The Microsoft certifications provide the professionals with globally recognized and industry endorsed evidence of their expertise in the digital and Cloud domains. Having a Microsoft certificate on your resume proves that you possess the specific, real-world skills related to particular job roles. It also verifies that you are capable of applying technical competency to solve today’s business challenges. Moreover, the Microsoft certification program helps the individuals keep up with the industry and technology changes because the training aligned to the certificates is always updated and new certifications are added all the time.

Microsoft Certification Program

Microsoft has the certification paths for a variety of technical job roles. Each of these certificates requires passing one or several exams to get certified. The vendor offers three certification levels that suit the individuals with different professional background from a beginner to an expert. These levels as well as the specific certificates that belong to them are described below.

Fundamentals Certifications

The certifications within this track are ideal for those candidates who are just starting a career journey in technology or planning a career change. The certificates under this category are as follows:

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals

  This certification validates the applicants’ knowledge of Cloud concepts, Azure workloads, Azure services, security & privacy in Azure, as well as Azure pricing & support. To earn the certificate, the learners must pass the AZ-900 exam.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals

  This certification proves the ability of the candidates to describe AI workloads & its considerations, basic principles of machine learning on Azure, features related to Natural Language Processing (NLP) workloads on Azure, features related to computer vision workloads on Azure, as well as features related to conversational AI workloads on Azure. The AI-900 exam is a required test for this certificate.

• Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (CRM)

  This certification measures the ability of the individuals to describe Dynamics 365 Marketing, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Field Service, Dynamics 365 Sales, Project Operations, as well as shared features. To get the certificate, the students are required to ace the MB-910 exam.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals

  This certification is designed for the practitioners who begin to work with data in Cloud. It familiarizes them with data concepts, relational & non-relational data on Azure, as well as analytics workload on Azure. The required exam for this certificate is referred to as Microsoft DP-900.

• Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals Finance and Operations Apps (ERP)

  This certification measures the competency of the applicants in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, Dynamics 365 Commerce, Dynamics Finance, Dynamics 365 Human Resources, Project Operations, as well as shared features. To earn the certificate, the candidates must clear the MB-920 exam.

• Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals

  This certification evaluates the expertise of the candidates in the Power Platform business value, Power Platform core components, capabilities of Power BI, capabilities of Power Apps, capabilities of Power Automate, as well as business value of Power Virtual Agents. To get certified, the individuals are required to pass the PL-900 exam.

Role-Based Certifications

The certificates under this track are developed to equip the professionals with the most valuable skills required for specific job roles. Some of the certifications related to this path are highlighted below:

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert

  This certification measures signing and implementing solutions that run on Microsoft Azure, including the aspects, such as compute, network, storage, and security. The applicants must pass two exams to earn this certificate: Microsoft AZ-303 and Microsoft AZ-304.

• Microsoft 365 Certified: Developer Associate

  This certification measures your ability to implement Microsoft identity, extend & customize SharePoint, build apps using Microsoft Graph, extend Teams as well as Office. The required exam for this option is Microsoft MS-600.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate

  The purpose of this certification is to validate the expertise of the professionals in the integration, transformation, and consolidation of data from different structured & unstructured data systems into structures that can be used for building analytics solutions. The DP-203 exam is required for obtaining the certificate.

• Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert

  To get this certification, the students are required to demonstrate their proficiency in the development of an instrumentation strategy, development of a Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) strategy, development of a security & compliance plan, management of source control, and so on. The qualifying test for the certificate is known under the codename AZ-400.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate

  This certification is designed to measure the proficiency of the individuals in the management of Azure identities & governance, implementation and management of storage, deployment and management of Azure compute resources, configuration and management of virtual networking, as well as monitoring of Azure resources. The AZ-104 exam leads to the award of this certificate.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate

  This certification assesses the expertise of the learners in managing identity & access, implementing platform protection, managing security operations, as well as securing data and applications. To earn the certificate, you must complete the AZ-500 test.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate

  This certification evaluates the capacity of the applicants to set up an Azure Machine Learning workspace, run experiments & train models, and perform the optimization and management of models as well as deployment and consumption of models. To get certified, they need to ace the DP-100 exam.

• Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate

  This certification is created to provide the examinees with the skills needed to prepare, model, visualize, and analyze data as well as deploy & maintain deliverables. The qualifying test for this certificate is Microsoft DA-100.

• Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate

  This certification measures the ability of professionals to execute such technical tasks as the creation of a technical design, configuration of Common Data Service, creation and configuration of Power Apps, configuration of business procedure automation, extension of the user experience, extension of the platform, as well as development of integrations. To earn the certificate, the candidates must clear the PL-400 exam.

• Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Solution Architect Expert

  This certification evaluates the ability of the individuals to execute solution envisioning and requirement analysis as well as architect & implement a solution. The required test for this certificate is referred to as Microsoft PL-600.

Additional Certifications

• Microsoft Certified: Windows Virtual Desktop Specialty

  This certification measures the ability of the candidates to perform the technical tasks, such as planning of Windows Virtual Desktop architecture, implementing Windows Virtual Desktop infrastructure, managing access & security, managing user environments and apps, as well as monitoring & maintaining a Windows Virtual Desktop infrastructure. The required test for this certificate is Microsoft AZ-140.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure IoT Developer Specialty

  This certification is developed to validate that the applicants are capable of setting up IoT solution infrastructure, provisioning & managing devices, processing & managing data, implementing IoT Edge, monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing IoT solutions, as well as implementing security. To get certified, the learners must pass the AZ-220 exam.

• Microsoft Certified: Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty

  To earn this certification, the candidates must possess the skills in the migration of SAP workloads to Azure, design of an Azure solution for supporting SAP workloads, building & deployment of Azure SAP workloads, as well as validation of Azure infrastructure for AAP workloads. The test associated with this certificate is referred to as Microsoft AZ-120.

Preparation Options

Microsoft provides its students with the training tools to help them prepare for the certification test of their choice. The official platform contains both free and paid resources developed in accordance with the exam syllabus. Free learning paths allow the applicants to learn at their speed and on their schedule. Usually, they contain several related modules that cover each and every exam objective.

There is also the option of instructor-led training delivered by the Microsoft Learning Partners all over the globe. The instructor-led course is recommended for those individuals who are new to the industry and need support from a seasoned expert. It allows you to interact with the tutor and peers as well as ask questions whenever you face difficulties. Moreover, each certification exam is accompanied by the official practice test that enables the students to evaluate their preparedness as well as identify the possible knowledge gaps.

Career Prospects

The Microsoft certifications are acknowledged globally and in the industry. Earning a certificate from this vendor enforces your professional credibility and opens up a variety of employment opportunities for you. In particular, the Microsoft certification program prepares the practitioners for the following job roles: a Developer, a Data Engineer, an Administrator, a Security Engineer, a Data Scientist, an AI Engineer, a Solutions Architect, and a DevOps Engineer, among others. The salary rates associated with these positions are another reason why any Microsoft certificate is worth your time and money. The certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals and Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate are listed among the highest paid IT options with the average annual salaries of $126,653 and $125,993, correspondingly.

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