Tips on studying for and sitting the AZ-900 exam at home.
I recently passed the AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals exam! 🎉 I thought I'd share how I prepared for the exam and the experience of sitting the exam at home.
Studying for the exam
Firstly, I studied by following the Microsoft Learn modules:
- Part 1:Describe core Azure concepts
- Part 2: Describe core Azure services
- Part 3:Describe core solutions and management tools on Azure
- Part 4:Describe general security and network security features
- Part 5: Describe identity, governance, privacy, and compliance features
- Part 6: Describe Azure cost management and service level agreements
As I have used Azure for a while, many of the topics I was already aware of but this was good to confirm that knowledge and learn some new things too! I then watched this YouTube video to reinforce some of the topics I was less sure on. In the description there is links to specific timings in video for topics so you can watch just the parts you need to.
To prepare for the exam question format, I purchased this Udemy course with practice tests. I watched relevant sections of the YouTube video mentioned above for areas I was weaker on in the practice tests.
Sitting the exam
The exam was via PearsonVUE, at home. I would recommend following their instructions to do a system test ahead of the time to reduce any stress. They recommend being in a space with no distractions (if people join you in the room, you will fail!), check out this video "What's it like sitting a Microsoft exam at home?" by Sarah Lean for more tips.
On the day, I logged in 30 minutes before my scheduled exam, done the system checks and was sent a text with a link to a PeasonVUE site. They ask for photos of you, your id and your workspace you'll be sitting the exam. You then need to wait on someone contacting you on the live chat with any questions or approval to go ahead and sit the exam.
The exam is multi choice questions based on the 6 main areas listed above. You get 60 minutes but I found I didn't need all this time. At the end of they exam you get a chance to revisit your answers to ensure you are ready to submit it. Once you do you will get your result immediately.
Hopefully this was useful, good luck in your exam!