Share this post: In October, the ITProTV crew attended Microsoft Ignite, where Microsoft presented future initiatives, cool features, and, most importantly, new Azure certification paths. If you are a Microsoft certified professional and feel like you are starting to sweat after reading the last sentence of this post, don’t worry. Here’s what’s new.
Why are Microsoft certifications changing?In short, Microsoft wants to bridge the IT skills gap by better aligning certification training with real on-the-job skills requirements. The new certification paths are role-based. This means that the certification you receive will reflect the job role for which you were hired. This certification path change is only for Microsoft Azure specializations. Your previous certifications are still valid until their expiration dates.
What is changing? Let’s say you have passed the 70-533 exam — Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions. This doesn’t tell much about your role in IT. It outlines the subject matter you will be learning about, which is Azure Infrastructure. The new certification program prepares you for the exact job in Azure infrastructure that you would like to be Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate, Administrator Associate, and so forth.
The Six New Job Role Based Certifications The 100-level administrator is the developer level, 200-level developer is the architect level, and 400-level DevOps is the DevOps level.
These are the six roles that Microsoft Certified Azure requires:
Associate Administrator
Developer Associate
Solutions Architect Expert
DevOps Engineer Expert (coming soon)
Microsoft 365 Modern Desktop Administrator (coming soon).
Enterprise Administrator (coming soon)
The new certification exams are:
AZ – 100 : Microsoft Azure Infrastructure and Deployment
AZ 101: Microsoft Azure Integration and Security
AZ – 102: Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Transition
AZ – 200 : Microsoft Azure Developer Core Solutions
AZ -201: Microsoft Azure Developer Advanced Solutions
AZ – 202: Microsoft Azure Developer Certification Transition
AZ – 300: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies
AZ – 301: Microsoft Azure Architect Design
AZ – 302 – Transition to Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Certification
AZ – 400: Microsoft Azure DevOps Solutions
Transition Exams These exams are intended for professionals who have passed the 70-532 or 533 exams and want to transition to the new role-based Azure certifications. The transitional exams cover only what’s new, and are not covered by the 70XXX exams. It is important to keep in mind the dates. Exams 532-533 and 535 expire December 31, 2018, respectively. The transitional exams will still be available until June 30, 2019. If you want to transfer your certification without having to start over, you will need to take a transitional test before June 30th. Here’s the breakdown:
After passing 70-532, you will be able to earn your Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate certificate by passing AZ-2: Microsoft Azure Developer Certification Transition.
After passing 70-533, you will be able to earn your Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate certification by passing AZ-102: Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Transition.
After passing 70-535, you will be able to earn your Microsoft Certified: Azure Solution Architect Expert certification by passing AZ-302 – Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Certification Transition.
What if I don’t have a Microsoft Azure certification? Simply choose the role-based path that you want to follow and then start studying for your certification exam. Although the content may be new, the process of signing up for and taking a Microsoft certification exam is the same.
The three last Azure certifications, DevOps Engineer and Microsoft 365 Modern Desktop Administrator, will be released before the end 2018. Microsoft forums confirm that there will be more role-based certifications in 2019, aside from Azure. You can proudly display your skills if you are awarded one of these new certifications.
ITProTV’s social media channels will have more information about Microsoft certifications. You can also refer to Microsoft’s blogs for additional information. Techn is a podcast that explains what Mike and Cherokee learned at Ignite.