Microsoft has a series of professional certifications that can be useful for someone who wants to go into the field of Information Technology. College can be great, but these certificates offer a kind of alternative for people who want to be in the field of computer science, information technology, or cloud computing to the traditional college experience. Even as someone who has graduated from college with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, I still want to get some certifications to increase my viability as someone who enjoys working with technology. Plus the process is simple: study for the exam, take an exam for the certification you want, and pass with at least a seventy-percent passing grade. Then, you will get your certificate and be some degree of an expert in the field you studied to get certified in.
The current iteration of Microsoft Certificates were introduced in February of 2020. Almost all the then-current Microsoft Certifications were retired such as Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD), Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) certifications. On top of that, new pathways were introduced for individuals to work through in order to earn new certificates. Certifications created for this new path includes Fundamentals, Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA), Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE), Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), and role-based as well as Speciality certifications with Microsoft. However, the exams for these Microsoft pathways remained available on Microsoft’s corporate website until January 31st of 2021. Many of the role-based certifications include certifications for Azure - the cloud-based service that was created by Microsoft. Azure has plenty of Azure-style certificates including DP-420 (Azure DB Developer Speciality), AZ-900 (Certification for Azure Fundamentals and having the basics for Azure cloud services), AI-900 (Microsoft AI Fundamentals), and AZ-104 (Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate). There are so many Azure certifications that you are able to apply to and take some kind of exam either online or in-person. Azure is a very good form of examination to get because cloud computing is in demand. The market for hybrid cloud systems is suspected to rise to one hundred billion United States Dollars by 2022 according to itbusinessedge.com. Currently, I am looking to take an exam in order to get my AZ-900 certification and attempt to try & get my Azure Fundamental certificate so I can show I know the basics on working with the cloud computing system created by Azure.