The only constant is… change!
So… yesterday, I published My Cloud Certification Journey detailing my (ambitious) plan for obtaining the AWS and Azure Solutions Architect certifications. In a rare, but prescient moment, I included the following quote:
No plan survives first contact (with the enemy)
Well, less than 24 hours later, plans have changed!
I happened to come across this blog post today: Updates to Several Azure and Data & AI Certifications are Coming Soon
In the post, the author discusses how Microsoft is reviewing some of the certification exams to ensure the skills being tested are more closely aligned to their respective roles. In other words, test for the skills a role should have and don’t necessarily test for the skills that the role does not have.
With this comes a set of changes to some of the existing exams. Here is what is known right now:
- AZ-103 becomes AZ-104 (this update will be published in March)
- AZ-203 becomes AZ-204 (this update will be published in late February)
- AZ-300 becomes AZ-303 (this update will be published in March)
- AZ-301 becomes AZ-304 (this update will be published in March)
- AI-100 becomes AI-102 (this update will be published in March)
I’ve highlighted a couple of the exams above in bold. These are the exams I have in my current certification plan. In fact, assuming I pass the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam within the next few weeks, I’ll be ready to start on the next Azure certification exam – AZ-300. At least, that was my original plan.
Plan ‘B’
With this recent news, I am formulating a plan ‘B’. I am going to alter my course a bit to help ensure training materials have a chance to be updated before I start studying for the next Azure tests.
The new plan looks something like this:
In this revised plan, I am now going to take the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate exam once I complete the Cloud Practitioner exam (likely two or three months later). The implication is that the training materials for the new Azure exams will have been updated by the time I get through the AWS exam.
This does end my entire back-and-forth methodology between Azure and AWS exams but I’m OK with this new approach. Not to mention, it’s possible the plan could change yet again before it’s all said and done.
So, for the moment, I’m still studying for the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam. Once I finish that, I’ll stay the AWS course for at least one more exam before jumping back into Azure…
…unless we hear something new tomorrow! :-)
