Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification
A couple of months ago, I sat for the Microsoft Azure Administrator exam and fortunately passed it. That was the first exam I did after graduating from university, so preparing for it brought back old memories. And perhaps for that reason, I didn't prepare for the exam in the best way, and there are things that I would've done differently now looking back.
Since I work regularly with Microsoft Azure's cloud infrastructure, I decided to apply for the exam to reinforce my credibility as an administrator. But the exam preparation definitely made me learn much more about Microsoft's vast cloud offerings. The image below shows the different models of cloud services, with the management responsibilities shifting from the customer to the provider. Getting to know the various cloud services more deeply even convinced me that some of our applications currently on the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) model can benefit from a shift to a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model.
Most online resources actually suggest taking the Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) for an entry-level exam. But since I've been working with Azure for several years, it most likely wouldn't give me much added benefits. Therefore, I've decided to skip that exam and go for the Azure Administrator (AZ-104) directly. The image below shows the available Azure certifications, and there are many more for Microsoft's other services (e.g. Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics).
Before signing up for the exam, I naively believed that I can pass the exam by going through the materials on the Microsoft Learn platform. It was certainly a good introduction to the exam topics and the labs were useful to try out features. But it wasn't remotely enough to pass the exam. After trying my first practice test, I was shocked at how different and more challenging the exam actually is compared to the official learning material. I then promptly postponed the exam and started looking at other exam preparations:
On hindsight, instead of going through the Microsoft Learn materials over months, I would go through it and the video courses more intensively if I were to do the exam all over again. And only when I'm ready, would I then apply for the exam and start with the practice tests. Having already applied for the exam definitely gave me more motivation and needed pressure while doing the practice tests. This is important because doing a practice test takes about an hour and then roughly as much time to go through the explanation of the answers.
As for the exam itself, I opted to do it at a Microsoft partner location which is luckily not far from where I live. This just takes away the uncertainty of having the right setup for a proctored exam over the internet. But that is definitely a possibility if you prefer it or don't have any Microsoft partner location nearby.
My exam started early morning in a small room with two computers. The exam software itself looks like it came from the early 2000s, which is ironic considering the cutting-edge content of the exam. I encountered many new types of questions during the exam and never felt safe about getting the 700 points (out of 1000) needed to pass the exam. The case study section at the very end was also especially challenging. The Microsoft certification exam is graded at the spot, so my heart was definitely pounding when I clicked on the submit button. Fortunately I passed with some breathing room when the screen showed 820 points.
I would say the overall experience of my first certification was great. Not only am I now certified, but I also learned much during the preparation. I was probably rusty for my first exam since university, but it will probably be better the next time since I'm planning to sit for the Azure Developer (AZ-204) exam towards the end of the year.