A rapid shift from brick-and-mortar infrastructure to the cloud platform has created an ever-rising demand for professionals trained to maintain, develop and protect the information stored on these platforms by companies. Cloud security and cloud computing career roles are evolving every day. Among all the big tech giants, Microsoft Azure has been at the forefront of the most popular cloud computing platform. To keep up with its popularity, Microsoft offers a wide array of azure certifications. These role-based certifications come in the form of ten core certifications and two speciality certifications divided into three levels: Fundamental, Associate, and Expert.
Since Azure is one of the fastest-growing cloud services platforms, being an Azure-certified professional will lead to higher salaries and better job prospects across various industries worldwide. Obtaining a Microsoft certification is no joke as it provides credibility to your skills and your commitment towards your specialisation. Preparing for Azure’s certification exams can prove to be a challenging process and needs thorough prior preparation.
Benefits Of An Azure Certification
According to several publicly available sources of data on Google, possessing a Microsoft Azure Certification, will improve one’s salary and result in a boost if you already have a job. For freshers, these certifications can help a professional start off in the world of cloud computing as they provide enough knowledge and skills to make up for lack of experience. It may not substitute job experience in cloud computing, but they help increase your chances of getting hired.
Companies involved in the consulting business, service providers or companies that perform implementations for other companies, constantly seek Azure-certified professionals as they need to prove to their clients that their workforce possesses the necessary expertise required for the upkeep of cloud platforms.
Popular Azure Certifications
Microsoft’s Certified Solutions Architect certification and Azure Administrator associate-level certification are among the most popular certifications that are availed by multiple professionals. Along with this, the Fundamentals Exam AZ 900 gives you an advantage if you are not planning on obtaining one of the more technical certifications.
The fundamental certification training program is not mandatory for other certification exams, but it is considered beneficial if you are a professional working in a sales or management role. Out of the two expert-level Microsoft Azure certifications — Solutions Architect tends to be a popular choice. However, with DevOps’ increasing importance in the world of IT, the DevOps engineer certification is predicted to catch up very soon.
Difficulty Level And Preparation
These exams consist of multiple-choice questions, case studies and questions where you have drop-down boxes. Although the difficulty level varies from exam to exam, the questions remain complicated for all of them and require a comprehensive understanding of the syllabus.
The Microsoft Cloud certification exams require experience and practice in live lab environments as some exam questions require the candidates to complete tasks on the Azure portal within a stipulated period. The number of tasks may go up to ten. To prepare well for these examinations, one has to keep in mind the following tips.
1. Go Through The Exam Guidelines
The exam guideline aims to ease the process of preparation and offers information regarding the skills being measured, prerequisites, exam outline, exam resources, learning paths, training and certification guide on the certification page, and some policies to help you find the right content.
2. Hands-On Practice In Live Labs
Possessing theoretical knowledge regarding the processes on the Azure Cloud platform is not adequate for you to pass the exam if you do not have an idea about executing the concepts in the actual environment. Use live lab sessions to obtain some hands-on practice and go through exercises so that you are prepared to attempt such questions in examinations.
3. Attempt Practice Tests
While you are undergoing your Azure certification training, be sure to attempt as many practice tests as possible so that you are thoroughly familiar with the exam parameters, and nothing takes you by surprise on the day of the examination. Apart from this, this method helps you recapitulate previous concepts and boosts your time management skills.
Expiration Policy
According to the change in Microsoft’s certification expiration policies on December 15, 2020, any role-based or speciality certification earned during or after June 2021 will remain valid for a year from the date you earned it. Any role-based and speciality certifications earned before that will remain valid for two years from the date you earned it.The Azure certification cost is a one-time payment. Certification renewals are free of cost and require the candidate to pass an assessment that will be available on Microsoft Learn. On passing this assessment, your certification will be extended by one additional year.
Conclusion
A Microsoft Azure certification provides a path for fresher’s as well as experienced cloud computing professionals to improve their stature in their organisations and aim for better jobs with a higher salary.
