Microsoft AZ-204 Exam

This exam is intended for Azure Developers who participate in all phases of development, from requirements definition and design, to development, deployment, and maintenance, performance tuning, and monitoring. Candidates should have 1-2 years of professional development experience and experience with Microsoft Azure.

For professionals holding the Azure Developer Associate certification, typical salaries can range from approximately $110,000 to $150,000 USD per year globally, depending on factors such as location, experience level, specific job role, and company size. More experienced professionals or those in high-demand regions might command higher salaries.

Microsoft Associate and Expert role-based certifications, including AZ-204, are valid for one year from the date you earn them. To renew, candidates must pass a free online assessment on Microsoft Learn before their certification expires. There are no fees for renewal.

The AZ-204 exam itself was released in February 2020, replacing the previous AZ-203 exam. Microsoft updates its certification exam content regularly, typically every few months, to reflect changes in Azure services and technology. There isn't a fixed schedule for a 'next version' or replacement exam; instead, the content is updated incrementally.

The AZ-204 exam covers several key technical domains, including: * Developing Azure compute solutions (e.g., Azure Functions, Web Apps, VMs) * Developing for Azure storage (e.g., Blob Storage, Cosmos DB, SQL Database) * Implementing Azure security (e.g., Managed Identities, Key Vault, authentication/authorization) * Monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimizing Azure solutions (e.g., Application Insights, Log Analytics) * Connecting to and consuming Azure services and third-party services (e.g., Azure Cache for Redis, API Management)