Preparing for Exam 70-535
I recently passed the exam 70-535: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions. I am posting this blog to provide guidance on how to prepare for this exam, as well as answer some of most common questions I got.
You can find all the detailed information for Exam 70-535 from Microsoft site here. It is worth mentioning that this exam has replaced the older 70-534 Exam, this in part, reflects how frequently existing cloud services are evolving & new services are being introduced in Azure.
Why get certified?
Besides the recognition you get from being certified by Microsoft, I believe it is a great way to actually test yourself, just like the purpose of having final exams in schools, at end of the learning period.
Essentially, after spending much time in learning and practicing a certain technology or area of expertise, passing an official exam will be a way for yourself to validate that you indeed gained the necessary knowledge and experience for it.
Moreover, you will get a detailed result at the end of your certification exam, which measures your performance in each skill-set, this will not only show the skill areas that are your strong suit, but will also highlight those areas that you might need to improve.
Hands-on experience
This is perhaps the most important part in your learning process, you need to have your own Azure subscription as an owner, with full control, in order to have a complete experience to provision and work with different Azure Services through Azure portal, cloud shell, or PowerShell scripts.
Reading Books
I can’t stress enough on the importance of reading books, when it comes to learning a new technology, and Azure is no different.
Generally, reading technical books will give you the full context to have a comprehensive, deep understanding in an area of expertise, or technology.
I always encourage my colleagues to read books, I describe it to them as a great opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge from field experts, without having this knowledge diluted or corrupted.
For 70-535 exam, I recommend that you read the following Books, these will provide you with a very good understanding of Azure services:
- Implementing Azure Solutions (May 2017)
- Robust Cloud Integration with Azure (March 2017)
- Exam Ref 70-535 Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions (May 2018)
- Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions – Exam Guide 70-535 (April 2018)
Most Azure books include the necessary hands-on walk-through scenarios for working with different Azure services, in addition to source code, for applications that includes coding.
I highly recommend that you follow the walk-through scenarios, and I encourage you to write the code & scripts yourself from scratch, using the provided source code as a reference, instead of merely using and modifying the provided source code.
On another note, Azure is continuously changing, so it is very important to read recently published books. You may still notice some minor differences in the blades/screens for some Azure services from what is described in the books I recommended.
However with much older books, these differences will increase to the point that you won’t be able to follow the walk-through scenarios, especially if those books were describing steps using the older Azure portal.
Online material and Microsoft documentation
During the learning process, you will find yourself in need of a deeper understanding for some topics, Microsoft online documentations will be the way to go, while books will mostly provide you with a comprehensive foundation, the online documentations and other online referenced materials will provide you with further, more detailed knowledge for these topics.
Additionally, you can also refer to on-demand video training courses, using Youtube, or prominent learning platforms such as Pluralsight.
Microsoft Official Practice Test
After you have completed the reading and the corresponding hands-on experience, you can use Microsoft’s official practice test as a feedback to gauge your knowledge so far.
The official practice test has 2 modes: the Practice mode, and the Certification mode. The Practice mode will allow you to check the answers and will provide you with the corresponding online references for those answers, thus it is better to start with this mode first.
Before taking the actual exam, it will be beneficial that you use the Certification mode to get a similar experience, although not exact, to the actual certification exam, as well as get used to a timed exam experience.
Read the questions & instructions carefully
There are many types of questions and instructions in this exam, take your time to read the questions and instructions carefully, before answering, some questions have very specific requirements. Skimming through them might lead you to answer a question incorrectly, and lose much needed points.
Time Management during Exam
At the start of the exam you will know the exact number of questions and the duration for the exam, it is extremely important that you calculate the maximum time you can spend for reading and answering each question, as well as add some time for reviewing your answers that you might not be certain about.
A timer will be displayed on the screen during your exam to see how much time is left. Keep an eye on the timer, make sure that way you don’t waste too much time on any given question, while sacrificing other questions that you might have had a chance to answer, if only you had more time.
You can also mark for review any question that you are not sure about, so that you can go through them again at the end of the exam. If you manage your time correctly, you will have enough time at the end of the exam to review those questions, it will make a big difference in your points.
Read the certification exam policies
Familiarize yourself with Microsoft certification exam policies, where you will find a lot of FAQs, and all details about the exam policies that you need to be aware of, before your exam.
After Exam 70-535, what’s next?
You can target achieving Microsoft Azure certification levels, such as Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD), or Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE). This can be accomplished by passing a set of exams.
You can find all certification levels details and the corresponding set of exams that you can choose from, and skills to be acquired for each level at Microsoft Azure certifications.
A final word of advice
You should choose exams in areas that you are really passionate about, and interested in learning about, rather than only being driven by certification levels requirements.
I hope you will enjoy the learning journey towards your certification as much as I did.
Good luck!