My first exposure to Windows Azure (before rebranding took place) was in 2011. At that time I took exam "70-583: PRO: Designing and Developing Windows Azure Applications" to verify I had covered the major concepts of the platform. I passed the exam successfully and earned "MCPD: Windows Azure Developer certification". Later I found a job as a developer where I could apply all my book knowledge. If you are curious I have got the job not because of holding Azure related certification but because of necessary skills and experience in web development.

Since then, I have been working with Microsoft Azure. However, these days I am more responsible for the solutions architecture rather than for the development of building blocks. Based on that fact I decided to get "MCSD: Azure Solutions Architect" certification to align my expertise with the latest changes in the platform and services. To reach this goal it is required to pass three exams:

In addition, there was extra time pressure because Microsoft planned the retirement of "MCSD: Azure Solutions Architect" certification on March 31, 2017. "MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure" certification is its successor. The good news I could have both at same time if I met deadline.

I had to pay for three exams. Every one of them costs $165.00. In total you will get $495.00 before taxes. Fortunately, I saw in my feed the offer from Microsoft how to receive a voucher for three Azure-focused MCP exams for $279. The deal includes also one retake for each exam and three Microsoft Official Practice Tests from MeasureUp with 30-day access. The expiry date is June 30, 2017.

After purchasing the exam package I began looking around for resources to study Microsoft Azure. No matter what is your working experience, to pass these exams you need to share the vision Microsoft Learning has on problem solving. It can be outdated because the platform constantly evolves or exam authors are waiting for a very specific answer despite the better alternatives you will prefer in practice.

There are tons of books, articles, video courses about Microsoft Azure available online. However, Microsoft Azure is a moving target and a significant part of that content is outdated. Not willing to waste time on it I was filtering out information issued before 1st January 2016. Nevertheless, if you need to get familiar with platform fundamentals this rule can play against you.

The first bus stop on my way to "MCSD: Azure Solutions Architect" certification was exam "70-532: Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions". If you do a research on the subject you will quickly find out an excellent post "How I passed the 70-532 Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions certification exam" from Chris Pietschmann. It contains a comprehensive list of resources for the exam. Below I provide resources I consider to be helpful.

Online Courses / Training

Pluralsight author Tim Warner has an uncompleted learning path for exam 70-532. The courses are intentionally marked as "Pre 2017" and contain a solid portion on Azure Service Management (ASM) while the recommended approach is Azure Resource Management (ARM). The reasons I mentioned it here are, to a certain degree, it is relevant and Tim is doing a great job suggesting additional resources, courses and books for every exam objective. You can watch this for free using either 10 days or, if you have access to Visual Studio Dev Essentials program, 3 months trial access.

Books / Documentation

Labs

It will be the best if you obtain a Microsoft Azure 30 days trial account and follow by a trainer in courses mentioned before. If you need more then try yourselves in hands-on labs.

Microsoft Ignite

Opsgility. As a participant of Visual Studio Dev Essentials program you can extend your 7 days trial access upto 3 months.

Practice Tests

MeasureUp - Microsoft (70-532): Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions. This is a very close simulation of the real exam. What I like about them is this is free (if you bought the Azure voucher I mentioned earlier) and they give you thorough explanation not only for the right but also for the wrong answers as well.

That is everything I would like to share about preparation and passing exam "70-532: Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions". Please read my next post about exam "70-533: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions". Thank you.