Certified professionals with hands-on practical experience always get noticed in the job market. They also earn handsome salaries compared to their non-certified counterparts, especially when it comes to grabbing job opportunities in Microsoft Azure (a cloud computing tech giant).

Since 2015, Microsoft Azure has been used by almost 70% of organizations worldwide. A total of 486,738 companies leverage its services for their daily operations. Microsoft offers 15+ Azure certifications. However, deciding which certification is best for developers might be daunting.

This blog alleviates this concern by listing the top 7 Microsoft Certified Azure certifications and their intricate details.

Top 7 Azure Certifications For Developers 2024

The details about each certification below will guide you in selecting the best compatible candidate. They are generally geared towards specific job roles, implying you must have a particular skill set for a typical profession.

Associate Level Certifications

Associate-level certifications are for developers looking to hone their intermediate skills and knowledge.

1- Azure Fundamentals (beginner)

You will prepare for Exam AZ-900 to get this certification. This is the right course if you are a beginner and just stepping into cloud computing. You will learn the fundamentals of how Microsoft Azure provides these services.

There are no prerequisites to get this certification. However, you will find it easier to grab if you have some IT knowledge. This course will teach you about the architectural components of Azure and its services, such as Compute, Networking, and Storage.

This course covers three modules: cloud concepts, Azure architecture and services, and Azure management and governance.

2- Azure Administrator Associate (intermediate)

This AZ-104 exam is specifically designed for Azure administrators as they manage the cloud services that span storage, networking, and computing. They need complete understanding of each service across this full IT lifecycle.

You can take this course if you already know how to implement, manage, and monitor an organization's Azure environment. You should also be aware of networking, operating systems, virtualization, and servers.

This course covers modules including managing identities and governance, implementing and managing storage, configuring and managing virtual networks, deploying and managing Azure compute resources, and monitoring and backing up Azure resources.

3 - Azure Developer Associate (intermediate)

Completing this course will help you develop solutions for Microsoft Azure, i.e., Exam AZ-204. At least two years of professional development and Azure experience are required.

Now, who is this course for? Anyone with a developing background interested in exploring Microsoft development solutions is welcome to get this certification. You should also be proficient in using tools like Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, and more.

The study areas for this course include learning how to implement Azure App Service web apps, implement Azure functions, develop solutions that use Cosmos DB & Blob storage, implement secure Azure solutions, API management, and more.

4 - Azure Security Engineer Associate (intermediate)

Now, let's talk about the AZ-500 exam! The exam is pretty challenging and tests a candidate's knowledge and skills in implementing security controls, maintaining security posture, and managing identity and access.

Its study areas include managing identity and access, secure networking, secure compute, storage, and databases, and security operations.

The course is intended for Azure security engineers who plan to take an associate certification exam or who perform security tasks on a regular basis. It is also ideal for engineers who want to specialize in Azure-based digital platforms and play an important role in data security.

5 - Azure AI Engineer Associate (intermediate)

This exam AI-102 is for engineers who want to build, manage, and deploy AI solutions that utilize Azure AI. However, in today's world, every engineer must learn how to manage AI solutions because they can present more and more solutions while building their products.

So, you must participate in almost all the phases of AI solutions development to take this exam. You should also be accustomed to using (REST) APIs, and SDKs to build secure video processing, image processing, NLP, knowledge mining, and generative AI Azure solutions.

So, don't expect to pass this examination without serious studying or if you haven't worked with Azure AI services! Its study areas include Azure AI services, computer vision solutions with Azure AI vision, developing NLP solutions with Azure AI services, knowledge mining with Azure AI search, and more.

6 - Azure Data Scientist Associate (intermediate)

This DP-100 exam is a level 2 associate certification. It is for anyone who is working or would like to work on artificial intelligence, data science, machine learning, and everything related to data scientists.

However, it is not a prerequisite but having a knowledge of Azure AI Fundamentals will help in completing this course. This certificate is designed for those who want to implement and run their ML workloads on Microsoft Azure using their data science and machine learning knowledge.

You should have prior experience in data science using Azure Machine Learning, and MLflow. You will experiment with Azure machine learning, learn how to design a machine learning solution, optimize model training, and deploy and consume models with Azure ML.

Expert Level Certifications

Expert-level certifications are for amateur professionals seeking to demonstrate advanced expertise in Microsoft Azure.

7 - Azure Solutions Architect Expert (advanced)

You will prepare for the AZ-305 exam to get this certification. As this is an expert level certification, the candidates must have strong subject matter expertise in designing cloud and hybrid solutions in the Azure environment.

Your responsibilities will include advising stakeholders and translating business requirements into designing secure, scalable, and reliable Azure solutions.

You will also have to collaborate in multiple job roles, including administrators, developers, data engineers, and security engineers.

Its study areas or learning path includes designing identity, governance, and monitoring solutions; designing business continuity solutions, and designing data storage and infrastructure solutions.

Conclusion

So, we have wrapped up our top 7 picks of Microsoft Azure certifications best suited for beginner, intermediate, and advanced developers. You must prepare for an exam associated with each certification.

BUT, always take into consideration the practical hands-on experience with the Azure environment. Certifications alone without practical training are just a piece of paper! and for a roadmap explore this article.

Thank You

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Azure Certification For Developers