Cloud Computing is the future but it’s also the now. With better services from Cloud Service providers like AWS(Amazon Web Services), Azure & Google, companies are quickly migrating to cloud environments for their IT infrastructure utilizing either fully provisioned cloud environments or hybrid infrastructures.
I believe that entry-level cloud exams like the AZ900 and AWS CCP will soon become the CompTIA A+ of IT and will be a requirement for IT professionals of all levels. Now is a great time to learn about cloud computing and future-proof your career regardless of whatever IT field you’re in.
After getting exposed to cloud security at my previous internship, I’ve become super interested in cloud computing and cloud security and it’s an area of specialization I’m strongly considering in the nearest future. I had started studying for this certification in late 2020 and was ready to take but due to technical difficulties with PearsonVue, I was unable to schedule it. Thankfully, after 5 months, I finally got around to taking it.
Check out my YouTube Video on How To Study and Pass this Examhttps:
WHAT IS COVERED IN THE EXAM?
According to Microsoft, these are the skills measured in the exam
- Describe cloud concepts
- Describe core Azure services
- Describe core solutions and management tools on Azure
- Describe general security and network security features
- Describe identity, governance, privacy, and compliance features
- Describe Azure cost management and Service Level Agreements
STUDY RESOURCES
When I study for my certifications, the first thing I like to do is curate and allocate study resources to certain time periods. I usually start with overarching and all-encompassing resources that’ll cover everything then I move over to more specific and succinct resources and finally practice exams.
Microsoft Learn
This is the single most important and number one resource that will help with this exam. This is a free resource and covers everything you need for the exam. This resource is very reading intensive and personally, reading gets boring sometimes for me but I recommend breaking the reading into small options and at least going through this once. I also highly recommend doing the labs in this course- setting up a free account is very easy and will help you really solidify the contents of the course and exam.
LINK:https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/az-900-describe-cloud-concepts/
YouTube
Good ole YouTube university has awesome resources to help you with this exam. Some major resources I recommend including FreeCodeCamp‘s 3hr video. This video is covers everything you need for the exam in a very quick and summarized manner. Moving forward, for more technical and in-depth videos, Tim Warner has a YouTube series that is very good and gives in-depth explanations on every single topic. John Savill has an awesome 1hr video that is also really good for revising over all the topics covered and I highly recommend going through his video at least once. There are other ones but these are my personal recommendations.
Labs & Practice Exams
Whiz labs has very realistic practice exams and labs. I only used the free AZ 900 fundamentals practice exams provided. I have heard good things about the labs they provide and I’m going to use them in my future cloud certifications. Either way, I believe the labs in the Azure learn docs are very sufficient if you go through them but if you want more labs then I’m sure the labs whiz labs will be a good supplement.
EXAM EXPERIENCE & CONCLUSION
This is not my first IT certification so I know how the test-taking works but this is my first Microsoft cert and my first cloud cert so I definitely am very new to that space. I took the exam from home using PearsonVue and completed it in just about 20 mins. This was in general a very easy exam. The exam covers all the areas covered in the Microsoft learn docs and really tests you on the fundamentals as expected.
I’m looking forward to studying and taking the Azure Security Engineer cert later in the future as this aligns with my career goal. I’ll also be doing the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and Security Specialty as it is something I know I need to learn more about in order to become better in certain areas of my job and for my future plans as well.
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