Your Pathway to Conquer the AZ-204 Exam and Become a Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate

Microsoft Azure is one of the key players in the cloud space today, and thus an important technology to master for cloud developers looking to take their skills and career to the next level.

The market share of Microsoft Azure has been rapidly increasing due to an increased demand for Cloud services and the oncoming of a digital age. Also, Microsoft offers different, spot-on certification paths in many technical roles such as - Developers, Administrators, Data Engineers, Security Engineers, AI Engineers, Solution Architects, Data Scientists, DevOps Engineers, Function Consultants and many more.

A cloud developer’s job includes a cycle of multiple crucial responsibilities, such as - back-end, front-end, web application, full-stack, data and application integration, and cloud application deployment. For these, Cloud devs need to partner with cloud architects, cloud administrators and eventually clients, to implement effective cloud solutions. Given the nature of their work, in turn, cloud developers strive to develop ‘cloud development’ skills in technologies such as Microsoft Azure to truly become full-stack.

So, if you too are a full-stack developer looking to gain experience in Microsoft Azure, then the AZ-204 certification might be your ideal first step. An added benefit to this certification is that by clearing the AZ-204 Exam, you can get a step closer to becoming a certified Azure DevOps Expert. After passing this exam you’d only need to pass the AZ-400 exam to get the expert-level certification of Microsoft Azure DevOps Expert.

The value of certifications is at an all-time high. The IT industry continues to reward the skills and capabilities acquired through certifications with generously higher salaries, as the hired candidates with relevant certifications tend to add more value to the organization.

So, we at Readynez have created this starter’s guide to help you clear your Microsoft Certified- Azure Developer Associate AZ-204 Exam. You may want to read this article carefully before you begin your odyssey toward becoming an actual Microsoft Azure Developer Associate.

Why should you choose Microsoft Azure’s Developer Associate certification?

A certification is documented proof that you know what you are doing in your field of expertise. Hence, being certified indeed gives you an edge in your career. However, for many of you, being certified may not seem like a requirement, especially to those who are satisfied with your current job and position.

Azure cloud computing service by Microsoft offers a range of service options such as software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) for deploying applications and services on Microsoft’s own platform. Moreover, what makes any Microsoft Certification so valuable is its alignment with industry-defined roles and their update with industry changes. An Azure Developer certification comes with many benefits such as

• Azure provides flexible purchasing and pricing options for all your cloud solutions.
• Azure is the only consistently hybrid cloud platform
• Azure has more regions than any cloud provider

As an added advantage, you will soon be able to migrate and run mission-critical enterprise workloads across Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud because of a new cloud interoperability partnership between the two companies.

Who is this Certification for?

The AZ-204 is for any IT professional who aspires:

• To become a better cloud developer
• To become a cloud developer in Azure
• To fill in knowledge gaps as an existing cloud developer

Learning to become a better developer is not easy because there are so many certifications out there and it often gets confusing to choose the one aligning with your career goals. Azure maps out the exact steps needed and their intended results. Going through the Azure certification path can be an excellent way to update yourself with the current Azure technology stack and to put your development abilities to use.

What are the prerequisites to becoming an AZ 204 Azure Developer Associate?

For the Azure Developer Associate certification, you should have subject matter expertise in developing and maintaining cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure. To be specific, you should have the following under your belt:

1. 1-2 years of professional cloud development experience, including experience with Microsoft Azure
2. The ability to program in at least one language is supported by Azure
3. Proficiency in Azure SDKs, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, data storage options, data connections, APIs, app authentication and authorization, compute and container deployment, debugging, performance tuning, and monitoring

If you do not have any hands-on experience in the Azure environment, then we recommend you to start doing labs in Azure using its 30-day free trial. Once the free trial is complete, you can buy their subscription as per usage so that you only get charged for what you use. This gives you a solid understanding of the platform before taking the certification exam.

What does the AZ-204 Exam look like?

It is a 120-minute long exam with 60 questions to be answered. The questions asked have varying formats:

• MCQ-based
• Drag and drop
• Recording based
• Case studies
• True/ False or Yes/No
• Command line questions

The passing score for the exam is 700 points out of 1000.

Is the AZ-204 Exam fee worth it?

According to Microsoft's Annual report, they have around 75 million customers using their products, giving you an idea of the global popularity of Microsoft products and services. Microsoft Azure Developer Associate Certification AZ-204 is beneficial for professionals who have knowledge of programming languages like C++ and dot NET but no experience in Microsoft Azure. If you are already an Azure developer, then becoming a Certified Microsoft Azure Developer will demonstrate your skills to your prospective employers and help stand apart from your peers.

AZ 204 Azure Developer Associate exam is a moderately tough and a more technical exam with respect to the fundamental exams of Microsoft. This is so because it is designed for cloud developers and engineers who are expected to be experienced in cloud development using Microsoft Azure. Therefore, this certification lies in a good place to validate your knowledge of the fundamentals of developing apps and services for Azure. While booking the exam, costs $165 USD, the technical knowledge gained makes it all well worth your money and time. You are allowed to take 5 attempts at the exam per year. But the exam fee will be charged each time.

This certification expires after 1 year and within six months, you can pursue the renewal for Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate by passing the renewal assessment exam. It shows that you have been aware of the latest Azure updates. If you miss the 6-month renewal window, you will have to get the certification again with a clean slate.

How to prepare for the Microsoft AZ 204 Exam?

Preparation is vital for any certification exam because typically a lot of investment of time, money and effort is involved. Preparation means planning, noting details of the exam, and squeezing-out extra time out of your work hours to study and learn.

The Azure Fundamentals certification AZ-900 exam does not demand any programming skills out of you; mere familiarization of the cloud computing basics and some work experience in the Microsoft Azure platform is enough. However, the AZ 204 Azure Developer Associate exam requires focussed time invested in learning the Azure Development concepts and knowing how to do them as well. The skills measured in AZ 204 Azure Developer Exam are:

The weightage above indicate the areas of importance. Some of these sections alone can account for about 50% of the entire exam curriculum. The exam questions are highly focused on how you would solve any cloud-related issues as a cloud software engineer. Taking the exam without sufficient preparation will come with its own risk of failure. Therefore, before you start the prep, you need to be aware of the learning methods at your disposal:

1. Free Microsoft resource material is available online for a self-study approach.
2. Self-paced, paid online courses with recorded videos, practice tests and guidance, available alongside the comfort of your home.
3. Paid Instructor-led Training programmes just like the one Readynez has to offer.

Above all, your best companion for this exam will be your practical experience and mock tests!

The important points to remember before taking the AZ-204 Azure Developer Associate Exam are as follows:

• Decide the mode of examination - Proctored online or at the testing center, whichever suits you.
• Check your personal schedule and book the exam accordingly through the’ Microsoft Learn Certification’ Website
• After booking your exam, devote time to study out of your full-time work and during the weekends.
• Exam Dumps posted online at various websites do not guarantee to pass the exam. So do not waste money on them.
• Study and learn from the free resources available online and provided by Microsoft itself. They are reliable and well-updated.
• Find inspiration from others who have taken the exam and network with them.
• Read the Microsoft Office Docs Website for all the information about the services included in the exam.
• Go through the Microsoft Learn modules as they cover an entire range of exercises and practical content.
• Practice the sample exam questions many times before the exam to get familiarize yourself with the kind of questions that may be asked.

Cloud computing Engineers and Developers are among the 10 highest paid IT sector jobs in 2022. Organizations of all sizes are now ready to pay a hefty sum to these certified cloud developers, capable of bridging the existing technical skill gap within their teams. No wonder it is the most opportune time to become a Certified Cloud developer and Microsoft Azure is surely one of the most promising cloud platforms. More and more companies are expressing incremental demand for Azure certified professionals. Moreover, once you get Azure certified, you need not stop learning and up-skilling. Since associate exams are usually valid for 1 - 2 years only, you have to renew your certifications to keep yourself updated with changes in lieu of the ever-evolving nature of technology.

If you have the time to invest, a great way to motivate and challenge yourself is to skill up in other technologies as well. Readynez has many other training courses to help you reach your career goals. You can join one of our online training courses to start your preparation for the AZ-204 exam. If you are unsure of which course could possibly benefit you the most, Readynez’s experienced consultants are here to customize learner paths for you exclusively as per your comfort. We offer virtual classrooms online, where you can directly interact with our experienced instructors and your fellow classmates in real-time. It gives you an opportunity to freely discuss, ask questions, watch your instructor present on a whiteboard and above all, work with labs.

Readynez aims to help you sail across the fairly turbulent sea of the Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate Exam with ease. Please reach out for any queries related to this article and if you need any help to prepare yourself better to clear your AZ-204 exam.