Passed AZ-500 with 800 (18-July-2020)

E Double UE Double U Member Posts: 2,228 ■■■■■■■■■■
This was my 3rd attempt. Haven't failed two attempts since my CISSP attempts back in 2014/2015. I actually did not find the content that difficult, but during this new way of living/working with COVID-19 plus the recent activities in USA on my mind made concentration very difficult.

I took a week-long bootcamp back in March with access to Skillpipe material for studies. I also read through content on the Microsoft site while playing with my company's Azure portal to get familiar with everything. This time around everything just sunk in. Before I was just reading without really processing the information. I just went for the exam because my employer gave us two free vouchers so I decided hey, why not. This time around I bought another voucher using my work provided personal development budget because I like to finish what I start even though this certification is not required for work. 

Now on to some leisure reading before I move on to ITIL and maybe more Azure later in the year. 
Alphabet soup from (ISC)2, ISACA, GIAC, EC-Council, Microsoft, ITIL, Cisco, Scrum, CompTIA, AWS

Comments

  • Neil86Neil86 Member Posts: 182 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Congrats on the pass!
  • chrisonechrisone Member Posts: 2,278 ■■■■■■■■■□
    Congrats! I plan on taking my exam next Saturday :) 

    I took that same skillpipe AZ-500 source back in November. I am in the middle of AZ-500 MeasureUP labs. You get 23 labs you can perform twice for $49. Its a bargain and allows you to reinforce your skills. Hopefully I get the good news you got today! 

    Awesome work and display of not giving up! 


    Certs: CISSP, EnCE, OSCP, CRTP, eCTHPv2, eCPPT, eCIR, LFCS, CEH, SPLK-1002, SC-200, SC-300, AZ-900, AZ-500, VHL:Advanced+
    2023 Cert Goals: SC-100, eCPTX
  • E Double UE Double U Member Posts: 2,228 ■■■■■■■■■■
    @chrisone - I had 36 questions with no labs, but knowing your way around the portal will definitely help you answer multiple questions. 

    Good luck! 
    Alphabet soup from (ISC)2, ISACA, GIAC, EC-Council, Microsoft, ITIL, Cisco, Scrum, CompTIA, AWS
  • test4500test4500 Registered Users Posts: 29 ■■■□□□□□□□
    well done ....I got 814 on the first attempt but suspect it was a bit of a different exam now ....with the Sentinel stuff in it
    Have: CISSP, SSCP, CYSA+, CCNA CyberOp, CIPP/E, PRINCE, ITIL v3, MS Azure 900/103/500, AWS SA-A, Splunk Core User , CyberArk Trustee......
    2020 Goals: CISM/CISA, AWS CDA-P/SA-P/Security, Splunk Power User
  • chrisonechrisone Member Posts: 2,278 ■■■■■■■■■□
    I took the new exam in August. I failed, but I hear a lot of people who have studied for some time are able to get a pass even with the new questions. I am getting a free cert retake with the ignite free cert program, so I will give my second attempt some time next year. 

    To be transparent, I tried to "squeeze" in the AZ-500 this year into my busy schedule. I took the AZ-500 Security Skillpipe virtual instructor course in Nov 2019, studied Udemy/Microsoft/MeasureUp labs, CBT, practice questions for about 2 months. The exam changed by the time I took it, but I will be honest I needed more practice and more understanding of the technologies. 
    Certs: CISSP, EnCE, OSCP, CRTP, eCTHPv2, eCPPT, eCIR, LFCS, CEH, SPLK-1002, SC-200, SC-300, AZ-900, AZ-500, VHL:Advanced+
    2023 Cert Goals: SC-100, eCPTX
  • cyberguyprcyberguypr Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
    E Double U, did you go AZ-900 > AZ-500 or did you fit something in between?
  • E Double UE Double U Member Posts: 2,228 ■■■■■■■■■■
    @cyberguypr

    AZ-900 in January
    GDSA in March
    AZ-500 in July
    ITIL 4 in August
    Alphabet soup from (ISC)2, ISACA, GIAC, EC-Council, Microsoft, ITIL, Cisco, Scrum, CompTIA, AWS
  • cyberguyprcyberguypr Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
    Cool. And how is your Azure practical experience? Asking because I am taking a break from AWS after 3 certs and starting the Azure path. Doing AZ-900 in a few weeks and trying to determine id I need anything to cover gaps before AZ-500.
  • chrisonechrisone Member Posts: 2,278 ■■■■■■■■■□
    Although you are asking "E Double U" I will chime in my little experience. Going from AZ-104 to AZ-500 would help but looking at the 104 labs and topics, its a monster. Probably heavily overkill for AZ-500. If you are only concerned about Azure security go AZ-900 to AZ-500. 

    Studying for AZ-500, courses/CBT/labs go over with you creating VMs, VNETs, DBs, WebApps, etc. These are things you will learn in AZ-104, but going that route you will have to learn so much and its a beast of an exam on its own.

    You can definitely go AZ-900 to AZ-500. 

    https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE4AJyG

    My only change to this would be, "if you are going the full route to Azure Architect, start with AZ-900, AZ-104, AZ-500, AZ-204, DP-300, AZ-303, AZ-304, etc." 
    Certs: CISSP, EnCE, OSCP, CRTP, eCTHPv2, eCPPT, eCIR, LFCS, CEH, SPLK-1002, SC-200, SC-300, AZ-900, AZ-500, VHL:Advanced+
    2023 Cert Goals: SC-100, eCPTX
  • cyberguyprcyberguypr Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
    That helps. Thanks a lot.
  • E Double UE Double U Member Posts: 2,228 ■■■■■■■■■■
    chrisone said:
    Although you are asking "E Double U" I will chime in my little experience. Going from AZ-104 to AZ-500 would help but looking at the 104 labs and topics, its a monster. Probably heavily overkill for AZ-500. If you are only concerned about Azure security go AZ-900 to AZ-500. 
    Who asked you LOL j/k

    cyberguypr - I am not an Azure expert, but there are so many Azure projects going on within my department I was able to get help with filling in the gaps. Most of my practical experience is with the Azure firewall and other Azure networking components so I had to study really hard to pass. Considering that I failed twice it could be something else could've been helpful to study in between, but I didn't go that route. I just planned sessions with my teammates to explain every topic I struggled with. When you fail an exam twice you really learn where your weak areas are lol. 
    Alphabet soup from (ISC)2, ISACA, GIAC, EC-Council, Microsoft, ITIL, Cisco, Scrum, CompTIA, AWS
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