Becoming certified in a large public cloud provider is a great way to learn about the underlying technology that is driving the future of computing. It’s also a great way to signal to prospective employers that you have the skills that it takes to drive organizations to adapt to a digital future.
There are several role-based certification paths that Microsoft segments their certifications and exams by. This blog post focuses specifically on learning the Apps & Infrastructure Solution Architect Expert certification path for Azure. I believe that learning the cloud from the ground up is the best way to get a holistic view of solutions and starting with the architect certifications create a great baseline. In addition to Apps & Infrastructure, you can also choose to focus on Data & AI or even SAP on Azure.
When I work with new customers and employees at Microsoft, many ask me what the best way to learn Azure is. Here is a comprehensive list of resources that I consistently lean on to keep my own skills sharp.
Specific Steps & Resources:
Start with AZ-900 and follow the learning paths for Azure Fundamentals provided on Microsoft Learn. Take practice exams to understand the certification question process and the level of detail required. This may take as little as two weeks if you already know cloud concepts and will simply be a quick win, or, it may take longer if it is your first step to learning the cloud. Either way, although it only covers the fundamentals, take it seriously. It’s how most non-technical users in organizations will understand Azure and you need a common language set. Take detailed notes and start building out an index of cloud terms and categories that you can expand on throughout your cloud adoption journey.
If you’re chasing an expert level certification, decide whether to build up your knowledge by doing the Azure Administrator next, or, go straight for the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification. I recommend going straight to the top because it will be inclusive of everything you need to know without weighing you down with superfluous PowerShell commands. At this point, you’re truly going from 0 to 100 and the task ahead will be daunting. Here are my favorite resources that break down the expert level concepts really well:
Linux Academy – This is a paid website but includes great videos, hands-on labs, flashcards, and a community to ask questions. While this was the last resource I used, I wish I started with it. Take advantage of their interactive diagrams and mobile app to study flashcards.
A Cloud Guru – These videos are produced by Skylines Academy and are also solid, but not quite as structured or detailed as Linux Academy. The content does overlap, but not as much as you might expect. That being the case, I highly recommend covering both sets of videos in full. You may find yourself being able to speed up the videos to 2x speed on the concepts that you become familiar with quickly. (These last two are now one organization.)
Microsoft Documentation – Every service has an overview page, and most have an FAQ page. At the bare minimum, you should be able to define any service by the content on its overview page and most of the FAQs. Some services will require you to dig deeper into certain documentation pages, but the overview and FAQ pages are solid references when learning the services for the first time.
AZ-300 Labs on GitHub – These are like the lab environments that are presented on certification exams. For additional preparation, look at the AZ-103 labs as well. Take the labs seriously and make sure you can replicate each step on your own.
Microsoft Cloud Workshop – This is best used after you have a solid understanding of most of the technologies. Read through all the available scenarios and work through the ones that are most like the ones you’ll be encountering in your day to day work. Read the student guide, trainer guide, and review how the solutions are built.
Professor Messer Network+ Training Course – If you’re handling any hybrid infrastructure scenarios in Azure and only have a very basic understanding of networking, watch Professor Messer’s videos on YouTube. They are easily digestible, short, and to the point. If you watch all of them in order, you will be much more prepared to discuss common networking patterns and understand commonly used acronyms. The most useful information is about routing patterns, ACLs, and OSI layers to understand where software-defined networking and traditional hardware networking separate.
LinkedIn Learning – There are several short courses such as Learning the Azure Management Tools and many more that will help you go deeper in the disciplines where you may need more help.
