If you are reading this blog, there is a high chance that you have some base level knowledge related to Microsoft Azure that you either gathered through you interest as a beginner in this field or in your job role that entails working with Azure based systems.
To give you an overview, Microsoft Azure is one of the biggest cloud service providers in today’s world. Its platform and service repertoire is vast and covers many different aspects related to organizational needs. This has given rise to the increase in need for professionals who are qualified via Azure certifications in order to command a well-rounded expertise that aids them in providing optimal skills and knowledge for organizational tasks related to Microsoft Azure.
Just like other prominent cloud service providers, Microsoft Azure also offers its own certifications and in recent times, Azure has ensured that the progression its certifications focus on specific career paths in order to aid individuals to grow in their jobs roles and improve their career graphs.
One of these career paths focused on by certifications is directly solely towards developers. Azure currently offers three different certifications for developers but often, professionals get confused over which one to opt for. They also want to know whether a certain course is a pre-requisite for the other or is there a set order in which you should progress through these certifications.
In this article we’ll answer all these questions by outlining the best Azure certifications for developers in comprehensive detail:
Exam AZ – 900 – Azure Fundamentals:
While this course is not specifically primed towards developers, it’s a foundational level course that has become highly recommended by Azure in all its course paths. If you are a beginner in the professional sphere or are just starting out with Microsoft Azure, you definitely need to enroll yourself in this course.
This course will enable you to understand various core areas related to Microsoft Azure like the core service offering, Azure pricing models, security, compliance and maintenance of systems.
The Azure Fundamentals course is an optional course so even if you skip it, you can still opt for the next level courses, however taking it will make you familiar with the core concepts that will explored in detail in the next round of courses.
AZ-203: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
This certification will enable you to earn the badge of a Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate. Undergoing this course will enable skills related towards utilizing DBAs, cloud administrators and clients to build and manage cloud based apps in a streamlined manner. A developer associate is a person who is heavily involved in all facets revolving around development in Azure including deploying apps, running maintenance and management, testing etc.
If you have passed the Microsoft Fundamentals course before taking this one, you will be well versed with many of the concepts taught in this course allowing you to make your journey easier. But still, this Azure developer certification requires extensive preparation, so you will need extra help in order to increase your chances of acing it in the first attempt. Quickstart offers a course that will aid you highly in this regard.
There are no pre-requisites for this course, but this course is a pre-requisite for the next level in Azure certification path for developers.
Candidates willing to enroll in this certification should have command over one or more programming languages prevalent on the cloud along with a minimum of 12 months of experience in a cloud related role, preferably one that involved Azure.
Microsoft Azure DevOps Solutions (AZ-400)
This is an expert level exam that puts individuals in the category of a DevOps professional, one of the most sought after talents currently in the IT industry.
The Azure DevOps Solutions expert is a person who is entrusted with the task to ensure that all cloud based technologies and development solutions are primed and optimized to meet business goals set out by the management.
Once a candidate passes this course, it becomes solely responsible for providing strategizing services for a wide range of tasks like app coding, automation initiation and execution, feedback loops, continuous delivery etc.
Knowledge of Agile related practices is a must for individuals willing to participate in this course.
This course is by far the most complex of the three certifications in the Azure course path for developers so candidates who are confident of their knowledge and skills related to Azure and its development and deployment practices and processes, are the ones who should be giving the exam for this course.
Cost of Courses & Exam Format:
These courses by Microsoft Azure for developers are priced in the mid-range and cost $165 for each one of these certifications, so if you are opting for all three of them, then you are putting in a hefty investment towards becoming a highly certified professional on the Azure platform.
Exams are timed at 150 minutes overall and generally consist of 40-60 questions per exam. These questions are MCQ based and can require extensive working and knowledge to come up with answers.
Relevance of These Certifications:
If you are a junior-level Azure DevOps engineer, then you can expect to earn an average salary of around $125,000. However, if you are a senior level engineer, then your salary can increase up to $185,000 per annum, making these Azure certifications hold real time, tangible, financial incentives for you to achieve.
The Azure platform is being used extensively by organizations in today’s corporate world since it complies with most Microsoft specified services, software and tools, most of which are common in organizations.
The adoption rate of Azure by firms is only likely to grow in the future, but more so, their impact on business processes will become even more profound as time progresses, so if you are willing to be at the center stage of all these developments by becoming an expert authority on development on Azure, then these certifications are what you need to start doing to give your career a much needed boost.