Azure Fundamentals in New York
Microsoft's entry-level Azure certification covering cloud concepts, core Azure services, security, privacy, and pricing.
What is Azure Fundamentals?
The Azure Fundamentals certification (AZ-900) is Microsoft's entry-level cloud credential, designed to validate your understanding of core cloud concepts, Azure services, pricing, and governance. No prior IT experience is required, making it one of the most accessible starting points in tech. In New York, where financial services, media, healthcare, and tech companies are rapidly migrating infrastructure to Azure, this certification signals to employers that you understand the cloud landscape they're investing in. Whether you're pivoting into IT, moving from a non-technical role, or simply formalizing your cloud knowledge, the AZ-900 gives you a recognized, vendor-backed credential that opens doors across one of the world's most competitive job markets.
At $165 for the exam and zero prerequisites, the AZ-900 has one of the best cost-to-return ratios in IT certification. New York's average IT salary sits around $110,000/yr, and certified professionals report an average uplift of $6,000/yr — meaning the exam pays for itself within the first week of a salary bump. New York employers, particularly in finance and enterprise tech, increasingly list Azure familiarity as a baseline requirement even for non-engineering roles like project managers and business analysts. Renewing every two years keeps your credential current without constant retraining costs. For anyone early in their IT career in New York, the AZ-900 is a low-risk, high-visibility investment that punches well above its price tag.
Exam details
Prerequisites: None required
12-week study plan
Exam tips
Do not ignore the cost management and SLA sections — many candidates over-focus on Azure services and get caught out by pricing model questions, TCO calculator use cases, and what factors affect an SLA
Know the difference between Azure regions, availability zones, and availability sets cold — these concepts are tested in multiple question formats and are easy to confuse under pressure
Use Microsoft's official AZ-900 exam skills outline as your checklist, not a third-party summary — Microsoft publishes the exact topic weightings and updates them periodically before the exam changes
For the compliance and governance questions, understand what Azure Policy does versus RBAC versus Azure Blueprints — candidates frequently mix these up and it costs points on otherwise straightforward questions
Read every practice question carefully for the word 'most' or 'best' — AZ-900 questions often have two plausible answers, and the correct one depends on a specific constraint in the scenario like cost, scale, or control