Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate is a mid-to-advanced level Cloud certification that validates your skills in the implementation, monitoring, and maintenance of Azure-based solutions.

Azure is Microsoft’s Cloud service.

Azure Administrator Associate is designed for candidates who have a basic-level understanding of Azure Cloud concepts, and want to develop their career with Cloud technology or expand it into Azure DevOps.

This certification is also a pre-requisite for the Microsoft Azure DevOps Solutions certification.

Microsoft offers three types of certifications: Fundamental, Role-Based, and Specialty. Azure Administrator Associate belongs to the second category.

Based on Azure’s share of the public Cloud market, the demand for IT pros with Azure skills is expected to grow.

Azure has the second biggest market share in the public Cloud market, trailing only Amazon. With a 64% quarterly growth rate, Azure is growing faster than Amazon Web Services.

Azure Administrator Associate certification opens the door to three lucrative career paths: Cloud Administrator, Cloud Architect, and DevOps.

Each of these career paths is among the hottest IT jobs, according to Robert Half’s IT salary report.

According to Global Knowledge’s Top-Paying IT Certifications report, the Azure Administrator Associate certification is the 12th most lucrative IT certification, with an average salary of over $125,993.

Microsoft’s Azure Administrator Associate exam tests you on five domains:

• Understanding the management of Azure identities and governance
• Implementing and managing storage
• Deploying and managing Azure compute resources
• Configuring and managing virtual networking and,
• Monitoring and backing up Azure resources

You have to score at least 700 out of a total score of 1000 to pass.

You can expect between 40-60 questions in the exam, and the certification costs around $165 US dollars.

Most of the questions in this exam are Multiple Choice Questions.

You should expect several questions with diagrams and architecture in which you will be asked to solve a specific problem based on the given scenario.

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Skills Measured by the Azure Administrator Associate Certification

This certification will develop the skills that you will need to have a full understanding of Azure.

The tools and services that you will learn in this certification include PowerShell, the Command Line Interface, Azure Portal, ARM Templates, Operating Systems, Virtualization, Cloud Infrastructure, Storage Structures, and Networking.

At a granular level, you will learn the following skills in the Azure Administrator Associate certification.

Manage Azure Identities and Governance

• Manage Azure AD objects
• Manage user and group properties
• Manage devices and accounts
• Configure Azure AD Join, self-service password reset
• Manage role-based access control (RBAC)
• Interpret access assignments and,
• Manage multiple directories, subscriptions and governance

Implement and manage storage

• Manage storage accounts
• Configure network access to storage accounts
• Implement Azure storage replication, Azure AD Authentication
• Data Management in Azure
• Configure Azure files and Azure blob storage
• Azure file sharing and,
• Configure storage tiers for Azure blobs

Deploy and manage Azure compute resources

• Configure VMs for high availability and scalability
• Automate configuration of VMs
• Create and configure VMs
• Configure Azure Disk Encryption
• Containers (Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Container Instances) and,
• Web Apps

Configure and Manage Virtual Networking

• Implement and manage virtual networking
• Configure name resolution, including DNS
• Configure Azure Firewall
• Azure Bastion Service
• Implement Application Security Groups, DDoS
• Load balancing
• Monitor and troubleshoot virtual networking and,
• Integrate an on-premises network with an Azure virtual network

Monitor and BackUp Azure resources

• Monitor resources by using Azure Monitor
• Configure Log Analytics
• Configure Application Insights
• Configure and review backup reports and,
• Site-to-site recovery by using Azure Site Recovery

For a more complete curriculum, download the latest Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate objectives .

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Pre-requisites for the Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate Certification

There are no pre-requisites for the certification, but it is recommended that you have at least 6-months hands-on experience in IT and have the Azure Fundamentals certification.

The Azure Fundamentals certification will give you a basic understanding of all the core concepts of Cloud computing with a special focus on Azure.

Having a basic understanding of tools and services like PowerShell, the Command Line Interface, Azure Portal, and ARM templates will help you with this certification.

How to Prepare for the Azure Administrator Associate Certification Exam

There are several options to prepare for the Azure Administrator Associate exam, such as:

Self-Study Resources

Even though this is a relatively complex mid-to-advanced level certification, using self-study resources could help in preparing for the exam.

Self-study resources include many options. Let’s look at all of them and see their pros and cons.

Books

Books generally provide in-depth explanation of technical concepts.

If you want to prepare thoroughly for the exam, we’d recommend Exam Ref AZ-103 Microsoft Azure Administrator by Michael Washam. The book covers all the core concepts included in the exam.

Books, however, tend to be time consuming and some people find it hard to understand concepts from books.

If you need a quick, interesting, and easy to understand self-study resource to prepare for the Azure Administrator Associate exam, Microsoft has got one for you.

The Azure Administrator Associate Learning Path by Microsoft

One of the best resources to prepare for the exam is to use the learning path designed by Microsoft.

Microsoft offers 11 learning paths to prepare for this certification. Each learning path has several modules covering the subject matter.

These are the 11 learning paths:

• Administer infrastructure resources in Azure (12 Modules)
• Architect storage infrastructure in Azure (9 Modules)
• Architect network infrastructure in Azure (12 Modules)
• Architect infrastructure operations in Azure (5 Modules)
• Architect compute infrastructure in Azure (9 Modules)
• Architect migration, business continuity, and disaster recovery in Azure (9 Modules)
• Manage resources in Azure (6 Modules)
• Manage identity and access in Azure Active Directory (9 Modules)
• Manage security operations in Azure (8 Modules)
• Implement resource management security in Azure (6 Modules) and,
• Administer containers in Azure (7 Modules)

These self-paced learning paths have concise and easy-to-understand information to help you prepare for the certification exam.

Video Training

Videos help in the retention and understanding of new information. There are numerous video training courses available on YouTube to prepare you for the Azure Administrator Associate exam.

A free strategy for using YouTube to prepare to the exam would be to print out or download the AZ-103 Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate objectives and start searching for videos that thoroughly explain each of the objectives.  This might take some time and effort, but it’s free.

If you prefer an expert instructor led video training course, click here.

Instructor-Led Training

Global Knowledge offers instructor-led training for this certification. This training is paid.

Azure Administrator Associate has some advanced topics, so you might find the instructor-led training valuable as it will give you the opportunity to ask questions directly to an expert.

Practice Tests

Working through practice tests before doing the actual exam is extremely useful.  It helps you gain confidence and learn from your mistakes before attempting the real exam.

It’s not easy to manage your time when you have to solve up to 60 technical questions in limited time.

If you practice a lot, you will have a higher chance of passing the test.

Practice Labs

The Azure Administrator Associate certification exam includes questions where you are asked to perform a specific configuration.

These types of questions aren’t usually very challenging, but it’s very important to do practice labs beforehand to develop your confidence and speed.

For example, some of these configurations could be:

• Enable port 3389 on a VM
• Configure two virtual machines with one load balancer
• Configure the backup of a VM to start at 11 AM
• Create a file share that has a cap of 300 GB

Check out some great resources to prepare for the labs section for this exam here, here and here.

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What Jobs you get with an Azure Administrator Associate Certification

According to IDC, almost 40% of all IT jobs will be cloud-focused by 2021.

Searches for Cloud computing jobs jumped by over 100% in the last 3 years, according to Indeed.

Companies around the world are moving to the Cloud to save costs and increase efficiency. Therefore, jobs in the Cloud computing sector will increase.

Because Azure has the second largest market share in the industry, the demand for Azure experts will get an enormous boost in the coming years.

Azure Administrator Associate certification will increase your chances of landing a mid-to-advanced level job, depending on your level of experience.

The following are some of the jobs you could expect after getting the Azure Administrator Associate certification.

• Cloud Engineer
• System Administrator
• Azure Administrator
• Cloud Administrator
• Azure Cloud Systems Developer
• Azure IaaS Architect and,
• Azure Virtualization Engineer

However, keep in mind that having the Azure Administrator Associate certification alone won’t guarantee you a job. You will need to have some experience, interview well, and have sound technical and analytical skills.

You can complement your Azure Administrator Associate certification with the Azure DevOps certification, which leads to SAP or IOT careers.

So, let’s talk about how much money you can make with the…

Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate Certification

Having the certification along with some hands-on experience in the industry could make you eligible for lucrative jobs.

However, the salary would depend upon the career path you take. For example, according to ZipRecruiter, the median salary for an Azure Administrator job is around $107,000 USD dollars

According to PayScale, on average, a Systems Administrator with Microsoft Azure skills makes around $63,000 annually.

Let’s see what other people think about this certification.  Here are a few…

Observations from Successful Azure Administrator Associate Certification Holders in the Industry

It’s valuable to hear from people who have already passed the certification.

The consensus is that you can pass the exam with one or two months of focused study.

Here is a comment from Reddit User “hikebikefight” who passed the certification exam.

“Zero experience, i did it in about two months. Do labs, and sign up for the free $200; you’ll pass it easily.

In my opinion, it’s worth it, but the AZ-300 is more like what employers are looking for. Specifically for Azure migrate and site recovery knowledge.”

https://www.reddit.com/r/ITCareerQuestions/comments/cc17wi/microsoft_certified_azure_administrator_associate/

Here’s a comment from Reddit user “u/mscsccie”, who secured 820 marks on the exam and had some really useful tips for labs and getting hands-on experience.

Bounce between different resources for several topics. For instance, when I had confusion about Private DNS or Azure public DNS I looked up in different resources. Someone will explain it better. The microsoft handsonlabs is a lot helpful and try to do it atleast 3 times. There are 2 lab sections in exam and with 8 q in one section and 6 in another. You have to be able to do them very quickly. I was doing them quickly but still I had only 7-8 mins left in the end.

For powershell or Azure cli questions, dont worry (az command –help) is your friend for azure cli. For azure powershell, get-help command is your help.

Even if you dont know where to start on a command pick something and start with get-help or –help, then just do –examples to load up a bunch of script with explanation..

https://www.reddit.com/r/AZURE/comments/dog2cn/az103_done_resources_exam_strategy_and_exam_prep/

Here is another good piece of advice from Reddit user “u/gingergringo”. He scored a whopping 910 on the exam.

For the labs, if you work with Azure on daily basis, you should be good. If not, go into the portal and play around with things yourself. Create VMs, storage accounts, VNETs, configure peering, etc..

https://www.reddit.com/r/AZURE/comments/dzrhub/az103_passed/

The Truth About Azure Administrator Associate

Azure Administrator Associate is a valuable certification that will validate your advanced skills in Azure Cloud.

However, along with the certification, you should focus on getting industry experience, as companies prefer candidates who got their hands dirty solving real-life problems with Cloud technologies.

It’s also a good idea to complement Azure Administrator Associate certification with more advanced Azure certifications to develop your career in DevOps and other expert-level areas.

Is the Azure Administrator Associate Certification for You?

Having the Azure Administrator Associate certification will open the door to many career opportunities, as companies are actively looking for Azure Cloud architects, Azure Administrators, and System Administrators with Azure skills.

However, keep in mind that you cannot rely solely on the certification to get your dream job.

Do as many projects as you can. Try to get your foot into the industry so that you could get an opportunity to work on Cloud projects.

So, is the Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate certification worth it? 

If you have chosen, the Azure Cloud platform as your career path and you are looking to advance your career in the Azure Cloud industry, then this certification is definitely worth it.