Is Microsoft Azure Certification Worth It?

In today’s world with the rapidly increasing dependence of businesses on the IT sector, it becomes essential for you to have in-depth knowledge about cloud services if you are looking for a steady career in the IT sector.

Statistics show that the estimated global market of public cloud services will touch a massive $623.3 billion by 2023. This is why Microsoft Azure certification courses play an important role in building your foundation in many areas of the IT sector.

Also, it is always better to know the worth of any certification course before commencing it so that you know what value you will be adding to your skillset and if it will be useful in your career line.

What are the Various Azure Certification Courses Offered by Microsoft?

There are 12 elaborate courses on topics like Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Development, Microsoft Azure Architecture, and Database Administration. Azure certification training courses offer learning modules, informative courses, practice tests, interactive labs, and creative challenges to make sure you get the best combination of technical knowledge and practical skills for the live environments.

Here are some of the courses offered by Microsoft Azure:

1. Azure Fundamentals certification AZ-900: The prerequisite for this course is the basic understanding of what cloud services are, how they function, and how they are provided with Azure. This course is useful if you are just a beginner in cloud-based services and want to learn more about Azure. The exam AZ-900 includes the concepts of:

• Networking and storage
• Data computation
• Application development
• Azure workloads
• Security and privacy features

With this certification, you can apply for the role of an application developer, technology manager, or business manager. The Azure certification cost for the AZ-900 exam is INR 3696.

2. Azure Data Fundamentals certification DP-900 (beta): For this course, you need to know core data concepts and their applications to put data into use. The DP-900 covers:

• Relational and non-relational data
• Query techniques in SQL language
• Data analytics
• Data visualization in Microsoft Power BI

This certification course opens up the roles of a Database administrator and a Data engineer associate but is not a requirement for the same. The Azure certification cost for the DP-900 exam is INR 3696.

3. Azure Administrator-associate certification AZ-104: Candidates appearing for this examination are expected to have considerable expertise in the implementation, management, and governance of a live Microsoft Azure environment. Specifically, a hands-on experience of a minimum of 6 months in the following sections is required:

• Azure administration
• Azure workloads and security features
• Virtual Machine management
• Virtual network configuration

Moreover, the candidate must know how to work with templates like PowerShell, Azure Resource Manager, Azure portal, and Azure CLI. The Azure certification cost for this course is INR 4800.

What Makes Microsoft Azure Certification Courses Worth it?

91% of certified IT professionals agree that candidates with certification from a renowned source carry more professional credibility than the others. In particular, Microsoft certification comes with the following long-term benefits:

1. Increases your value in the market: There is a steadily increasing demand for cloud computing professionals in the world. In this scenario, if you have had proper Azure certification training to polish your current skill set, you can be presented with a higher salary and better market recognition.

2. Opens up a range of career lines: With a Microsoft Azure certification in hand, a wide range of career options in cloud computing open up for you such as a cloud administrator, developer, architect, security engineer, and DevOps engineer. This provides you with career flexibility along with steady growth at your workplace.

3. Enhances growth in the organization: You can assist your company by optimizing its cloud services, reducing costs, and enhancing growth with the endorsed expertise that you earned from various Azure certifications.

Where Do I Begin the Journey from?

Any course will be worth it only if you choose the perfect course according to your choice of career, your interests, and your current skill set. Here is a list of legitimate learning sources to begin the courses from:

1.Koenig Solutions: Organizations like Koenig Solutions provide good learning resources for any Microsoft Azure certification course. Microsoft also provides mentoring programs under expert instructors through online learning sessions.

2.Relevant books and reading material: Learning from a book is one of the most efficient methods when preparing for any certification examination. Some of the suggested readings include:

• Microsoft Azure for Beginners by Adney Ainsley
• Microsoft Azure tutorial: The Ultimate Beginners’ Guide by Dennis Hutten

3.Online forums: Joining online platforms to solve your queries and connect with others in the same boat can prove to be beneficial to track your progress daily. You can also subscribe to an online practice test series to judge your growth accurately.

If you were not sure whether it is worth it to take up an Azure certification, this post should have cleared it out. What are you waiting for? Get a certification of your choice today.