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12 Preparing for Microsoft Certifications

This chapter is designed to provide an overview of Microsoft Certifications. Furthermore, this chapter contains detailed explanations about certificates and certifications. Finally, this chapter includes suggestions on preparing for certification exams, including considerations for the exam day.

Throughout the chapter, you will find valuable resources that will help you become informed about the Microsoft Certifications and what it takes to pass a certification exam successfully and launch a successful career with it. Only by doing so will you achieve the adequate skills to pass a Microsoft Certifications exam without any hurdles and become a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).

This chapter will cover the following topics:

What is Microsoft Certification?
What is Microsoft role-based certification?
Who should take a Microsoft Certification exam?
Which skills are measured by Microsoft Certification exams?
What should you expect in a Microsoft Certification exam?
How should you prepare for a Microsoft Certification exam?
How do you register for a Microsoft Certification exam?
On the day of the Microsoft Certification exam
New Microsoft Certification validity period and renewal format

What is Microsoft Certification?

From identification to validation and training to certification, a Microsoft certificate is a document that shows and proves that the person with the certificate has the skills, knowledge, experience, and talent for the technology for which the certificate is issued.

Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO at CompTIA, said, “The certificate represents a reliable current and advanced knowledge mechanism.” But that does not mean that every Microsoft certificate expressed in the general term necessarily means that you have completed Microsoft Certification. For example, suppose you have attended a Microsoft technologies training course at one of the Microsoft Learning Partners. It may have happened that the training was not mapped to a specific Microsoft Certification exam. In that case, you ended up receiving an attendance certificate. As such, that is not considered Microsoft Certification! From there, the question then arises: what is Microsoft Certification? I think, by now, you have already learned the answer.

Microsoft Certification is a process in which the participant attends the training, which teaches the candidate the technology skills and prepares the candidate for the certification exam. Then, successfully passing the certification exam and obtaining the credential or, more precisely, the title offered by the certification exam completes the cycle of the so-called Microsoft Certification. In conclusion, a candidate who attends training and passes the Microsoft Certification exam is awarded a Microsoft certificate and considered a Microsoft Certified Professional.

Important note

You can find more information about Microsoft Certifications at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/.

Since, in recent years, Microsoft has introduced role-based certifications, it would make sense to introduce you to this new type of certification.

What is Microsoft role-based certification?

In early 2019, Microsoft launched new certifications designed to offer career-focused qualifications that neatly align with existing job roles. These new certifications from Microsoft were called role-based certifications to show that certified candidates are keeping pace with today’s technical roles and requirements. By becoming a certified candidate, you prove your expertise to employers and peers and get the recognition and opportunities you have earned.

Maybe in the back of your head, you still question why Microsoft needed to switch from product-oriented to role-based certifications. As you might know, nowadays, within any company or organization, be it tech-based or otherwise, IT roles are no longer as general as a system administrator or system engineer. Instead, these titles have subheadings such as Azure administrator or Azure security engineer, and some even further subcategorize into the high niche and specific roles. Therefore, Microsoft targeted these particular career roles with the new certification rollout to provide more focused and job-specific training instead of a general overview of a career sector.

Important note

You can find more information about Microsoft role-based certifications at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/posts/new-role-based-certification-and-training-is-here.

If you are unsure whether to take the Microsoft Certifications exam, the following section should help you clear the fog and get a clearer view of Microsoft Certifications.

Who should take a Microsoft Certification exam?

By the time you read this chapter, you either are or are not certified in Microsoft technologies. But, if you don’t hold a Microsoft Certification, don’t feel embarrassed because this chapter is for you as much as it is for those with a Microsoft Certification. While certified candidates will be informed about the new format in Microsoft Certification in this chapter, you will have the opportunity to understand Microsoft Certifications and how to obtain one.

From having evidence that you have the right technical skills and knowledge to the desire for better opportunities, many other factors will make you want to obtain an IT certificate. However, it is essential to remember that organizations and businesses are interested in hiring certified candidates. While hiring certified candidates in developed economies has become standard, companies and organizations in transition and developing economies have gradually begun to practice the search and recruitment of certified candidates. Thus, while an application from a certified candidate means a less time-consuming and low-cost hiring process for businesses, having an IT certificate implies that training and certifications are vital to fuel a successful career. Therefore, Microsoft Certification makes technology professionals more likely to do the following:

Have increased employment opportunities.
Prove that you are an expert in the field.
Be capable of applying theoretical knowledge to practical work.
Quickly adapt to the work environment.
See an increase in opportunities for a prosperous professional career.

Microsoft Certification provides a professional edge by providing globally recognized industry-endorsed evidence of skills mastery, demonstrating the ability and willingness to embrace new technologies. Hence, getting certified all begins with the desire to learn. The higher the desire to learn, the greater the chances of success in obtaining the technology skills. Note that learning underlines that the candidate must be prepared theoretically and practically in the preferred technology. Microsoft understands that everyone has different learning preferences, and provides training and certification options throughout the certification journey. The following sites offer resources to candidates interested in learning about technology and getting certified:

Free of cost learning paths to prepare: Microsoft Learn (https://learn.microsoft.com/), where anyone can master core concepts at their desired speed and schedule. In addition, candidates can access training materials, code samples, and test-drive products at no cost.
Prepare with instructor-led training: Microsoft Learning Partners (https://partner.microsoft.com/en-US/membership/learning-partners), which offers a breadth of solutions to suit learning needs, empowering to achieve training goals.
Practice before the exam: MeasureUp (https://www.measureup.com/), which offers official practice tests designed to help candidates prepare for and pass certification exams.

Once you pass a certification exam and receive an email from Microsoft claiming that you are now a certified candidate, you will receive an email to claim your certification badge shortly after. All badges earned from Microsoft based on your past certification history are available through the Credly portal (https://info.credly.com/). So, log in with your account and claim them!

Important note

This link lets you know how Microsoft Certification exams are organized in the relevant tracks: https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE2PjDI.

Now, let’s look at the skills measured by the Microsoft Certification exam to help you get prepared for a certification exam.

Which skills are measured by Microsoft Certification exams?

The skills measured represent a general guideline for a particular certification exam issued by the exam client (in this case, Microsoft) of what is likely to be included in the exam. At the same time, Microsoft periodically updates the skills measured to reflect the exam’s content better. So, for example, you will find that the AZ-800 exam measures the skills listed in the following subsections. The AZ-800 exam is an example because, at the time of writing this book, the MTA 98-365, the coded name for Microsoft’s Windows Server Administration Fundamentals certification, is scheduled to retire on June 30, 2022, meaning that effective from July 1, 2022, the MTA exams delivered through Certiport and Pearson VUE will terminate.

The AZ-800 exam is designed to administer core Windows Server workloads using on-premises, hybrid, and cloud technologies. Therefore, candidates who intend to take the AZ-800 exam should have expertise in implementing and managing on-premises and hybrid solutions, such as identity, management, computing, networking, and storage. In addition, they must be able to use administrative tools and technologies, such as Windows Admin Center, PowerShell, Azure Arc, and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) virtual machine administration.

Important note

You can find more information about the skills measured for the AZ-800 exam at https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RWKI0r.

Next, let’s look at the AZ-800 exam skills that are measured, which will help you become familiar with the topics of the questions you can expect to have on the certification exam.

Deploy and manage Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in on-premises and cloud environments (30–35%)

To accomplish this exam objective, you must know how to deploy and manage domain controllers and configure and manage the multi-site, domain, and forest environments. You should also be able to take care of the AD DS security principal, implement and manage hybrid identities, and finally, address the Windows Server using group policies.