AZ-900 - Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Training Bootcamp 2020

Azure AZ-900 - Microsoft Fundamentals Training Bootcamp 2020 en Udemy

Passed AZ-900 @ Home 1 week of study during quarantine.

Spending a few weeks in quarantine and after hours and hours of watching several seasons of anime shows in Netflix really bored me to death so i decided to do something more productive.

I am a veteran test taker of Microsoft exams but my last IT exam was 2013, i did take PMP last year which i believe the hardest exam i took ever. I initially planned to study for 3 weeks because of work and life but after dedicating a week to it i was able pass with flying colors.

Given above here's what worked for me.

RESOURCES:

1. Udemy video by Thomas Mitchell, got it on sale paid a small amount. Good content, maybe i could have passed with this video alone, but after the course i feel i still want to learn more. https://www.udemy.com/course/az-900-azure-exam-prep-understanding-cloud-concepts/_
2. Udemy video by XaaS Technologies, GREAT FREE video with plenty of demos. Again darn good for a free video. Helps you visualize and relate more to the subject, skipped a few demo videos on MySQL and PostgreSQL. If i paid attention to this video sooner i would have not bought #1. https://www.udemy.com/course/microsoft-azure-fundamentals-training-bootcamp/learn/lecture/18395786#overview_
3. Whizlabs Practice test. Question format very close to actual exam, there are some answers to the questions that i tend to disagree, overall good value. Very cheap but helped me gain confidence and made me take the exam 2 weeks earlier than planned. _
4. Microsoft Azure docs on various topics: SLAs, Support etc. They are a must to visit and read at least twice. XaaS video will tell you what to visit.

APPROACH:

1. Finished all videos and quizzes in #1 above @ 1-1.25x speed depending on my understanding of the topic, at times i repeat videos that i have a weak grasp on but at 1.5x speed second time around.
2. Finished majority of the videos in #2 above @ 1-1.25x speed, demos @ 1.5x speed. Watched lesson recap at 1x speed.
3. Rewatched videos in #2 but this time only module recaps, this is a crucial step for me since there was a lot of material covered there are times i tend to forget those talked about earlier. The whole recap thing takes about 59 minutes @ 1x speed.
4. Took Whizlabs test, i went through the free and paid ones. Lowest i got was 84+% and highest is 93.3%. After the 4th sample exam, i felt really confident, rebooked my exam and took it 3 hours after my last test with whizlabs.

Steps 1 to 3 took me 1 weekend and 4 week days. Then +1 day dedicated for practice test, i felt ready and sick of studying, rebooked my exam and took it with a score of 920!

VERY IMPORTANT TIP:

Better to dress up and fix your hair a little for the exam. They will include your picture in your score sheet that is if you plan to show your test sheet in FB, LinkedIn or wherever :).

Good luck!

Passed AZ- 900, my thoughts

My background: I am a senior full stack developer with zero experience in cloud technologies.

My score: 900

Study resources:

1. Download the skills path - https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE3VwUY
2. Microsoft learning path - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/azure-fundamentals/
3. Free Udemy course Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Training Bootcamp 2020 by XaaS Technologies - https://www.udemy.com/course/microsoft-azure-fundamentals-training-bootcamp/. Thanks to u/icm2019 for recommending this. This course also includes a quiz after each module and 2 full practice tests for free.
4. Whizlabs practice test (Contains 5 tests in total) - https://www.whizlabs.com/microsoft-azure-certification-az-900/. Used coupon code WHIZSITE50 to get 50% off.
5. Googled few topics and read random posts/blogs/docs to gain more knowledge.

Time taken to study:

I am a slow learner so it took me a complete weekend (12 -14 hours) + 4 weekdays (4 hours each day)

My thoughts:

I read many posts saying that this is an easy exam and I don't believe that. This is based on each person's experience. I had no knowledge of networking concepts, containers, cosmos db etc. So I was learning a lot of new stuff and at times I had to google and read more articles to gain knowledge and better understanding. It is just not about reading the learning path or watching the videos but about understanding when to use what. That being said, it is definitely achievable.

Study plan, my suggestion:

First take a look at the skills path. Then, watch the Udemy course videos and go through the Microsoft learning path simultaneously for each module. This will help you understand it better. After completing each module, try the quiz in Udemy and topic/section test in Whizlabs.

Once you have finished that, complete 3 practice Whizlabs test. This will give you an idea which topics you need to improve on.

Now, go through the Microsoft learning path again and just do the Udemy course module recaps.

Next, complete the remaining practice tests (2 Whizlabs tests + 2 Udemy practice tests).

Go ahead, you are now ready to take your test.