Celebrating 30 Microsoft Certification’s 

Did you know Microsoft offers six tracks in the information technology field, each covering fundamentals, specialty, and role-based certifications. These tracks are designed to provide individuals with a structured pathway to develop their skills and expertise in various areas of IT.

Microsoft 5 most well-known and loved tracks are

  1. Modern Workplace
  2. Infrastructure
  3. Data & AI
  4. Security
  5. Digital App & Innovation

The Microsoft Modern Workplace Track concentrates on Microsoft 365 technologies, encompassing Office 365, Windows, and Enterprise Mobility and Security. It provides certifications like Microsoft 365 Fundamentals, Endpoint Administrator, Office 365 Administrator Expert and Teams Administrator all building out to provide a candidate with a solid baseline of office 365 knowledge security and administration of Defender for endpoint and cloud to name a few.

The Microsoft infrastructure Track is centered around Microsoft Azure and windows server cloud services. It includes certifications like Azure Fundamentals, Azure Administrator, Windows server Hybrid, Network Engineer and Azure Architect all building out to provide a candidate with a solid baseline of azure knowledge alongside conversion over to a modern twist on windows server administration to name a few.

The Microsoft Security Track is cantered around securing the Microsoft portfolio this gives candidates a solid foundation around Microsoft office 365 , Azure , Dynamics and Cloud portfolio in general this is all about how a candidate can implement a secure platform across services , candidates usually learn things around defender for cloud , defender for endpoint , azure firewalls , operations around a soc environment all providing candidates with a solid understanding of security posture within the Microsoft eco systems.

The Data and AI Track is cantered around artificial intelligence this covers mostly data analytics, business intelligence, and artificial intelligence using Microsoft technologies all providing candidates with a foundational baseline into AI and its use within Microsoft specific scenario’s, this will give a candidate an introduction and borderline level knowledge within the AI track.

The Digital App & Innovation Track focuses primarily on DevOps and DevSecOps this essentially in anything related to GitHub, Pipelines, secure coding, scripting, streamlining processes, improving software quality and managing infrastructure effectively , this track is really geared towards candidates who solely focus on infrastructure as code this gives you detailed knowledge on all things DevOps and is a good starting point when introducing yourself to it.

Microsoft also has one other Track while less popular is still relevant

The Business Applications Track which similarly goes hand in hand with DevOps , this is for a candidate who is looking to delve into the world of dynamics , crm and power platform alongside finance and supply chain applications , this really is a more of a niche area and can often be described as difficult to break into you don’t often see allot of people in this area but it’s a great one to learn new skills on if pursuing a career in app building , customer crm system configuration and finance application build.

So, what were the 30 Certifications That Made the Cut for Me and why did I do these 30 certifications?

For me all fundamentals were a must I never saw my journey starting without them, if you’ve never touched Microsoft Certification, I would highly recommend you start with these realistically looking back Its ultimately up to the candidate what they study and pursue but what I would say is choose wisely time it took me to study learn and sit for these exams were approximately 1 year to get down the fundamentals.

Microsoft Fundamental Role Based Certification Held

  1. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (ERP)
  2. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals (CRM)
  3. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals
  4. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Fundamentals
  5. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals
  6. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
  7. ✅ Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals
  8. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals
  9. ✅ MTA : Windows Server Administration Fundamentals
  10. ✅ MTA : Technology Associate: Windows Operating System Fundamentals
  11. ✅ MTA : Networking Fundamentals
  12. ✅ MTA : Security Fundamentals

For me only 10 of the Associate certifications were necessary although I did a bonus one for fun and curiosity honestly if I had to go back and do it again, I would definitely do the 10 listed below, I learned so much about windows server, security operations, artificial intelligence, endpoint administration, governance risk and compliance and office 365 security and administration.  For me this was a journey of 3 years total, you’ll find here some of these are easier then others but what I would say is level of experience and knowledge across these is varied from foundational intermediate and advanced knowledge so be prepared for the work that goes into learning about each of the roles.

Microsoft Associate Role Based Certification Held

  1. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate
  2. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Windows Server Hybrid Administrator Associate
  3. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate
  4. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate
  5. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate
  6. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
  7. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate
  8. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate
  9. ✅ Microsoft 365 Certified: Endpoint Administrator Associate
  10. ✅ Microsoft 365 Certified: Security Administrator Associate
  11. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Information Protection and Compliance Administrator Associate

For me when I look back at the specialty certification, I would say only one was really relevant while the other 3 bolstered my understanding of Dynamic’s, Sap and Cosmos Database the true winner here was the Azure Virtual Desktop specialty this really provided value in my learning journey and I regularly use these skills in my everyday career. For me I built these up over a 4 year period in between other exams so don’t be in a rush to get them these will take time and should come naturally when the time is right.

Microsoft Specialty Role Based Certification Held

  1. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Customer Insights (Data) Specialty
  2. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure Cosmos DB Developer Specialty
  3. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty
  4. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure for SAP Workloads Specialty

Finally, the Expert level certification, I would highly recommend anyone looking to get into cybersecurity office 365 or azure solutions architecture to go after these. For me these provided a solid understanding of the Microsoft eco system from so many learning points. Its hard to imagine that you could be doing roles such as solutions architecture, office 365 management and securing Microsoft environment’s not only have these provided me with a solid understanding but both career and financially I have really gained from these , when I look back at these for me it took about 4 years across the board to study for these qualifications so my advice here is to take your time , study use on the job experience and do plenty of trial and error labs , get to know what your good at and what you need improvement on.

Microsoft Expert Role Based Certification Held

  1. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert
  2. ✅ Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
  3. ✅ Microsoft Certified: 365 Administrator Expert

Last Words of Advice for Anyone Studying Microsoft Certification

My last words for anyone studying there 1st 30 Microsoft Certification , I studied learned and practiced all of these certification requirements over a period of 5+ years as I worked , nothing in the Microsoft realm comes easy , I failed I passed and I grinded through all of these certifications just like I do with other certification providers , mostly I depend on my experience and on the job training so remember that when you go down your journey to the cloud that it’s the time you spend learning that counts regardless of the exams and most importantly don’t forget to enjoy the road after all you will sacrifice allot to get to this stage so just remember why your doing it.

#BestOfLuckInYourJourneyToTheCloud

Matthew Browne

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional

Microsoft Azure & Microsoft Security

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