MCSA 2016 to Azure Administrator

VashTechy

Hi,
My original plan was:
Complete 70740, 70741,70742 to get an MCSA 2016 and then study for MCSE: Cloud and Private Infrastructure to broaden my chances to get a job in the Azure Cloud industry/sphere.
I recently completed studying for the 70741, awaiting exams.
My concern is since the MCSE is now going to be phased out as MS Certifications are changing, how do I get to Azure Administrator Associate level?  Is there any point in pursuing the MCSA 2016 and complete the remaining 70741 and 70742 exams or is it better to focus on the upcoming AZ-103 exams and gain Azure Administrator Associate certificate directly?

Infosec_Sam

What does your IT experience look like? I'm wondering if it might just make more sense for you to go straight to the Azure cert if you already have some sysadmin experience. My opinion is that you should certify yourself for the job you want, not for the job you have. That being said, I would probably rather go for the AZ-103 exam if I had prior IT experience.

Another option for you to check out would be vendor neutral certs, such as CompTIA's Cloud+ or (ISC)2's CCSP if you'd rather delve into security. I heard the Cloud+ has been picking up a lot of steam recently, since there are so many cloud providers out there now. I'm really not sure how much value an AWS shop would put on your Azure degree, ya know?

VashTechy

Infosec_Sam said:

What does your IT experience look like? I'm wondering if it might just make more sense for you to go straight to the Azure cert if you already have some sysadmin experience. My opinion is that you should certify yourself for the job you want, not for the job you have. That being said, I would probably rather go for the AZ-103 exam if I had prior IT experience.

Another option for you to check out would be vendor neutral certs, such as CompTIA's Cloud+ or (ISC)2's CCSP if you'd rather delve into security. I heard the Cloud+ has been picking up a lot of steam recently, since there are so many cloud providers out there now. I'm really not sure how much value an AWS shop would put on your Azure degree, ya know?

Thanks for the reply.  I am also more inclined to choose the Azure route straightaway,
I am a 2nd Line INfrastructure Engineer in a Wintel environment.   So Server 2012, 2016, AD, Hyper-V etc these are my bread and butter. However, I want to move into DevOps in the future and I know that Cloud and DevOps work hand in hand.  My company gives free certifications from Microsoft.  Thus I am trying to choose between completing the MCSA 2016 or rather just jump onto the Azure cloud certifications.

Infosec_Sam

VashTechy said:

Infosec_Sam said:

What does your IT experience look like? I'm wondering if it might just make more sense for you to go straight to the Azure cert if you already have some sysadmin experience. My opinion is that you should certify yourself for the job you want, not for the job you have. That being said, I would probably rather go for the AZ-103 exam if I had prior IT experience.

Another option for you to check out would be vendor neutral certs, such as CompTIA's Cloud+ or (ISC)2's CCSP if you'd rather delve into security. I heard the Cloud+ has been picking up a lot of steam recently, since there are so many cloud providers out there now. I'm really not sure how much value an AWS shop would put on your Azure degree, ya know?

Thanks for the reply.  I am also more inclined to choose the Azure route straightaway,
I am a 2nd Line INfrastructure Engineer in a Wintel environment.   So Server 2012, 2016, AD, Hyper-V etc these are my bread and butter. However, I want to move into DevOps in the future and I know that Cloud and DevOps work hand in hand.  My company gives free certifications from Microsoft.  Thus I am trying to choose between completing the MCSA 2016 or rather just jump onto the Azure cloud certifications.

Oh, well that's a no-brainer! I think your experience will more than cover what you would be learning in the server/ad/hyper-v certs. I think it would definitely make sense for you to knock out the AZ-103 and then move onto the AZ-400. Can't complain about free certs!

november24

VashTechy said:

Hi,
My original plan was:
Complete 70740, 70741,70742 to get an MCSA 2016 and then study for MCSE: Cloud and Private Infrastructure to broaden my chances to get a job in the Azure Cloud industry/sphere.
I recently completed studying for the 70741, awaiting exams.
My concern is since the MCSE is now going to be phased out as MS Certifications are changing, how do I get to Azure Administrator Associate level?  Is there any point in pursuing the MCSA 2016 and complete the remaining 70741 and 70742 exams or is it better to focus on the upcoming AZ-103 exams and gain Azure Administrator Associate certificate directly?

That was my goal too, I would like to gain a certificate that let me get a role as Sys Admin for Private and public Cloud.