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AZ-900 is the Azure certification geared towards gaining fundamental cloud knowledge, including introducing Microsoft’s public cloud offering, Azure. With the increased adoption of Azure across big, Fortune-500 companies, the need for cloud-skilled professionals has skyrocketed. So, if you are earnest in embarking on your Microsoft cloud journey, passing the AZ-900 exam is the first stepping stone. But how do you start?
This article will walk through the guidelines to prepare and pass the AZ-900 exam and become a Microsoft certified professional.
Is the AZ-900 Exam Worth It?
AZ-900, or Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Certification Exam, tests professionals on their knowledge of key Azure and cloud topics. These include foundational cloud concepts like security, privacy, high availability, and fault tolerance. Other topics include basic knowledge about Azure service offerings as well as Azure workloads. Networking, Storage, Databases round out the list of things that a candidate should know before attempting this exam.
At present, the AZ-900 happens to be the only fundamental level Azure certification. Therefore, it opens up quite a few career paths for a candidate. These paths come with better pay scales as well. Hence, preparing for and passing the AZ 900 exam and continuing on the cloud learning path is no-brainer. But like other certification exams, passing this test requires a good mix of preparation and planning.
How is the AZ-900 Certification Exam Going to Work?
Like most leading cloud providers, Microsoft is offering online variants of its certification exams at present. Therefore, your exam environment should be free from any distractions. Furthermore, the examination is proctored via your webcam. Consequently, it would help if you took utmost care in completing all prerequisites- like choosing the best location for the exam, testing all the equipment like laptop/desktop/camera for latency and performance – well before the exam.
Guidelines for AZ-900 exam preparation
Now that we have understood the benefits let us look at the guidelines for preparing for this Microsoft cloud computing exam.
1. Choose the appropriate Azure certification path
Your initial task would be to choose the appropriate certification path depending on your end goal. Microsoft recommends starting your Azure journey with the AZ-900 exam, and their cloud paths are split between several proficiency levels. Foundational, Associate and Expert certifications have increased difficulties, as their names suggest.
2. Create an action plan
It is essential to create a plan beforehand to accomplish a mission. The same is applicable for any exam, and you need to create a study plan in advance. Create a proper study routine that encompasses all the topics. Make sure you provision time for hands-on sessions as well.
3. Begin on a small scale initially
Start small and then scale your knowledge of Azure and cloud in general. For example, initial concepts should be sufficient to create a free-tier Azure account. Next, learn about how access is controlled. After that, the topic shifted to how different Azure resources are clubbed together in resource groups and how these resource groups are held. Slowly make your way towards other topics like Networking, Storage, Databases, Compute, and Serverless. In the end, you should be able to create an application on the cloud and provide infrastructure for it to run.
Microsoft makes this step-by-step learning easy through many Microsoft Online Courses, including the free MS Learn platform.
4. Become acquainted with the format of the exam
You need to know and understand the exam procedure and format. For example, AZ-900 generally has 40 to 60 questions, and you need to answer them in 85 minutes. Microsoft’s official exam documentation is the best resource to understand the certification test format and type of questions asked.
5. Get enrolled in a reliable training course
There are lots of Microsoft Online Courses available to get yourself trained in Azure. These instructor-led courses will help you to prepare comprehensively for the AZ-900 certification exam.
6. Take advantage of videos and online study materials
A large number of videos and study materials can be obtained for free these days. Make it a point to consult these resources. Several websites and online video platforms provide their content for no charge. Microsoft’s own MS Learn is one of the primary resources for all MS content, including Azure.
7. Go on practising
Practice makes it perfect. Test your newly gained cloud knowledge in mock certification exams. These practice tests help in identifying strong and weak areas in your exam prep. Make sure to see justifications for each answer to bolster your skills further.
Conclusion
Microsoft Azure has seen the most significant growth among all cloud providers in its class. As a result, AZ-900 is one of the fundamental Microsoft certifications out there and is the logical first step in your Azure upskilling process. The guidelines should help you prepare for the AZ-900 exam, pass it, and get recognized as an Azure Practitioner.
