The Azure AI-900, Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals, is an entry-level certification that verifies foundational knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) concepts and related Microsoft Azure services. This certification is ideal for individuals looking to validate their basic AI skills and understanding of Azure services that are applied in AI solutions.

Is the AI-900 Certification Hard?

If you're new to AI concepts, the AI-900 might initially seem challenging. However, compared to other Microsoft certifications, it is relatively easy I would say. 

Studying for the AI-900 exam:

To prepare for the certification exam, I primarily used the Microsoft Learn cource modules. It's important you have an active Azure subscription to complete all the exercises, and always remember to clean up after each exercise to avoid unnecessary charges.

Besides Microsoft Learn, I highly recommend "Exam Ref AI-900 Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals" by Julian Sharp. I don´t think this book is necassary to complete the exam, I read about 80% of it, but it gives you a broader and more solid foundation in each AI concept that might be benificial for your future career.

I consistently tested myself with the Microsoft Practice Assessments. I booked the exam when I could score 90% or higher three consecutive times on these practice tests, ensuring I was well-prepared.

Passing the Certification Exam:

I opted to take the exam at a test center since we have a test center close to where I live, but there is an online option available. The questions were very similar to the questions provided by Microsoft Learn Practice Assessments. A significant portion of the exam focused on Responsible AI—a topic I am particularly interested in and had studied extensively.

The exam also heavily emphasized AI Services like Speech, Voice, and Translate, along with key concepts such as named entity recognition, object detection, and OCR (Optical Character Recognition). Surprisingly, there were fewer questions on ML Studio than I had expected, but that might not be the case for you since the questions will vary. I got a score of 885 which indicates that I got about 5 incorrect which I am very pleased with.

Final thoughts:

Overall, the AI-900 is not a difficult exam, especially with its forgiving 70% pass mark. If you find yourself consistently scoring high on practice tests, you should feel confident in scheduling your exam. This certification could not only boost your resume but it also gives you a broad understanding of the different services available in the Azure AI ecosystem. Good luck! 

Cheers! ❤️