I passed the AZ-900!

My first cloud certification, AZ-900, and I’ve passed it. This was my second attempt at the AZ-900. My first attempt was about 3-5 years ago after doing a boot camp from a Microsoft Virtual training that offered a free test voucher, so I took it right after. I did alright with a 695 at that time but never got back to that exam till now in my new role at my employer.

This time I did pass, with an 885 this time around. I was pretty shocked I scored that high cause I know I’m not a good test taker. I know I study hard and was passing practice exams with some good results, 80%, but still, didn’t think I would score that well.

My exam preparation tips

Here are some of my exam-prep tips. These may not be enough for you to pass, but here is what got me through it.

At least a year of Azure Portal experience with some Azure PowerShell experience.
I’ve taken a Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Day: Fundamentals about 2-3 years ago.
I took A Cloud Guru AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals course.
- I took the practice exams that were included with the course. They are mostly multiple-choice, so they don’t have some of the question formating like the actual test, but still good questions to help you on the exam.
I took the Microsoft Learn paths that are located at the bottom of the overview page of the certification information.
I took a LinkedIn Learning course, Exam Prep: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900).
I also the Microsoft practice exams via the Microsoft Enterprise Skills Initiative program. These are pretty much the MeasureUp exams. I felt that the type of questions on this exam and the formating were very similar to the actual exam. If you do well answering these types of questions, you should be good on the actual exam. Note, that this was an offering from my employer.

Takeaways from the exam

Here are some of my takeaways notes on the exam.

I liked taking it at a physical location. The exam proctor gave a good prep talk to the test taker to help boost confidence.
Even though I felt like I marked like have the exam questions for the review, it was nice to have a double look.
- I recommend making sure to answer all questions whether or not you know them even though you have them marked for review already. This will help you due to it being a time test.
I felt like the time was a lot quicker compared to taking the practice tests, but that could be been due to being in the moment.
I was surprised how many questions I had on Azure Active Directory and its uses, and what would I use within the Azure Active Directory.
I was surprised that Azure Virtual Desktop questions were asked and the different types of Azure Virtual Desktops could be used.
It is interesting that if it was a question that involved what service would you use for this scenario, the options given were a big list of items with their actual logos.

Final Thoughts

Do whatever it takes for you to study and learn the material. I recommend going over the exam curriculum to make sure you study and understand the material that might be asked. Having a good support team goes a long way. Asking friends, family, and co-workers for advice on the exam or advice in studying and preparing for an exam could be helpful.

I hope this information is helpful in your journey to getting the AZ-900!