AZ-500 Study Post 1
Sometimes "cloud" can be overwhelming. No matter where you work, you are very likely to be dealing with more than one cloud service provider. And just as you're getting into the swing on one cloud platform, you are directed to take a look at something on another platform. It reminds me of a sprinkler that squirts a little here, squirts a little there and then returns to start all over again. Engineers are usually hired "per platform" and not expected to configure on multiple clouds. Security people - not so much. And because of that, for the last few months I have been pulled in different directions and not getting anywhere. That ends now.
I decided that I'm going for the AZ-500 and putting my shoulder full into it until it's done. I really didn't pick it for any other reason than - pick one... pick _any_ one, but just pick. As someone who has taken a boatload of Microsoft exams, I know they can be ugly. Each question needs to be read carefully - because they often like to "trick" you in the details. They often give you lots of text to read through in scenarios and not much time to consider each question. There are often matching and drag and drop questions. Sometimes the interface for those questions is harder than the question itself.
Step 1 - Look at the Exam Guide. Well, that wasn't exactly my first step, but it should have been. The format of even the exam guide has changed (and I took the Azure Fundamentals test not too long ago). There are a LOT of links in this guide.
Check the "journey" to certification. For this exam/cert there are no pre-requisites. Whew. Now I don't have to dig out my Fundamentals certificate to see if it's still valid. Oh, and there's a link in the guide to the Certification Dashboard - which leads to the new "Microsoft Learn" profile. Clicking on the MS Learn link prompted me to sign in and create my profile. Ta-da! Everything from the Dashboard is now in Learn. And I now see that I took the Fundamentals exam 7/2020.
One thing I will give to Microsoft is that they really do have a lot of free resources if you have the time to use them. Granted, you'll have to use a lot of tacks to cobble together a training course for yourself, but for those with limited resources, it can be done. Between going through the training modules and reading the documentation, you should eventually get there. I'm going to poke at some of the free training to see what's there.
This was interesting: "Remember to renew your certification annually if you want to retain it." WHAT??? Almost all certs renew in 3 years. Suddenly it's one? But - the good news is that you renew by a "renewal assessment" in Microsoft Learn. Oh, and Fundamentals certs don't expire. At least the renewal is free and just takes effort. I can do effort...
BIG HEAD'S UP: Explore the sandbox environment for the exam. It will show you all the types of questions that are on the exam. TYPES. Like drag and drop, scenarios, etc. Practice the interface if you're not used to testing like this. Many certification exams use these types of evaluations, and you want to focus on the material and not lose time trying to figure out the interface.
There are links to learning paths in the guide. Wow, what a surprise! Granted, going through these alone is not going to be enough to pass the test. But it should help in addition to my planned study materials. Note: the learning paths are reading materials (not videos). I went through the first two and the XP points showed up in my learning profile. (Don't tempt me with a progress bar.)
I've completed the O'Reilly course for AZ-500 and I'm currently plowing through the INE course for AZ-500. I was "iffy" about using the one in Udemy. And these are just the videos. I have 6 books that I wanted to read to prepare. And I know of at least 4 areas for "practice exams." If I do it all, I will overstudy and take longer than I intend to get this cert. I'm going to need to use some discernment and cull the list.
