From Study Sessions to Certification: What It Takes to Pass AZ-204
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a seasoned IT professional in possession of a good intellect, must be in want of continuous learning. These days there are endless possibilities and a huge amount of available resources to continuously learn – but how to make the selection and to commit to it.
We, at Cloudamite, tried to tackle this issue with the same approach as we usually do – openly discussing and deciding the steps together. We agreed that we would have an “open to all cloudamitians study sessions” of selected topics. We would also provide a possibility to obtain a certification for anyone willing.
In order to support our new Azure based strategy, “Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure” (AZ-204) was jointly selected as our first theme. Together with Tieturi, we tailored three days of intensive study sessions and almost half of us cloudamitians showed interest to participate. Study sessions were held during a few spring Saturdays and everyone interested was welcome. Sessions were also recorded for later usage.
It would be nice to conclude this by saying that all of us passed the certification exam with flying colors just by attending the study sessions and doing the lab exercises during them. Unfortunately it was not that easy. Let me share some observations…
First and foremost, attending just the study sessions is definitely not enough to prepare for the certification exam. Depending on your previous experience of the subject, the required preparation time may vary. But I would say that you need to study a lot.
Microsoft’s Learning center is a good starting point to study for the exam. You can find the course material, practise exams and overall guidance for the certification process. And if you are not familiar with the certification exams, it is good to find the basic information about it beforehand.
I started by reading the Microsoft’s Learning center’s course materials. I also rewatched our Saturday recordings. But because our three study sessions were held in Finnish, I needed some adjustment to familiarize myself with the English terminology. Luckily, there is plenty of material all over the internet (youtube) that you can go through. I found a good 4.5 hours tutorial and for me it was a good overall review of the course contents.
Practice exams are a good method to prepare for both: the exam contents and the exam process. You can buy suitable test packages and use them as many times as you want. I bought a “5 test” -package and ran through each test several times. In my first attempts, I got merely 45 % correct but later the percentage increased. You should get at least 75 % in practice tests in order to pass the actual exam.
I wanted to do my exam in a nearby PearsonVUE test center and I booked my certification exam time well in advance. And I also know myself – once I had the date in my calendar, it motivated me to study! It is possible and maybe more flexible timewise to do the exam on-line, but it requires some specific arrangements.
The default exam time is 1h 40min but “non-native” students can acquire 30 minutes extra time. The questions can be very tricky and if you feel at all self-conscious about your English, I highly recommend that you get that extra time. Remember to read the questions carefully, but try not to doubt yourself too much. Keep calm and try not to mind the clock that’s ticking.
The three key points:
- Intensive start – straight to the deep end
- Book the date – commit, at least mentally, to that deadline
- Recap, rehearse and review
