Certifications
Best Azure Certifications
Azure's certifications are organized by role (administrator, developer, security engineer) rather than a single linear ladder -- here's how to navigate that.
The Certification Tiers
- Fundamentals: AZ-900 (Azure Fundamentals) -- broad, non-role-specific, a strong starting point
- Associate: AZ-104 (Azure Administrator), AZ-204 (Azure Developer), AZ-500 (Security Engineer), and others -- pick based on your actual target role
- Expert: AZ-305 (Solutions Architect Expert) and DevOps Engineer Expert -- deeper, role-specific certifications for experienced practitioners
Choosing the Right Path
Start with AZ-900 regardless of your eventual target role -- it's approachable and builds shared vocabulary. From there, pick your associate-level cert based on what your actual job involves: AZ-104 if you're managing infrastructure day-to-day, AZ-204 if you're primarily building applications on Azure, AZ-500 if security is your focus. Unlike AWS's more linear tiering, Azure's role-based structure means the "right" next certification genuinely depends on what you're actually doing, not a fixed universal order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it's still a fast, worthwhile way to learn Azure-specific terminology and service names -- the underlying cloud concepts you already know from AWS transfer, but Azure's naming and console layout are different enough that a quick foundational pass is genuinely useful.
AZ-104 (Azure Administrator Associate) is the broadest, most generally applicable associate-level certification if your role isn't narrowly focused on either pure development or pure security.