Which of These 6 Azure Certifications are Right for You?

Microsoft Azure is one of the most in-demand cloud services around, which makes Azure certifications critical for obtaining positions with role-based requirements.

There are several credentials to choose from, and the one that’s right for you depends on your career goals and interests. There are six main Microsoft Azure certifications:

  • Microsoft Azure Administrator (AZ-104)
  • Microsoft Azure Developer (AZ-204)
  • Microsoft Azure Security (AZ-500)
  • Microsoft Azure Architect (AZ-305)
  • Microsoft Azure Data Engineer (DP-203)
  • Microsoft Azure DevOps (AZ-400)

No matter which certifications you have, you’ll benefit by acquiring more. Additional certifications can increase your salary and gain you recognition as an expert.

So the question is, which should you pursue? This article will help you make the right choice.

What is the Microsoft Azure Administrator certification?

The Microsoft Azure Administrator certification proves you have the ability to implement, monitor, and maintain Azure solutions. As an Azure Administrator, you’ll implement services that involve networks, security, and data storage.

As a certified Azure Administrator, your responsibilities will include:

  • Managing Azure identities and governance
  • Managing Azure subscriptions
  • Connecting on-premises and Azure sites
  • Implementing and managing data storage in Azure environments
  • Deploying and managing resources
  • Configuring and managing virtual networks
  • Creating and scaling virtual machines
  • Implementing web-based applications and containers
  • Monitoring and backing up Azure resources

Who should become a certified Azure Administrator?

If you already have experience working with Azure and you want to become an administrator, you’re in a good position to pursue this certification. However, the following skills are essential:

  • In-depth knowledge and experience with cloud computing, specifically with Azure environments
  • A basic knowledge of databases, servers, networking, and cloud-based software
  • Experience working with Microsoft applications like Office 365 and PowerShell
  • Experience using Azure CLI, Azure Portal, and Azure Resource Manager templates
  • Experience working with Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services (AWS) preferred
  • Knowledge of at least one programming language like Ruby, Python, C+, or PHP
  • Knowledge of ASP.NET
  • Experience working with open-source frameworks

Azure Administrator certification qualifications

According to Microsoft, an Azure Administrator candidate has to have at least six months’ experience “implementing, managing, and monitoring an organization’s Microsoft Azure environment.” You’ll also need a strong understanding of Azure’s core services, workloads, security, and governance.

You will be part of a larger team that implements Azure solutions, so you should be able to work well with others in a team environment. Good communication skills and the ability to manage your time well are also crucial.

Azure Administrator certification ongoing requirements

The Azure Administrator certification is good for one year, after which you will be expected to take an assessment test to renew.

Three Benefits of becoming a Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator

1. Increase your salary

This certification has a huge potential to boost your salary. According to data from Talent.com, the average certified Azure Administrator in the United States earns about $120,000 annually, with entry-level positions starting at $103,175.

2. Command respect

As with most professional certifications, you’ll command greater respect from others when you’re a certified Azure Administrator. You’ll be taken seriously as a professional who’s knowledgeable in Azure environments, and people will look to you for answers.

3. Learn more about managing Azure

If you love working with Azure, becoming a certified Administrator will furnish you with even more knowledge and experience working with and managing applications in Azure environments. If you enjoy working in Azure, you should enjoy being a certified Administrator.

Become an Azure Administrator with Readynez

Are you ready to become a certified Azure Administrator? It’s essential to prepare thoroughly before you sit for the exam. To prepare, take our instructor-led Azure Administrator prep course.

Courses start periodically throughout the year so you may choose a date that works best for your schedule. Take our prep course live or online at your convenience.

What is the Microsoft Azure Developer certification?

The Microsoft Azure Developer certification ratifies your ability to create cloud-based applications in Azure environments. Since a large number of businesses use Azure to run global business applications, including 95% of Fortune 500 companies, this certification is in high demand.

Who should become a certified Azure Developer?

If you love building applications in cloud environments, and you have an interest in developing applications in Azure, plus experience in testing, security, and deployment, the Azure Developer certification is a great option.

On your way to becoming a certified Azure Developer, you’ll gain the following skillsets:

  • The ability to optimize resources. Since Azure is priced based on resource usage, being able to optimize resources is critical. Any organization you work for will expect you to be able to cut costs.
  • The ability to scale applications and data. You’ll have to be able to scale apps and data to optimize storage, processing power, and on-demand usage needs.
  • The ability to devise solutions. As an Azure Developer, you’ll learn how to predict potential problems and engineer solutions.
  • The ability to identify which services an organization needs. Azure has more than 90 different services, and you’ll learn enough about each to be able to recommend the ones that will support your organization best.

Azure Developer certification qualifications

To sit for the Azure Developer exam, you should have the following fundamental skills:

  • A working knowledge of various Microsoft applications, including Office 365, PowerShell, and several more
  • Some programming experience, preferably with JavaScript, SQL, and HTML since you’ll use these to develop applications
  • Experience and knowledge of cloud computing: If you’re not yet familiar with Azure, knowing Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a great substitute and will make learning Azure easier.

Azure Developer certification ongoing requirements

The Azure Developer certification is good for one year, after which you will have to take an assessment test to renew.

Three Benefits of becoming a Microsoft Certified Azure Developer

1. A higher salary

Azure Developers make good money. Data sourced by Talent.com puts the average salary at $121,918 per year.

2. Expert status

A certificate is required to substantiate you’re an Azure Developer. With the certification, you can accurately declare yourself an expert and others will recognize your expertise.

3. Expanded career options

With an Azure Developer certification, you’ll have more career options. Many businesses seek candidates with this specific certification to work in-house.

Become an Azure Developer with Readynez

Are you ready to become a certified Azure Developer? You ought to prepare thoroughly before you sit for the exam.

To prepare, take our instructor-led Azure Developer prep course. Courses start periodically throughout the year, so you can select the date that works best for your schedule. You may take our prep course live or online for your convenience.

What is the Microsoft Azure Security certification?

The Microsoft Azure Security Engineer certification attests that you can “implement Azure security controls in order to protect identity, access, data, applications, and networks in cloud and hybrid environments as part of an end-to-end infrastructure.”

Who should become a certified Azure Security Engineer?

If you love cloud security and enjoy working in Azure (or you’ve wanted to learn Azure), this certification is perfect.

Security engineers are required to keep cloud applications and infrastructure secure. That means you’ll have more job security once you have this certificate.

Azure Security certification qualifications

To qualify for the exam, you’ll need experience in the following areas:

  • Implementing Azure security controls
  • Administrating Azure and hybrid environments
  • Familiarity with infrastructure as code
  • Security operations processes
  • Cloud computing
  • Azure services basics

Azure Security certification ongoing requirements

The Azure Security certification is good for one year, after which you will have to take an assessment test to renew.

Three Benefits of becoming a Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer

1. A higher annual salary

The Azure Security Engineer certification will help you get a higher annual salary. According to Talent.com data, the average Security Engineer earns $136,833 per year, but more experienced certified Security Engineers earn up to $187,500.

2. Gain more troubleshooting skills

When you become a certified Azure Security Engineer, you’ll gain extensive troubleshooting skills and be able to discover, fix, and mitigate vulnerabilities effectively.

3. You’ll get to work with data

To implement security properly within an Azure environment, you’ll be required to work with plenty of data. This is great if you love details and using data to ensure an Azure environment remains secure.

Become an Azure Security Engineer with Readynez

Are you ready to become a certified Azure Security Engineer? You should prepare thoroughly before you sit for the exam.

To prepare for it, take our instructor-led Azure Security Engineer prep course. They start periodically throughout the year, so you can choose a date at your convenience. Take our prep course live or online, if you prefer.

What is the Microsoft Azure Architect certification?

The Microsoft Azure Architect certification confirms you can translate business requirements into designs that are secure, scalable, and reliable within an Azure environment.

Who should become a certified Azure Architect?

If you’re an experienced IT professional, you love working with Azure, and you like the idea of advising stakeholders, this is a great certification selection.

Azure Architect certification qualifications

According to Microsoft, to pass this exam you’ll have to possess existing, advanced IT experience in the following areas:

  • Networking
  • Virtualization
  • Identity and security
  • Business continuity
  • Disaster recovery
  • Data platforms
  • Governance

You should also have experience in Azure administration and development, along with use of DevOps processes.

Azure Architect certification ongoing requirements

The Azure Architect certification is good for one year. Beyond that, you will need to take an assessment test for renewal.

Three Benefits of becoming a Microsoft Certified Azure Architect

1. A larger yearly salary

If salary is most important to you, you’ll want to become a certified Azure Architect. The average salary is $155,000 annually, according to Talent.com. The entry-level salary starts at $135,000 per year.

2. You’ll be an asset to your organization

Although this certification is vendor-specific to Azure, many businesses use Azure cloud services, so you’ll be an asset to any organization.

3. Access to Microsoft seminars and conferences

Once you get an Azure certification, you’ll be part of a larger endeavor, with access to Microsoft seminars and conferences. When you attend such conferences, you’ll have an opportunity to represent your organization.

Become an Azure Architect with Readynez

Are you ready to become a certified Azure Security Architect? You’ll want to prepare thoroughly before you sit for the exam.

For solid preparation, take our instructor-led Azure Security Architect prep course. Courses start at various times throughout the year, so you should be able to find the date that works well for your schedule. You can take our prep course live or online at your convenience.

What is the Microsoft Azure Data Engineer certification?

The Microsoft Azure Data Engineer certification authenticates your ability to deploy the full stack of Azure’s data services for design and implementation of data management, monitoring, security, and privacy.

Who should become a certified Azure Data Engineer?

This certification is ideal if you love to work with data and you’re excited by the idea of implementing data storage solutions, managing data processing, and optimizing data solutions.

Azure Data Engineer certification qualifications

According to Microsoft, to qualify, you should possess experience “integrating, transforming, and consolidating data from various structured and unstructured data systems into structures that are suitable for building analytics solutions.”

You should also be well versed in data processing languages like SQL, Python, and Scala, along with parallel processing and data architecture patterns.

Azure Data Engineer certification ongoing requirements

The Azure Data Engineer certification is good for one year, after which you’re required to take an assessment test to renew.

Three Benefits of becoming a Microsoft Certified Azure Data Engineer

1. A good salary

With regard to Azure certifications, you’ll earn a good living as an Azure Data Engineer. The average salary is around $130,000, with entry-level positions starting at $115,000 per year.

2. Plenty of job opportunities

A large number of businesses use Azure services, which means you shouldn’t have any problem finding job openings. Many organizations want candidates with the Azure Data Engineer certification, while others are open to any certifications. Since Azure is a globally recognized vendor, there will be a solid array of options to choose from.

3. You’ll gain more skills

As with every Azure credential, you’ll gain more skills within your profession by getting certified. Azure Data Engineers learn many skills specific to Azure, but the basics can also be applied to other cloud environments.

Become an Azure Data Engineer with Readynez

Are you ready to become a certified Azure Data Engineer? It’s vital to prepare thoroughly before you take the exam.

To prepare for it, register for our instructor-led Azure Data Engineer prep course. Courses are scheduled throughout the year, so you may choose a date that works best for your calendar. You can take our prep course live or online for your convenience.

What is the Microsoft Azure DevOps certification?

The Microsoft Azure DevOps certification proves that you can “implement strategies for collaboration, code, infrastructure, source control, security, compliance, continuous integration, testing, delivery, monitoring, and feedback” in an Azure environment.

Who should become a certified Azure DevOps Engineer?

Do you love implementing Agile practices in Azure environments? Then this certification is probably what you’re looking for.

Azure DevOps certification qualifications

To become a Microsoft-certified DevOps Engineer, you must have experience in the following Agile practices inside of Azure:

  • Version control solutions
  • Compliance
  • Infrastructure as code
  • Configuration management
  • Build, release, and testing

Azure DevOps certification ongoing requirements

The Azure DevOps certification is good for one year. Then you will have to take an assessment test for renewal.

Three Benefits of becoming a Microsoft Certified DevOps Engineer

1. A great salary

When you become a Microsoft DevOps Engineer, you can expect to earn around $130,000 with experience and $117,500 at entry-level. Though the difference is significant, even the entry-level position draws a great salary. With further experience, you could earn up to $159,875.

2. You’ll master Agile practices in Azure

If you enjoy designing and implementing solutions for version control, infrastructure as code, build, release, and more, you’ll have the opportunity to master these practices in Azure.

3. You’ll make a difference

DevOps is critical for businesses, but organizations can’t do it without you. If you’re a DevOps expert, you’ll bring communications and processes together that were once sectioned off in silos, and thereby improve the efficiency of every project you tackle.

Become an Azure DevOps Professional with Readynez

Are you ready to become a certified Azure DevOps Engineer? To be certain, prepare before you sit for the exam.

Take our instructor-led Azure DevOps Engineer prep course. These start at various times throughout the year, so you may choose the one that works best for your schedule. Take our prep course live or online.

Get your next Microsoft Azure certification with Readynez

It’s predicted that by 2025, 80% of businesses will have shifted to the cloud. Since Azure is one of the most popular cloud platforms used by companies, Microsoft Azure certifications will help you advance your career swiftly.

If you’re ready to take your Microsoft Azure career to the next level, sign up for your prep course today. The following courses can be completed either in person or online and are scheduled throughout the year:

Don’t wait to sign up for your prep course. The sooner you prepare for the exam, the sooner you’ll move upward in your career.

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