Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate is an intermediate-level certification that verifies an individual’s ability to successfully develop applications on the Azure platform. Microsoft is one of the leading IT conglomerates in the world offering a variety of products and services ranging from hardware to software. And its Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing service for creating and managing applications. It is ranked among the top cloud computing solutions globally. Currently Azure hosts some of the largest companies in the world, such as Boeing, Verizon, BMW, Dell, Rolls Royce, eBay, Samsung, LG, and MSI computer.

About the Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate Certification

The Azure Developer Associate certificate is a prestigious qualification that validates one’s knowledge and technical skills required to design, develop, monitor, and troubleshoot secure applications on the Azure platform. It is globally recognized and tailored to meet industry needs. To obtain it, the candidates are required to pass AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure exam.

Accredited individuals work with a diverse team of professionals that include customers, cloud architects, database administrators, and cloud administrators to develop and execute solutions on Azure. These professionals are expected to be engaged in all stages of cloud development from defining customer requirements to building applications and deployment to performance tuning and ensuring smooth operation.

Who Is the Certification Aimed at?

As an associate-level certification, it asks candidates to have a basic understanding and knowledge of Microsoft Azure and application development. Thus, this certificate is suitable for professionals that have prior experience working with Microsoft Azure. Candidates are expected to have approximately one to two years of application development experience and knowledge of a programming language that is supported by Microsoft Azure. Moreover, the professional should be skillful in using Azure technologies and tools such as Azure CLI, Azure SDKs, and Azure PowerShell. The individual should also have expertise in compute and storage solutions, APIs, troubleshooting, performance improvement, authentication and authorization, implementation, and supervising.

Overview of AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure Exam

Exam AZ-204 has a duration of 130 minutes and consists of roughly about 40 to 60 questions. The questions are generally formatted in multiple-choice and multiple-response items, and candidates must score above 70 percent to pass the test.

Microsoft offers this evaluation in 4 different languages that include English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean. An enrollment fee of $165 is charged from each applicant during the registration process. When it comes to the delivery options, candidates can attend the exam in person at an approved testing center or sit for an online proctored test.

Skills Measured in AZ-204

The Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure exam tests an individual’s ability and knowledge on a range of different topics. The key areas candidates should be familiar with to pass the exam are given below:

• Topic 1: Creating Azure compute solutions

  This domain includes the concepts of deploying IaaS solutions, building Azure App Service Web Apps, and developing and implementing Azure functions and Azure Functions Apps. The applicants need to learn more about VMs’ provisioning, ARM templates, the use of Azure Container Instance, the configuration of web app settings, autoscaling implementation, and more.

• Topic 2: Creating for Azure storage

  For this section, the candidates should be able to create solutions that utilize blob storage and Cosmos DB storage. They should have the ability to use the correct API and SDK to develop solutions, perform the implementation of partitioning, set metadata and properties, implement storage policies, etc.

• Topic 3: Implementing Azure security

  Candidates should be familiar with implementing user and application authentication and authorization with tools such as the Microsoft Identity platform and Azure Active Directory. They should also be able to implement secure cloud solutions on Microsoft Azure, be skilled in using App Configuration Azure Key Vault, apply Managed Identities, and others.

• Topic 4: Supervising, debugging, and improving the performance of Azure solutions

  It is important for exam applicants to be able to integrate and configure caching, set up expiration policies, and handle content delivery for solutions. Candidates must be able to use Application Insights and Azure Monitor to troubleshoot and monitor solutions, implement app cache patterns that are secure and optimized, and more.

• Topic 5: Connect to and use Azure services and external services

  Finally, candidates should have the knowledge required to implement event-based solutions that use Azure Event Grid as well as Azure Event Hubs, and implement message-based solutions that use Azure Service Bus and Azure Queue Storage queues. They should also be able to implement API management, which includes the capability to create an APIM instance, set up authentication, and more.

Career Prospects and Opportunities for Certified Professionals

Microsoft Azure is a rather new technology that was developed in 2010, and the demand for certified professionals is very high. The Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification uncovers many new opportunities for professionals. Employers and headhunters are constantly in search of accredited professionals because of their expert knowledge and solid technical skills.

Any Microsoft certification is a great addition to the resume and helps professionals boost their careers. Such professionals are employed in various job roles depending on the company and experience level. Some of the common options include Cloud Administrator, Azure Cloud Architect, Cloud Developer, Cloud Solutions Engineer, Applications Developer, and Systems Administrator.

Moreover, certified individuals are among some of the highest-paid IT professionals. Research conducted by ZipRecruiter suggests that the average annual salary of a Microsoft certified Azure Developer is $138k. However, this amount can vary significantly based on the region of employment.

Further Certification Path

The greatest benefit of obtaining the Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification is the numerous opportunities for future development. Microsoft offers professionals many pathways to progress. After completion of the observed accreditation track, you can work towards obtaining the Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert, for which the Azure Developer Associate certification is a prerequisite. Candidates should pass AZ-400: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions exam to acquire it.

On the other hand, candidates can obtain the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert certificate by sitting for two exams, AZ-303 and AZ-304. This is also an expert-level accreditation but it does not have any specific prerequisites. However, the knowledge and skills gained by obtaining the Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certification will provide a great foundation. Earn any of these, and climb the corporate ladder faster in the IT industry.