Preparing for Azure Certification Exams

Posted On November 25, 2019

In this article I will shed some light on how to prepare for Azure certification exams and what I think the main drivers should be behind getting certified in Azure.

Azure exams and classifications evolve frequently; this really reflects how fast Azure platform is evolving and enhancing its services offerings where existing services change, new ones are introduced, and some old services are phase out.

Why Get Certified?

Besides the recognition you get from being certified by Microsoft and the cool certification badge, it is a great way to gauge your knowledge and experience in Azure by passing the required exam(s).

After you spend time in learning and practicing; passing the official exam will be a way for yourself to validate that you indeed gained the necessary knowledge and experience for a given path and all its required skills.

Further, 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 skills that you might need to improve.

Reading Books

I can’t stress enough on the importance of reading books, when it comes to learning about a new technology, and Azure is no different.

Generally, reading technical books will give you the full context and will provide you with a comprehensive, deep understanding in the technology or area of expertise.

You can find several books that provide the necessary knowledge for the needed skill areas in Azure, you can also find books that target specific Azure certification exams.

As mentioned earlier, Azure offerings are continuously evolving, therefore, it is very important to read recently published books and latest editions so that the content is still relevant to the platform.

Finishing a book usually takes months, if not years until they are published, so you may still notice some minor differences in Azure blades, screens layout from what is described in the book.

These differences will dramatically increase for much older books 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, or deprecated services.

I always encourage my colleagues to read books. I describe it as an amazing opportunity to virtually meet field experts and gain, first-hand, some of their knowledge and years of experience.

Hands-on Experience

This is an important part in your learning process, I recommend that have your own Azure subscription as an owner.

This way you can have full control, and you will be able to get complete experience in provisioning and working with different Azure Services without any limitations.

For instance, as a developer you should still be aware of your solution administration context, so you can provision VNETs, apply NSGs, handle IAM to your solution services, and so on.

Microsoft documentation and most of Azure books will include the necessary walk-through scenarios for working with different Azure services, in addition to source code and code snippets.

I highly recommend that you follow the walk-through scenarios, and write the code & scripts yourself while using the provided source code or snippet as a reference.

Microsoft documentation and Online Materials

During the learning process, you may find yourself in need of a deeper understanding, Microsoft online documentations will be the way to go, it will also be great for getting the latest information on topics and learning about other related topics.

Additionally, you can refer to on-demand video training courses, using YouTube, or prominent learning platforms such as Pluralsight, or Oreilly, just to name a few.

While books will mostly provide you with a comprehensive foundation, Microsoft documentations and other online materials will complement that by providing you with the most updated and in-depth knowledge.

Microsoft Official Practice Test

After gaining the needed knowledge and experience, you can use Microsoft’s official practice test as a feedback to gauge your knowledge so far. Unfortunately, not all Azure certifications exams have practice tests.

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, so 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 somewhat similar experience to the actual certification exam, importantly it will help you get used to a timed exam experience.

Read the Exam Questions & Instructions Carefully

There are several 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 instructions. For instance, there are a set of questions where you can’t go back to previously answered questions after you move to the following question.

Further, try to avoid skimming through the questions as it might lead you to answer a question incorrectly, and lose much needed points.

Time Management During the Exam

At the start of the exam you will know the exact number of questions, it is extremely important that you know the maximum time you can spend for reading and answering each question and keep an eye on your pace.

A timer will be displayed on the screen during your exam to see how much time is left. Keep an eye on the timer to make sure that you don’t waste too much time on any given question.

You can selectively mark a set of questions so that you can review your answers 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 & possibly correct your answers for these questions.

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 taking your exam.

Taking the exam at Home

I added this section to provide highlights about taking the certification exam at home. It sounds really like a comfortable and easy option, but you need to take care of a few things.

When compared to having the exam in the test center, taking the exam at home makes testing workspace and infrastructure readiness your responsibility. You should have a reliable computer, proper network configurations (firewall/bandwidth/stability), sufficient room lighting, distraction-free testing area, and reliable power source.

Further, you may need to have your testing workspace re-organized, such as having a clutter-free desk, secondary monitors switched off & turned backwards, wall posters/whiteboards removed, reading material put away.

In order to ensure the integrity of these exams, understandably, there are a bit more restrictive policies when you take an exam at home in addition to the standard exam policies.

What you can’t do:

  • Have an exam in an open area (it must be a walled room with a closed door)
  • Having anything on your desk besides your computer and mouse
  • Move away from the webcam view for any reason during the exam
  • Have anyone else in the room (including pets)
  • Talk, Smoke, Eat, Drink (except for a clear glass of water)
  • Having any mobile/screen device within your reach
  • Having any reading material within your reach
  • Using any writing tools (you will have an online whiteboard in your exam)
  • Using headphones, or ear plugs – like those provided in test centers
  • Have the exam on a computer with a non-genuine Windows system

General Steps prior to the exam day:

General Steps on the exam day:

  1. You will start the exam following the admission steps (preferably 30 minutes before scheduled time)
  2. Download & run the latest version of OnVUE application, follow the instructions
  3. It will do the same system check again (microphone, internet speed, webcam)
  4. It will send an SMS with a link to your mobile to conduct the self check-in through a web application:
    • Submit a clear picture of yourself
    • Submit a close picture of a current government ID
    • Submit 4 pictures of your workspace: Front, Back, Left, Right
  5. Go back to OnVUE application after completing all the self check-in steps and click (Refresh)
  6. It will ask you to review some of the exam rules again
  7. It will ask you to close any other running applications on your computer
    • This is the last step before you officially enter the exam mode, by clicking (Next) you will enter the exam mode.
  8. You are now in the exam mode, it will start recording you and all exam policies will now apply. Moreover, if you close the application, the exam will be cancelled. You will be waiting for a proctor to communicate with you before she starts your exam. (for me, the waiting period was like 2 minutes)
    • The proctor communication will be mainly through the application (chat and voice)
    • The proctor may contact you through your mobile phone, if there are any technical issues
    • The proctor will assist you through technical issues
    • The proctor may ask you about your test workspace and computer network configuration
    • The proctor may ask you to use your laptop webcam to give her a 360 scan of your room
    • The proctor may ask you to present your government ID to the webcam
    • The proctor may ask you to change a few things in your room, before you can start your exam
  9. The proctor will start the exam for you, and she will only contact you if there are any issues

After Passing the Exam, What’s Next?

You can find all certification levels, types, and the corresponding set of required exam(s), along with the skills to be acquired for each at Microsoft Certifications.

I recommend that you choose exams in areas that you are really interested in, rather than being driven by chasing certifications.

Think of a certification as a way to validate what you have been learning and that it is the learning part that is actually rewarding.

Good luck!