Microsoft Azure Certifications: Where Can I Start?

Microsoft Azure Certifications are the role-based certification paths that Microsoft offers to job-seekers in the Azure cloud. Microsoft Azure, as you might be knowing, it is the world’s 2nd largest cloud service provider only after AWS or Amazon Web Services. Azure is home to a majority of Fortune 500 companies (almost 95%), like BMW, Samsung, eBay, Boeing, and many more rely on the expertise of Microsoft, and trust their cloud service for almost all of their online needs either through fully subscribing to Azure Cloud or through Hybrid Cloud model.

Well, before we carry on with the article on MS Azure Certification, here are few questions that might be popping into your head:

• What exactly are Microsoft Azure Certifications? Why Should I get Azure Certified?
• Which certification is apt for my expertise and experience?
• How to get Azure Certification?
• And lastly, where will I find the right resource to learn and take the exam?

Don’t worry, you will receive your answers in this article!

What exactly are Microsoft Azure Certifications?

Microsoft Azure is one of the fastest-growing cloud service providers, and its role-based certification is one of the most in-demand certifications in the cloud domain, after AWS certifications. Azure offers certification in three levels; Fundamental, Associate, and Expert level. In these three levels, Azure designed these job-specific certification paths, to meet the varying industry needs. For companies that are looking for just beginner-level knowledge, they can rely on professionals with Fundamental-level certification, and if the company demands more experience, Associate-level certified can handle their tasks. An expert-certified professional can handle issues end-to-end and thus becomes your go-to guy.

Why Should I get Azure Certified?

According to a report, every day, nearly 1000 customers sign in to Azure. That’s a very healthy and competitive figure in the sector, and this certification is the ticket for professionals who are eyeing a well-paid job in one of their dream companies that are using Microsoft Azure services. Additionally, if you are Azure-certified, you take home a very good salary, which your peers who aren’t certified will not receive. You can opt for Azure Course to get the highest paying jobs in the cloud domain.

Which certification is apt for my expertise and experience?

Microsoft Azure offers you 12 certification paths, at the time of writing, to meet the industry demands across various levels. And they are:

Fundamental level:

1. Microsoft Certified: Azure – Fundamentals Exam AZ-900
2. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data – Fundamentals Exam DP-900
3. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI – Fundamentals Exam AI-900

Associate level:

1. Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer – Associate Exam AZ-204
2.  Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator – Associate Exam AZ-104
3. Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer – Associate Exam AZ-500
4. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist – Associate Exam DP-100
5. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer – Associate Exam AI-100
6. Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator – Associate Exam DP-300
7.  Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer – Associate Exams DP-200 and DP-201

Expert level:

1. Microsoft Certified: Azure DevOps Engineer – Expert Exam AZ-400
2. Microsoft Certified Solutions Architect – Expert Exams AZ-303 and AZ-304

Azure is constantly evolving along with the cloud domain, and thus each of these certifications must be recertified again after a specific period, to help professionals stay updated on new developments, and methodologies, as the cloud space is developing and evolving at a very rapid pace. And with changing times, Azure will discard old certifications and bring in new certifications with changing needs.

All these certifications are role-based, so, whichever role best suits your current experience and skill set, select that certification path, research the requirements, prospects of that particular certification, and other related details, to get a better understanding of the path that you have to tread on. If you are opting for a career switch, I suggest you, thoroughly research and understand the certification path, before reaching conclusions.

Fundamental certification is for beginners, Associate certification is for those who have more than 2 years of experience in the Azure platform, and Expert-level certification is for those who have 5 or more years of experience in the platform.

Check out this video on Youtube to learn more about these certifications:

How to get Microsoft Azure Certification?

You can get Azure certified by registering for a selected Azure certification path out of the 12 available certifications, by going to the official Microsoft Azure certification website. You can select the mode of exam, as Online Proctored or Test center-based exam. Then fill out the basic personal details, and confirm your registration by paying the registration amount online. The registration amount is the same for a particular role across the globe.

For the Fundamentals exam, you will have only one exam, for the Associate level you might have 2 exams to clear, and for Expert-level, one needs to clear 2-3 exams before getting certified. If you happen to fail the certification exam, you can retake the exam, after a period mentioned in their certification policies.

And lastly, where will I find the right resource to learn and take the exam?

Now, you have got a clear picture about the Microsoft Azure certification exams, you might be wondering where to learn from, will I get any free resources to bank upon, etc. If you are serious to break into any Azure-specific role, I recommend you check out Intellipaat’s Azure certification course, which is an industry-grade course, designed by experts, to enhance your hands-on experience through practical guided projects. Moreover, Intellipaat’s certification adds credibility to your profile as over 80 MNCs around the world, like Sony, Cognizant, TCS, Standard Chartered, etc. recognizes the certification.