Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate

I am happy to share that I passed the AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure test from Microsoft which now makes me a certified Azure Developer Associate. 🎉

This certification tests the expertise in designing, building, testing, and maintaining cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure. The certification is ideal to demonstrate a good knowledge of cloud services and how to correctly utilise them to build scalable solutions from the given requirements.

The responsibilities of an Azure Developer Associate include participating in all phases of cloud development from requirements, definition, and design; to development, deployment, and maintenance; to performance tuning and monitoring.

Preparation

I got introduced to Azure in January 2021, when I started my new job with Citrix Systems. Coming from AWS background it was easy to understand most of the services in Azure as they both share the same cloud computing concepts. I started feeling comfortable with Azure around Aug/Sept and decided to take the exam in the following month to test my skills.

Although Microsoft suggests that this certification is suitable for developers with 1-2 years of experience with Azure, I was able to clear the exam with just over 8 months of Azure Cloud experience. In my opinion, if you have spent sufficient time understanding cloud concepts and have a decent exposure to the services offered by Azure, this exam will be great fun to prepare for!

For my preparation, I followed the recommended learning path on Microsoft Learn Portal. I skimmed through the material that I had some prior experience with. I performed hands-on with the services that were new to me. It took me about 8-10 days to go through the learning path and gain good confidence on the measured skills. Just before the exam, I followed a 8/9-hours MCT-led training as a quick revision and a completion checklist.