I am happy to say I just got my results and passed the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals exam, which is also known as the AZ-900 exam. I decided to switch careers and start working in information technology, hopefully becoming a system administrator. Most places, however, will accept you as a tech support agent, also known as a helpdesk, if you have some basic knowledge of computers, and the AZ-900 certification is a good starting point.
Of Course, there is the more advanced AZ-104 exam which is probably Microsoft’s most known certification for system administrators, but for people who have no previous knowledge, getting yourself into Azure concepts can be hard. That’s why Microsoft also recommends first doing the AZ-900 Certification to grasp the basic concepts of Azure and then moving on to the AZ-104 certification.
The AZ-900 exam tests your understanding of common Azure concepts such as azure cloud, azure services, privacy, security, Identities and trust and more.
Table of Contents
Resources You Will need to study properly
Microsoft official AZ-900 page
Offers the basic learning material to grasp the topics that are covered in the exam. Also, you need to register there to schedule your exam.
Why Do you need to take this certification?
Well, as I mentioned here, if you want to start a career in IT or get into the cloud world and have no background, the AZ-900 is a good start. Also, even if you are not a tech guy, if you are a sales manager, product manager etc, but want to get familiar with the world of cloud and Azure, this certification will surely make you understand Microsoft world and cloud concepts and give you a great overall knowledge without depending on tech guys.
Practice questions for the AZ-900
AZ-900 Dumps By Examgo. They offer free practice materials. This part is a must before taking the exam itself. No matter how good you are at understanding the topics, you must spend at least 2-3 days before the exam going over these practice questions. Be sure you go over the discussions also; there are some good answers and some corrections on some of the questions there.
How the exam is built
In the Az-900 exam and in general in Microsoft exams, there are these types of questions: multiple choice questions that have only one right answer. Drag-Drop type questions and true and false statements. A passing score is 700 out of 1000 on a scale of 100, which is the minimum, and 100, which is the maximum passing score.
Microsoft says there are a few questions for which they don’t give any score, and they are only on the exam for statistics purposes. There are roughly 60 questions, and you have 1 hour to complete the exam.
The exam is largely based on three big topics which cover most of the exam, which are cloud concepts, Azure architecture, and Azure management and governance.
How do I enroll in the exam
You can go to the exam page on the exam page on Microsoft
If you don’t have one, you first need to create a Microsoft account. After that, you can go ahead and schedule an exam and either select a physical location in your own country or an online test. Note that the online test has many requirements, and I opted to find a test center near my city and just be done with it. When I took it, the exam cost me 100$.
How to Study
First there, on the Microsoft az-900 page, you have free material and paid material. There are also a number of good resources to learn for free or for a small price. YouTube, and Udemy if you want to pay a small price and not enroll in a 2000$ course.
Unlike other Microsoft exams, there are no case studies and complex scenarios, just 60 questions that you need to take. Download the Microsoft official study guide to remember the core topics and core concepts.
Exam Practice Is a Must Before the Exam!
This is probably the most important part of my article; you have to do as many questions as possible and take as many practice exams as you can. Even if you didn’t have time to study all the material before the exam, you need to dedicate at least 2-3 days only to practice questions. Even if you don’t know the topic very well, you might learn from those questions, and they might appear in the exam.
Before and During the exam
You must bring two types of identities when doing the physical exam. Remember you can cancel or reschedule the exam up to one day before the exam. I brought my national identity and driver’s license with me. Once you get started, you have one hour to finish the exam. Don’t be hasty or rash. Take your time. If you are not sure about a question, don’t spend too much time on it. Choose and answer, and mark that question for review if you have time at the end of the exam.
Once you have completed the exam, wait a few hours, and hopefully, you will log in and see your score and can download your badge and certificate. Congrats! Microsoft Certification is valid for two years or so; then, you have to renew it.
What’s next? Well, if you’re up for it, go ahead and start the AZ-104 Certification exam! The AZ-104 is the Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator exam which is the modern equivalent of the MCSE exam. With the AZ-104 exam, you can easily obtain a starting role in IT, such as a junior system administrator or Helpdesk role.
Other Certificates you might consider are Amazon AWS certification, CompTIA or also Google Cloud Engineer Exam if you want to be more invested in cloud and cloud technologies.
