The growth of the cloud computing platform has created a unique opportunity to capitalize on the market for IT professionals. Amongst other on demand jobs, one particular category is seeing an upward trend, it’s for Azure certified professionals.
As per Glassdoor, the average pay for an Azure professional is upward of INR 45 lakhs annually, making it a great investment for IT professionals.
Obtaining Microsoft Azure certifications are, therefore, a lucrative option for proving your skills and advancing your careers.
Technological advancements have boosted the IT sector, helping businesses shift their operations online. Microsoft Azure is a leading platform that facilitates this ongoing digital transformation.
As a cloud computing giant, Microsoft Azure presents a fast, safe, and cheap alternative to on-field business operations. It holds 21% of the market share and has around 1 billion users worldwide.
What Is Microsoft Azure Certification?
Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing service and platform that enables you to run, build, and manage applications with the tools and frameworks of your choice. A Microsoft Azure certificate is proof of any IT, data, AI or a developer’s professional skills and knowledge about the Microsoft Azure platform.
Microsoft Azure is one of the best azure certificates for professionals looking to level up their skills. These certifications are achieved by passing comprehensive exams along the Azure certification path. They are preceded by training courses that help you handle the cloud computing system and provide cloud-based services to advance your career.
Microsoft Azure certifications are divided into three levels:
- Fundamental
- Associate
- Expert
And recently, Azure introduced Specialty and Role-Based certifications in their azure courses list.
Attaining Microsoft’s Azure certification boosts your credibility by showing your working knowledge of Azure's services, architecture, governance, and management.
Azure Certification Path
As stated earlier, Azure certifications are divided into three levels. These include:
Fundamental-Level Certifications
Amongst the Azure certifications list, fundamental-level certificates are ideal for beginners or professionals without an IT background. These training sessions provide the groundwork for launching your career in cloud computing. At the fundamental level, you get introduced to concepts like Azure resource management, disaster recovery, fault tolerance, and scalability.
Microsoft Azure fundamentals trainings include:
Azure Fundamentals AZ-900
This exam assesses your knowledge in fundamental concepts such as scalability, disaster recovery, high availability, use of Azure’s main products, differences between cloud types, Azure DDoS protection, firewall, and Network Security Group.
Azure Data Fundamentals DP-900
In this certification course, you learn about the core components of data, analytics, and management such as modern data warehouse, data ingestion, and processing.
Azure AI Fundamentals AI-900
Through this certification, you can gather knowledge about AI workloads, considerations, features of conversational AI workloads, NLP workloads, and the fundamental principles of machine learning using Azure. Basically, you are on top of all things AI.
Associate-Level Azure Certifications
The associate-level certifications are available for IT professionals who have a solid foundation in Microsoft Azure. It’s relatively advanced than Azure fundamental certifications and it can enhance your career.. Different certifications include:
Azure Data Scientist Associate DP-100
This exam assesses your ability to perform, explore, extract, scale, evaluate and more data science tasks leveraging Azure Machine Learning (ML)
Azure Database Administrator Associate DP-300
For this certification exam, you should gain knowledge and skills at an operational level of data platform solutions like monitoring activities, configuring resources for optimal performance, reviewing queries, database tables, and index design, and implementing HADR strategy for continuous service. You need to learn about solutions built with Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Azure Data Services.
Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500
In this Azure certification path you learn how to manage and configure cloud-based data infrastructure and security for applications. You gain expertise on Azure operational processes and Azure services.
Azure Administrator Associate AZ-104
As a part of this certification, you must build expertise in owning, implementing and managing storage, deploying and managing Azure compute resources. Honing skills like monitoring and backing up Azure resources, maintaining Azure governance, and identities, and managing and configuring virtual networking.
Azure Developer Associate AZ-204
With this certification, you enhance your developer skills and learn about Azure storage solutions and implementing Azure security.
Azure AI Engineer Associate AZ-102
With this Azure certification, you build the ability to implement NLP, knowledge mining, conversational AI, computer vision, and every other AI solution within the Azure environment.
Azure Data Engineer Associate DP-203
In this training, you can learn about storing and using datasets for analysis, and managing data pipelines and data stores.
Expert-Level Certifications
Expert-level Azure certifications have been developed for professionals with a strong background in the cloud, associate-level certifications, and hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure. These certifications include:
Azure DevOps Engineer Expert AZ-400
With this certification, you build on your experience as an infrastructure developer. Your knowledge horizon extends to Azure control management, security and compliance plans, cloud hosting infrastructure, instrumentation and SRE strategies, and continuous integration.
Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305
In this expert Azure certification you master skills in designing cloud and hybrid solutions that run on Microsoft Azure. Along with Azure strategy, configuring Azure Kubernetes services, designing infrastructure, configuring serverless computing and DevOps processes.
Besides these three levels of certifications, you can choose from different Specialty and Role-based certifications offered by Microsoft.
Specialty Certifications
In the Microsoft Azure Certification path, you can also focus on different specialized and advanced concepts, including:
- Azure Support Engineer for Connectivity Specialty AZ-720
- Azure Cosmos DB Developer Specialty DP-420
- Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty AZ-140
- Azure IoT Developer Specialty AZ-220
- Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty AZ-120
Role-Based Certifications
These certifications provide role-based knowledge and expertise to candidates working in unrelated fields and include:
- Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate
Cost for Azure Certification
| Certification Level | Certification Name | Exam Code | Cost (USD) | Cost (INR) | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fundamental | Azure Fundamentals | AZ-900 | $99 | ₹8,200 | None |
| Azure AI Fundamentals | AI-900 | $99 | ₹8,200 | None | |
| Azure Data Fundamentals | DP-900 | $99 | ₹8,200 | None | |
| Associate | Azure Administrator Associate | AZ-104 | $165 | ₹13,700 | None (AZ-900 recommended) |
| Azure Developer Associate | AZ-204 | $165 | ₹13,700 | 1-2 years of development experience | |
| Azure Security Engineer Associate | AZ-500 | $165 | ₹13,700 | None (AZ-900 recommended) | |
| Azure Data Scientist Associate | DP-100 | $165 | ₹13,700 | Experience in data science and using Azure ML | |
| Azure Database Administrator Associate | DP-300 | $165 | ₹13,700 | None | |
| Expert | Azure Solutions Architect Expert | AZ-305 | $165 | ₹13,700 | AZ-104 and AZ-204 recommended |
| Azure DevOps Engineer Expert | AZ-400 | $165 | ₹13,700 | Experience with Azure DevOps | |
| Specialty | Azure IoT Developer Specialty | AZ-220 | $165 | ₹13,700 | None |
| Azure AI Engineer Associate | AI-102 | $165 | ₹13,700 | None (AI-900 recommended) |
Study Resources for Azure Certification
| Resource | Description | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Learn | Free, self-paced learning paths and modules. | Free |
| Azure Documentation | In-depth technical guides and tutorials. | Free |
| Pluralsight | Courses and practice exams. | $29/month or $299/year |
| Udemy | Various courses for specific certifications. | Varies (typically $10-$200 per course) |
| A Cloud Guru | Video lessons, labs, and practice exams. | $49/month or $499/year |
| LinkedIn Learning | Professional courses and practice tests. | $39.99/month or $240/year |
| Exam Ref Books | Official Microsoft books for exam preparation. | $30-$60 per book |
| YouTube | Channels like Microsoft Azure, John Savill, Adam Marczak. | Free |
| Practice Labs | Hands-on labs to practice Azure skills. | $39/month |
| Azure Community | Forums like Microsoft Tech Community and Reddit. | Free |
Azure Certification Procedure
Microsoft Azure certification path is designed to help expand your knowledge and skills to advance your career. Therefore, it is vital to choose the right certification based on your:
- Current skill levels
- Career goals
- Market Demand
- Learning Style
- Future Growth Plan with the certification
Once you have decided on the career path you want, may it be a data scientist, security engineer, database engineer, AI engineer, or cloud administrator, you can apply for the associated certification exam.
You can start on your journey to Azure certification by meeting the prerequisites for the level of certification you desire, and then sign up for and take the certification exam. You will need to stay certified by renewing your certificate each year.
Get training
The fundamental-level certifications require basic knowledge of the Microsoft Azure platform. You can take different certification courses to update your knowledge and develop the necessary skills.
For associate-level certifications, you must have the required knowledge for which multiple online courses are available. On the other hand, for expert-level certifications, you need to pass the exam in addition to having an associate-level certification and on-field experience.
You can directly enroll in Microsoft’s free online learning paths to help you prepare for their certification exams, including Microsoft Azure Fundamentals, Microsoft AI Fundamentals, and Microsoft Data Fundamentals. You can also attend their free virtual training events or enroll in paid instructor-led classes.
Meet the prerequisites
Azure certifications lists recommend a certain level of expertise before you attempt the exam. These include related associate-level certifications and a certain number of years of experience.
As of today, Fundamentals and Associate certification levels do not have prerequisites.
As a measure, Microsoft recommends the following criteria before taking an exam:
- Have thorough knowledge of the exam skills.
- Enroll in practice assessments provided by Microsoft.
- Gain a basic functional understanding of Microsoft Azure with a trial subscription.
- Leverage Microsoft's learning resources to prepare for all certifications.
Pass the certification
Once you have gathered the required knowledge and skill set, you can apply for the exam. Once you clear the passing criteria you pass the exam, you will get your Microsoft Azure certification. All exams receive scores on a scale of 1 to 1,000; you need a minimum of 700 as a passing score.
Maintain your credentials
It is also vital to renew your Associate and Expert certifications to stay updated on Azure changes. You can renew your Azure certification through the free assessments portal on Microsoft.
Microsoft Azure certification can be applied in real job Scenarios
| Certification Level | Certification Name | Real-World Application |
|---|---|---|
| Fundamental | Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) | Basic understanding of cloud services, applicable for roles like sales, purchasing, and marketing of Azure services. |
| Associate | Azure Administrator (AZ-104) | Managing Azure identities, governance, storage, and computing and suitable for system administrators and IT professionals. |
| Associate | Azure Developer (AZ-204) | Designing, building, and maintaining cloud applications and services for software developers and application developers. |
| Associate | Azure Security Engineer (AZ-500) | Implementing security controls and threat protection for security engineers and analysts. |
| Expert | Azure Solutions Architect (AZ-305) | Designing and implementing solutions on Azure is ideal for solution architects and senior IT professionals. |
| Expert | Azure DevOps Engineer (AZ-400) | Combining people, processes, and technologies to deliver services and applications for DevOps engineers. |
| Specialty | Azure AI Engineer (AI-102) | Implementing AI solutions applicable to AI engineers working on natural language processing, speech, computer vision, and more. |
| Specialty | Azure Data Engineer (DP-203) | Designing and implementing data solutions for data engineers responsible for managing data on Azure. |
| Role-Based | Azure Data Scientist (DP-100) | Building and deploying machine learning models ideal for data scientists working with Azure Machine Learning. |
Conclusion
Microsoft Azure is a must-have if you want to excel in your career fast. Cloud computing is the future and Microsoft Azure certified professionals are in demand.
You can start your journey today, with Microsoft’s free guides, curated to take you one step ahead.
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