Choose the Right Azure Certification for Your Career in 2022

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Azure Fundamental Exams
   1. AZ-900: Azure Fundamentals
   2. DP-900: Azure Data Fundamentals
   3. AI-900: Azure AI Fundamentals
3. Intermediate or Associate Level Certifications
   1. AZ-104: Azure Administrator
   2. AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
   3. AZ-500: Azure Security Engineer
4. Expert Level Certifications
   1. AZ-305: Azure Architect
   2. AZ-400: Azure DevOps Engineer
5. Infrastructure Specialization Certifications
   1. AZ-600: Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack
   2. AZ-800: Windows Server Admin Hybrid Core Infrastructure
   3. AZ-801: Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services
6. Database Specialization Certifications
   1. DP-100: Designing and Implementing Data Science Solution
   2. DP-103: Data Engineering on Azure
   3. DP-300: Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure
   4. DP-420: Cloud Native Applications using Cosmos DB
7. Other Specialization Certifications
   1. AZ-120: Planning and Administering Microsoft Azure for SAP Workloads
   2. AC-140: Configuring and Operating Windows Virtual Desktop on Microsoft Azure
   3. AZ-220: Microsoft Azure IoT Developer
   4. AZ-700: Microsoft Azure Network Engineer

Azure Certification Path for 2022

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform that offers a wide range of services and solutions to businesses and individuals. With the increasing demand for cloud computing, Microsoft has introduced a range of certifications to help professionals validate their skills and knowledge in Azure. In this article, we will discuss the various Azure certifications available in 2022 and the path You can take to become an Azure expert.

Azure Fundamental Exams

AZ-900: Azure Fundamentals

AZ-900 is the fundamental certification for Azure. It is aimed at beginners who do not have any prior cloud experience. The purpose of this test is to check your proficiency in understanding the fundamentals or basics of cloud. It is a relatively easy exam with 40 to 60 questions, and the passing score out of 1000 is 700. The exam duration is around 90 minutes, and the cost is $99 USD.

DP-900: Azure Data Fundamentals

DP-900 is also aimed at beginners and focuses on database and storage offerings that are present in Azure. You do not need to be a specialist or have any experience with infrastructure or data. The exam cost is the same as AZ-900, and the exam duration is one hour.

AI-900: Azure AI Fundamentals

AI-900 is aimed at AI enthusiasts who are interested in how AI implementations take place in a cloud environment. It is a beginner-level certification, and most of the things that you will be studying here for the certification are going to be very Azure-centric. You do not have to be an engineer or anything like that to take this exam.

Intermediate or Associate Level Certifications

AZ-104: Azure Administrator

AZ-104 is the most common intermediate-level certification and is also known as Azure Administrator. It is aimed at experienced people who have a few years of experience in IT, preferably in Azure. The exam is infrastructure-heavy, and the focus is on things that are present in Microsoft Azure. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure

AZ-204 is aimed at experienced programmers or developers who have a programming base or must know one language that is supported on Microsoft Azure. This exam requires a lot of dev-heavy knowledge, and you need to be a developer to understand the basics. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

AZ-500: Azure Security Engineer

AZ-500 is aimed at security engineers and admins. It is similar to AZ-104 in terms of difficulty and topics, but it is more focused on security. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

Expert Level Certifications

AZ-305: Azure Architect

AZ-305 is aimed at experienced people who have experience working as engineers or as architects in AWS, GCP, or in Azure. You need to have your cloud fundamentals very strong, and you must have Azure Administrator level of knowledge when you're taking this test. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

AZ-400: Azure DevOps Engineer

AZ-400 is aimed at experienced developers and operation people. This exam has dev-heavy knowledge, and you will be working on a lot of PaaS solutions. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 210 minutes.

Infrastructure Specialization Certifications

AZ-600: Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack

AZ-600 is an associate-level certification aimed at Azure Stack operators and infrastructure admins. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

AZ-800: Windows Server Admin Hybrid Core Infrastructure

AZ-800 is aimed at on-premises server administrators. It is highly focused on virtualization and networking. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

AZ-801: Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services

AZ-801 is aimed at experienced silver admins. It is highly focused on high availability, migration, disaster recovery, security, and has a lot of on-premises and hybrid integration scenarios within it. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

Database Specialization Certifications

DP-100: Designing and Implementing Data Science Solution

DP-100 is aimed at data science and ML practitioners. It is moderate in difficulty, and there's a lot of model training and machine learning deployment on Azure that's involved in this one. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

DP-103: Data Engineering on Azure

DP-103 is aimed at database administrators or data engineers. It's focused on Azure database and storage offerings and how you can leverage them to build your solution or for your applications. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

DP-300: Administering Relational Databases on Microsoft Azure

DP-300 is aimed at experienced database admins. It's highly focused on MS SQL, and there's a lot of on-prem to Azure integration that's involved in this particular course. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

DP-420: Cloud Native Applications using Cosmos DB

DP-420 is aimed at data engineers who want to work with Cosmos DB or want to be a Cosmos DB subject matter expert. It's a specialization certification, and it's a three-hour certification test. The exam cost is $165, and the passing score is 700.

Other Specialization Certifications

AZ-120: Planning and Administering Microsoft Azure for SAP Workloads

AZ-120 is aimed at architects and engineers who have vast SAP experience. It's focused on SAP migration and integration scenarios within Azure. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

AC-140: Configuring and Operating Windows Virtual Desktop on Microsoft Azure

AC-140 is focused on Windows Virtual Desktop. It's aimed at architects and engineers who want to learn how WVD works and how it's implemented. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 100 minutes.

AZ-220: Microsoft Azure IoT Developer

AZ-220 is aimed at IoT developers who have coding skills. It consists of setting up an IoT solution infrastructure, setting up IoT devices, and business integration scenarios. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

AZ-700: Microsoft Azure Network Engineer

AZ-700 is an associate-level certification and is one of the newest certifications that Microsoft has introduced. It's aimed at SMEs who have knowledge of Azure networking and Azure security and even infra skills. The exam cost is $165, and the exam duration is 180 minutes.

Highlights

• Microsoft Azure offers a wide range of certifications to help professionals validate their skills and knowledge in Azure.
• The certifications are divided into fundamental, intermediate or associate level, expert level, infrastructure specialization, database specialization, and other specialization certifications.
• The cost of the exams ranges from $99 to $165, and the exam duration ranges from 60 to 210 minutes.
• The passing score for all exams is 700 out of 1000.

FAQ

Q: What is the cost of the Azure certification exams? A: The cost of the exams ranges from $99 to $165, depending on the exam.

Q: What is the passing score for the Azure certification exams? A: The passing score for all exams is 700 out of 1000.

Q: How long is the duration of the Azure certification exams? A: The exam duration ranges from 60 to 210 minutes, depending on the exam.

Q: What are the different types of Azure certifications available? A: The different types of Azure certifications available are fundamental, intermediate or associate level, expert level, infrastructure specialization, database specialization, and other specialization certifications.