Microsoft Azure Certification Path – A Complete Beginners Guide

Cloud computing is one of the most rapidly evolving technologies in today’s world. “Public cloud expenditure will expand from $229 billion in 2019 to roughly $500 billion in 2023,” according to the IDC analysis. As a result, no one can refute cloud computing’s explosive expansion in recent years. Hence, the Azure certification path will help you pick the right certification.

Microsoft Azure is emerging as the market leader with 29 percent of the overall cloud market’s application workload.

Azure Certifications confirm and distinguish your knowledge in specific cloud jobs. However, with so many Azure Certifications to choose from, you may be unsure which one is ideal for you. As a result, we’re here with another blog detailing all you need to know about the Azure Certification Path in order to choose the proper certification.

The topics covered in this blog are:

• Why do you Need Azure Certifications?
• Azure Certification Levels
• Azure Certification Path 2022
• Microsoft Azure Certifications
  • Azure Certification Path for Fundamental-level Certifications
    1. Microsoft Azure Fundamentals: AZ-900
    2. Microsoft AI Fundamentals: AI-900
    3. Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals: DP-900
    4. Microsoft Security Fundamentals: SC-900
  • Azure Certification Path for Associate-level Certifications 
    1. Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate: AZ-104
    2. Microsoft Azure Developer Associate: AZ-204
    3. Azure Database Administrator Associate: DP-300
    4. Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate: AZ-500
    5. Microsoft Azure Data Scientist Associate: DP-100
    6. Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Associate: DP-203
    7. Azure AI Engineer Associate: AI-102
    8. Azure Stack Hub Operator Associate: AZ-600
    9. Microsoft Data Analyst Associate: DA-100
    10. Microsoft Azure Networking Associate: AZ-700
    11. Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure: AZ-800
    12. Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services: AZ-801
  • Azure Certification Path for Expert-level Certifications
    1. Azure Solutions Architect Expert: AZ-305
    2. Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert: AZ-400
  • Azure Certification Path for Specialty-level Certifications
    1. Azure IoT Developer Specialty: AZ-220
    2. Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty: AZ-120
    3. Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop: AZ-140
    4. Azure Cosmos DB Developer Speciality: DP-420
• Conclusion

Why Azure Certifications?

 

Certification validates your ability to handle the complexity of Azure and displays your degree of experience. Companies all around the globe are seeking Azure certified individuals that are willing to work for a fair salary. There are a variety of Azure certifications available; select the one that best matches your level of competence and background.

You will get answers to your queries about certification kinds, which one is ideal for you, how much each certification costs, curriculum, and so on at the conclusion of this article.

Azure Certification Levels

What are the different levels of Microsoft Azure certification, and what do they mean? Fundamentals, Associate, Expert, and Specialty are the four levels of Microsoft certifications.

What does this imply for you and your pursuit of cloud certification? Not in excess. With a few exceptions, you don’t have to complete one level before moving on to the next.

• Fundamentals Certification – The Fundamentals Certification is for those who are just getting started with cloud ideas. These certificates may also be used by persons with non-technical backgrounds to begin their cloud journey.
• Associate Certification – If you’re already acquainted with Azure, you’ll be able to mention these certificates on your CV with ease.
• Expert Certification – You may get an expert certification in Azure if you have past experience, a thorough grasp, and associate-level knowledge of the platform.
• Specialty Certification – This is presently offered for select positions, such as Azure for SAP Workloads and Azure IOT Developer Speciality.

Check Out: Azure Data Factory Interview Questions

Azure Certification Path 2022

Also Read: Our blog post on Azure Data Factory

Microsoft Azure Certifications

Here is a list of the most popular Azure Certifications, along with a brief description, test information, and domain coverage.

Azure Certification Path for Fundamental-level Certifications

1) Microsoft Azure Fundamentals: AZ-900

For beginners, this is the simplest Microsoft Azure certification. The AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals exam is the initial step toward Azure certifications at the associate and expert levels. This certification is intended to verify that you have a basic understanding of Azure cloud services. It also helps non-technical candidates in understanding cloud services such as sales, purchasing, and marketing Azure cloud services.

Job Role: Administrator, Business User, Developer, Student, Technology Manager

Az-900 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

2) Microsoft AI Fundamentals: AI-900

In Azure, AI Fundamentals covers all of the fundamental concepts in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). General knowledge of a programming language will be helpful but not required for this certification, and anybody with a technical or non-technical background can enroll in the AI-900 azure certification route.

Job Role: AI Engineer, Data Scientist, Developer, Student

AI-900 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

3) Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals: DP-900

The Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals DP-900 certification is suitable for any aspiring cloud professional who wants to work with data.
The certification validates applicants’ abilities and understanding of basic data principles. This certification is the initial step toward Azure, and it is useful for both technical and non-technical individuals. If you want to pursue an azure certification but don’t know much about cloud fundamentals, then this certification is for you.

Job Role: Database Administrator, Data Engineer, Data Analyst, Developer, Student

DP-900 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

4) Microsoft Security Fundamentals: SC-900

The Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals certification (SC-900) is designed for people who want to become familiar with the fundamentals of SCI across cloud-based and related Microsoft services. It was created for a broad audience that may include business stakeholders, students just starting out in IT, or existing IT professionals interested in Microsoft SCI Solutions.

SC-900 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

Read More: About Azure Firewall

Azure Certification Path for Associate-level Certifications

1) Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate: AZ-104

The AZ-104 Azure certification exam is suitable for the profession of Microsoft Azure Administrator. An Azure Administrator is a cloud administrator who installs and administers storage, computing, identity, governance, and virtual networks. Administrators are also responsible for provisioning and monitoring cloud resources. Candidates must have relevant experience with the Azure Portal, Power Shell, Azure CLI, and ARM Templates.

Job Role: Administrator

AZ-104 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

2) Microsoft Azure Developer Associate: AZ-204

The Microsoft Azure Developer Associate Exam AZ-204 is the most recent version of the Microsoft Azure Developer Associate Exam AZ-203, which has been available since February 2020. An Azure Developer is responsible for the design, development, testing, and maintenance of cloud applications and services.

Candidates for this certification should have experience designing, developing, and testing Azure-based applications and services. Candidates should also have 1-2 years of programming experience, as well as knowledge of data storage and networking, Azure SDKs, debugging, monitoring, and performance optimization, among other things.

Job Role: Developer

AZ-204 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

3) Azure Database Administrator Associate: DP-300

The Azure Database Administrator installs and maintains the platform solutions using Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Azure Data Services. The primary responsibility of certified candidates would be to administer relational databases constructed on top of Microsoft Azure data services and Microsoft SQL Server, both in the cloud and on-premises.

Job Role: Database Administrator

DP-300 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

4) Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate: AZ-500

An Azure Security Engineer is responsible for managing identity and access, implementing security policies and threat prevention, and protecting data, applications, and networks in the cloud. The Azure Security Engineer understands networking, virtualization, and cloud N-tier architecture so that he or she can provide numerous security measures to tackle any vulnerability or threat.

This certification requires strong skills in automation, scripting, and a deep understanding of virtual networking and virtualization.

Job Role: Security Engineer

AZ-500 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

Also Check: Our blog post on Azure Blueprints

5) Microsoft Azure Data Scientist Associate: DP-100

The only exam in the new Azure certification path that qualifies you for the post of Azure Data Scientist Associate is the DP-100.  Azure Data Scientists are responsible for data science and the implementation of machine learning workloads on Azure. An Azure Data Scientist should have familiarity with Azure Machine Learning and Azure Databricks, as well as an understanding of data science. Managing, optimizing, and putting machine learning models into production are all important aspects of the job.

Job Role: Data Scientist

DP-100 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

6) Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Associate: DP-203

In May 2021, DP-203 has replaced DP-200 and 201. The exam is the advanced version of the Implementing an Azure Data Solution [DP-200] and Designing an Azure Data Solution [DP-201] exams.

Data Engineers are responsible for integrating, manipulating, and combining data from multiple data systems in order to provide analytics solutions. A data engineer creates, develops, optimizes, and monitors data platforms to satisfy the demands of the data pipeline.
They also assist stakeholders in understanding the data via investigation and maintaining safe and compliant data processing pipelines through the use of various tools and methodologies.

Job Role: Data Engineer

DP-203 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

7) Azure AI Engineer Associate: AI-102

Job Role: AI Engineer

AI-102 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

8) Azure Stack Hub Operator Associate: AZ-600

An Azure administrator or hybrid cloud expert who works with the Azure Stack Hub is called an “Azure Stack Hub Operator.” They provide cloud services to end-users and customers from their own data center using Azure Stack Hub. Candidates for this exam should know how to run and manage Azure Stack Hub environments. They should have a solid grasp of Azure, as well as some familiarity with virtualization, networking, and identity management.

Job role: Administrator

AZ-600 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

9) Microsoft Data Analyst Associate: DA-100

Data Analysts deal with data by loading, manipulating, and analyzing it. The data analyst is responsible for evaluating data and creating easy-to-understand data representations. A data analyst’s purpose and motivation is to extract useful insights from a large amount of raw data. To do so, they employ data models, graphs, and charts, as well as DAX expressions and ML models.

Job Role: Data Analyst

DA-100 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

Also Read: Our blog post on Azure Resource Group

10) Microsoft Azure Networking Associate: AZ-700

Candidates for this exam should have subject matter expertise in planning, implementing, and maintaining Azure networking solutions, including routing, hybrid networking, security, connectivity, and private access to Azure services. Professionals in this area manage the solution for performance, reliability, scale, and security.

They implement networking solutions by utilizing the Azure Portal and other techniques, including PowerShell, ARM templates, and Azure CLI.

AZ-700 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

11) Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure: AZ-800

The Microsoft AZ-800 exam is designed for candidates who are capable of managing basic Windows Server workloads on-premises, in hybrid environments, and in the cloud. These professionals should have prior expertise with identity, computing, management, networking, and hybrid solutions.

AZ-800 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

12) Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services: AZ-801

The Microsoft Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services AZ-801 Exam is appropriate for candidates who have completed the Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate certification exam and have subject matter expertise in configuring and managing Windows Server on-premises, hybrid, and IaaS platform workloads.

AZ-801 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

Check Out: Our blog post on Azure Application Gateway

Azure Certification Path for Expert-level Certifications

1) Microsoft DevOps Engineer Expert: AZ-400

This certification is for DevOps experts who bring people, processes, and technology closer together to produce innovative services and solutions that fulfill business needs. They build cloud-based software automation pipelines for the whole development and deployment lifecycle.

For this job post, applicants should be skilled with Agile methods and comfortable with both Azure development and operations processes.

Job Role: DevOps Engineer

AZ-400 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

2) Azure Solutions Architect Expert: AZ-305

The AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions (beta) is a new certification exam for Solutions Architects. This exam replaces Azure Architect Technologies (AZ-303) and Azure Architect Design (AZ 304), as both these exams will retire on March 31, 2022. The applicants enrolling for this certification should know Azure administration and development and have previously passed one test, either the AZ-104 or AZ-204 exam.

AZ-305 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

Also Check: Our blog post on Azure ExpressRoute

Azure Certification Path for Specialty-level Certifications

1) Azure IoT Developer Specialty: AZ-220

The Azure IoT Developer is accountable for the implementation and coding required to build and manage an IoT solution’s cloud and edge components. The IoT developer is in charge of ensuring that the devices continue to function properly throughout their lifespan. IoT developers not only use cloud services to configure and manage devices but also set up physical devices.

Device topology, connection, debugging, and security are all responsibilities of the IoT developer. The IoT Developer collaborates with data engineers and other partners to guarantee the seamless integration of business processes.

AZ-220 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

2) Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty: AZ-120

This certification, Microsoft Certified Azure for SAP Workload (AZ-120), teaches IT professionals with prior experience in SAP solutions how to leverage Azure resources, which include the deployment and configuration of virtual machines, virtual networks, storage accounts, and Azure Active Directory, which includes the implementation and management of hybrid identities.

An architect or engineer responsible for Azure for SAP Workloads is responsible for providing suggestions on services and adjusting resources as necessary to provide optimum reliability, performance, scalability, provisioning, and monitoring.

AZ-120 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

3) Configuring and Operating Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop: AZ-140

This exam is for Microsoft Azure administrators who have experience designing, delivering, and maintaining virtual desktop experiences and remote apps on Azure for any device. This role’s duties include delivering virtual desktop experiences and applications to Azure. For these experiences, they work with Azure administrators and architects, as well as Microsoft 365 administrators, to make sure they get done.

AZ-140 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

4) Azure Cosmos DB Developer Speciality: DP-420

The DP-420 Exam is intended to assess a candidate’s technical skills and abilities. The candidates for this test are required to have a good foundation of knowledge and expertise in designing applications for Azure and working with Azure Cosmos DB database technology.

The applicants are also anticipated to be skilled at constructing applications with the use of Core(SQL) API and SDKs, efficient queries related writing and establishing an appropriate index policy, managing resources in Azure, and how to create server-side objects with JavaScript.

DP-420 Exam Format and Information

Domains Covered in the Exam

Conclusion

Cloud computing is continually growing, and every cloud job seeker must be prepared to meet the next challenges. As a result, Microsoft Azure offers a variety of cloud certifications for a variety of cloud jobs. We’ve put up a list of Azure certification path for the most recognized certifications.

Related/References

• Microsoft Azure Certifications
• Microsoft Azure Certifications list