How I passed the AZ-900 Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Exam
Introduction
Last week I completed the CLF-C01 AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner certification, so this week, I decided to go after its Microsoft counterpart, the AZ-900 exam. I decided to take this exam on my exam tour to solidify my basic understanding of the major cloud providers before working on security specialty certifications. I started preparing for the AZ-900 on June 27, 2021, and scheduled my exam for July 1, 2021, through PearsonVue.
Exam Details
You can read more on the certification from Microsoft here.
40-60 Questions
Questions could be a case study, short answers, multiple-choice, mark review, drag, drop, etc.
The exam length is 85 minutes.
To pass, you need a minimum score of 700/1000.
The exam costs $99.
Exam Domains
You can download the exam blueprint here.
Describe Cloud Concepts (20-25%).
Describe Core Azure Services (15-20%).
Describe core solutions and management tools on Azure (10-15%).
Describe general security and network security features (10-15%).
Describe identity, governance, privacy, and compliance features (20- 25%).
Describe Azure cost management and Service Level Agreements (10- 15%).
My Study Journey
I used the Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals Study Guide 1st Edition by Sybex for my primary reading materials. In addition watched various YouTube videos if I wanted some further information on topics such as Azure AD, tenants, different groups, & Azure subscriptions. I find the study guides to give you a general feel for the material while watching videos and reading papers further fleshes out your understanding of the material.
I read the study guide from front to back before I started taking notes. Afterwhich reading, I went back to the chapter summaries and essential exam sections to take notes and make sure I understood those concepts. During my note-taking, I paused and watched various YouTube videos and went to Microsoft official documentation to clarify and solidify some essential topics. Some good FREE videos and series on Azure Fundamentals include the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) Full Course by Adam Marczak - Azure for Everyone and Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Certification Course (AZ-900) - Pass the exam in 3 hours! by freeCodeCamp.org. Both of which can be found on YouTube. I cannot stress the importance of learning how to look up official documentation from Microsoft, especially related to comparing different services and features. Reading and watching videos is like the trunk of a tree it lays its root and is foundational. The official documentation is like the branches, and fine details found within official documentation are like the leaves. After note-taking, I went through the assessment, review questions, and practice exams provided by Sybex to test my knowledge.
My Testing Experience
My test was scheduled for July 1, 2021, @ 0930 at my local Pearson Vue test center. As usual, I arrived 15 minutes early. I cleared the exam in about 35 minutes with a score of 925/1000. It's essential to read each question and the available answers carefully as I found some questions a bit tricky, so read slowly and think, do not rush through it even if you think it's easy. Unlike my AWS certification, Microsoft gives you a printout after taking the exam, displaying how well you did in each domain as a percentage and how your performance compared to the overall testing population. I scored the highest in General Security & Network Security, and my lowest domain score was Azure Pricing & Billing. I probably should have read more Microsoft documentation on Pricing & Billing, but that domain is my least favorite section to read.
What's Next?
I'll be starting my studies this weekend for the GCP Associate Cloud Engineer (ACE) certification to round out the basics for each cloud provider. I'll give myself a couple of weeks for this one.
Summary
I hope you found this informative and helpful on your learning journey. If you are currently studying for the Azure Fundamentals exam or enjoy learning about cloud technologies, you can download my study notes from my repo AZ-900-Microsoft-Azure-Fundamentals-Notes.
Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me a message if you have any questions or comments. Cheers!