offered in English.

7- Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate

Candidates for this certification should have significant expertise with using cognitive services, machine learning, and knowledge mining to architect and implement Microsoft AI solutions that involve natural language processing, speech, computer vision, and conversational AI.

Experience and knowledge with building, managing and deploying AI solutions through Azure Cognitive Services, Azure Cognitive Search, and Microsoft Bot Framework is also highly recommended.

Candidates should also have proficiency in at least one programming language (C#, Python, JavaScript), and using REST-based APIs and SDKs.

A new and updated version, AI-102, of this certification’s exam is currently available , which will fully replace the AI-100 after June 30, 2021. Please note that until then, candidates will be able to take both exam versions.

Exam AI-102 measures a candidate’s ability to effectively plan and manage an Azure Cognitive Services solution, implement Computer Vision solutions, implement natural processing solutions, implement knowledge mining solutions, and implement conversational AI solutions.

Although there are no official prerequisites for this credential, candidates coming from a non-technical background should first and foremost develop their programming and software development skills in order to be successful.

Furthermore, candidates may also download the exam skills outline and build knowledge through the Learning Paths free or paid versions. The exam itself costs US$165 to take.

Azure Expert Certifications

1- Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

This certification was designed for experienced information technology and DevOps professionals to demonstrate their expert abilities to compute, network, store, and secure to design Azure-running solutions.

There are currently two exam versions for this credential, Exam AZ-303 and Exam AZ-304. The two exams vary in the areas which they test.

Exam AZ-303 covers a candidate’s ability to implement and monitor an Azure infrastructure, implement management and security solutions, implement solutions for apps, as well as implement and manage data platforms.

Meanwhile, Exam AZ-304 tests candidates on their ability to design monitoring, design identity and security, design data storage, design business continuity, and design infrastructure.

Although there are no set prerequisites, it is recommended to attain the Azure Administrator (AZ-104) certification to ensure proper knowledge and understanding of necessary skills prior to taking the exam.

Besides earning the lower-level certification, candidates may also download AZ-303 and AZ-304 skills outlines, purchase the AZ-303 and AZ-304 official practice tests, or enroll in Microsoft’s helpful Learning Path courses (free or paid).

Regardless of which exam candidates choose to take, the cost for the exams is US$165 each.

2- Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert

Those who are pursuing this certification should have experience and knowledge working with people, processes, and technologies to continuously deliver business value.

This means that candidates should have a deep and solid understanding of development and infrastructure. For this reason, individuals are required to first earn either the Azure Administrator certification (AZ-104) or the Azure Developer certification (AZ-204).

Completion in one of these two certifications will build a candidate’s skills and knowledge to prepare for the exam.

The final AZ-400 exam covers many categories of skills, including the ability to develop an instrumentation strategy, develop a Site Reliability Engineering strategy, develop a security and compliance plan, manage source control, facilitate communication and collaboration, define and implement continuous integration, as well as define and implement a continuous delivery and release management strategy. The exam costs US$165.

Aside from completing the prerequisite certification, interested candidates may download the exam skills outline, purchase the official practice test to ensure understanding of all the objectives of the exam and receive in depth answers if not, and enroll in the free or paid Learning Path courses by Microsoft.

Please note that the contents of this exam will be updated on March 23, 2021. The official skills outline should cover all the updated changes.

Azure Specialty Certifications

1- Microsoft Certified: Azure IoT Developer Specialty

This is the first cloud IoT developer certification available. It was designed and created to effectively demonstrate an individual’s ability to implement Azure services that form an IoT solution.

Those who wish to pursue this certification should are recommended to have subject matter expertise developing and implementing cloud and edge components of an Azure IoT solution.

This includes the ability to implement data storage options, data analysis, data processing, and coding tasks in at least one programming language supported by Azure (C#, Node, C, or Python).

Further, there are no specific prerequisites for this credential, but being proficient in the aforementioned skills is highly beneficial and leads to the most successful results. Ideally, candidates will already be Azure-fluent developers who are looking to specialize or get into IoT.

Exam AZ-220 tests candidates’ skills with implementing the IoT solution infrastructure, provisioning and managing devices, implementing Edge, processing and managing data, monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing IoT solutions, and implementing security.

For an in-depth review of the skills, candidates may download the official exam skills outline. Preparatory action for this credential also includes purchasing the official practice test in order to cover all the objectives of the final exam and receive detailed answers, as well as enroll in Microsoft’s Learning Paths, for which there are free and paid versions.

The cost to take the exam is US$165. Please note that the contents of the exam will be updating on April 23, 2021. The aforementioned exam skills outline should cover all of these changes.

2- Microsoft Certified: Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty

This certification was designed for architects and engineers who have extensive experience and knowledge of the SAP system landscape and industry standards which are specific to the long-term operation of SAP solutions on Azure.

Knowledge of SAP HANA, S/4HANA, SAP NetWeaver, SAP BW/4HANA, and OS servers for SAP applications and databases is also recommended.

Although there are no official prerequisites, Microsoft recommends an Azure Administrator Associate certification or an Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification, as well as SAP HANA and Linux certifications for highest success chances.

Exam AZ-120 measures a candidate’s ability to migrate SAP Workloads to Azure, design an Azure solution to support SAP Workloads, build and deploy Azure for SAP Workloads, validate Azure infrastructure for SAP Workloads, and operationalize Azure SAP architecture.

The cost to take this exam is US$165, although this may vary on the country in which the exam is proctored. To prepare, candidates may download official exam skills outline, as well as enroll in Microsoft’s Learning Paths, for which there are free self-led and paid instructor-led courses.

Azure Re-certification

Microsoft has recently updated the length for which their Azure certification are valid for. Starting in June 2021, role-based and specialty certifications are set to expire a year after initial certification, whereas it used to be two years from the date of initial certification.

It is important to note however, that any certification earned before June 2021 will stay valid for two years from its earned date.

Azure certifications can be renewed free of charge up to six months before they expire beginning in February 2021. Candidates who stay on top of their re-certifications have the benefit of not having to pay for and pass the original exam(s) again, which can be extremely time consuming and costly over time.

Individuals should thus make note of the date they pass their exams and the earliest date each certification can be renewed. Still, Microsoft will send multiple emails to remind certification holders of when they are eligible to renew, which can be done through the Certification Dashboard.

Renewing a certification adds a year to a certification’s validity, and renewal assessments can be taken as many times as needed before the actual expiration date.

Additional Azure Certifications FAQ

How do Azure certifications work?

All Azure certifications are role-based for specific jobs as seen in each certification title. Job roles include administrators, developers, AI engineers, data engineers, security technologists, solutions architects, and more. Also, Azure certifications are organized in 4 levels: fundamentals, associate, expert, and Specialty.

Which Azure certifications are in demand?

The most popular and highly sought-after certifications are the Solutions Architect and Azure Administrator Associate certifications. They provide the most value for their holders. The Azure Fundamentals certification is also popular amongst beginners, but it has little to no value for experienced / senior IT professionals.

How long are the Azure certification exams?

Most of Microsoft’s Azure certification exams are comprised of about forty to sixty multiple choice questions, however, this varies depending on the exam and is of course, subject to change. Typically, candidates completing a fundamental exam have about 85 minutes to complete the test, while associate and expert certification exams allocate about 150 to 220 minutes for individuals to complete all of the questions.

How long does it take to prepare for Azure certifications’ exams?

This is almost entirely dependent on your level of commitment and existing knowledge on the information which is going to be covered. Regardless of experience level, all candidates benefit from downloading the exam skills outlines in order to ensure that they fully understand all of the concepts before beginning the final exam.

For those who are just starting out, it would be intelligent to allocate several hours of studying and reviewing of material when scheduling the exam date. Particularly for those who do not have much experience but are aiming for an associate-level certification, the amount of material to cover can be extensive.

Moral of the story, schedule exam dates with more time than you initially think you’ll need!

How do I register for an Azure certification exam?

To schedule exam times and dates, you must firstly sign into the Microsoft Learning dashboard. From there, you will be available to access the desired exam details page, where you will see a button that says, ‘Schedule Exam’. This will take you to the registration process, where you can fill out the required details.

This is where you’ll pay the cost of the exam, which is US$165 for most Azure certifications. Keep in mind that failing an attempt means having to repay the exam fee.

This registration process will also ask whether you’d prefer to take the exam in an actual physical testing center or at home through online proctoring.

There are certain requirements to be met in order to take the exam from your computer, but users report this is a fairly simple and easy process.

What are the Azure Certification Learning Paths?

For each certification exam, Microsoft offers two ways to prepare:

1- The free, self-led online learning modules

with each module taking between twenty minutes to several hours to complete. Although this is a self-led and self-paced option, there is no shortage of in-depth resources and videos provided, clearly outlining all the skills and requirements completed per section and unit.

These modules have been said to regularly go into more detail than actually required on the final exam, but many find this very useful as it better prepares them for their job responsibilities and roles, piquing confidence and interest in their careers.

2- The paid, instructor-led courses

which are typically only scheduled over one day, with more in-depth and hands on courses lasting two days. The day long courses are about US$600 while the two-day long courses are about US$1545.

These courses are ideal for those who prefer guidance in their learning, who may have less time to review, or who just require a quick recap of concepts.

Regardless of if the Learning Paths are paid or free, they are offered in a wide range of languages including English, Japanese, simplified Chinese, Spanish, German, and French…

What are the Azure certification exam policies?

Microsoft has generally typical exam and testing policies, including banning or revoking certifications from candidates who violate those testing rules. Azure certification exams are proctored, so keep in mind the following rules when completing the test:

No cheating is permitted (looking at notes, using an unauthorized device, looking at another tester’s monitor, etc.)
No falsifying of score reports
No providing or accepting unauthorized assistance
No bringing unauthorized items into testing space (notes, electronic devices, etc.)
No falsifying of identity
No copying, publishing, disclosing, or otherwise distributing exams or exam questions

Further, Microsoft outlines some of their exam retaking policies, stating that anyone who does not achieve a passing score on their first try must wait twenty-four hours before attempting to retake it. After the second, third, and fourth attempt, candidates are required to wait fourteen days before retaking the exam.

No more than five attempts per exam are permitted each year, though there are some exceptions outlined under Microsoft’s exam retake policy. Exams are available either online or in-person in testing centers.

What happens if I take an Azure certification exam and a new version is released after?

Fret not, as long as you’ve passed the certification exam, you are still Azure certified, and your certification will expire following the normal process. Still, you may wish to complete the newer version for your own benefit, or simply wait until you are eligible to renew, in which case you will renew it under the newest available version.

How many Azure certifications should I get?

This is entirely dependent on your objectives and career role. It is generally recommended that professionals evaluate prospective certification paths to analyze which certifications will most benefit them, choosing as many as they believe they will be able to effectively stay on top of with re-certification.

This is important to remember because not renewing certifications in time results in having to repay the exam fee, which certainly piles up the more certifications you have.

Are there other ways to prepare for an Azure certification exam?

Outside of the aforementioned preparatory methods, there are many third-party resources that offer training and courses in order to build skills and knowledge.

These options are generally more expensive, but those who lack real-world experience may find them to be effective and worthwhile. Still, for newly updated exams or the most accurate information, the Microsoft resources are the safest bet.

Summary

Overall, Azure certifications are extremely worthwhile and beneficial, leading to expanded career options and significant pay boosts. There are a variety of certifications to choose from, and candidates should select the ones which most closely reflect their career goals, keeping in mind the price and re-certification responsibilities.

As technology expands and more companies rely on Azure for their daily technical needs, holding this highly regarded certification will prove to be an excellent investment.

For related information, you can visit my AWS Certification Paths article, as well as my Cloud Architect Job Description, Salary, Skills & Career Paths article.

What are Azure Certifications?