How am I supposed to prepare for an Exam when half the tutorials do not match the current Azure environment?

Question

Also, because I am unemployed, I cannot afford to spin up all the resources referred to in the tutorials. This means my preferred learning style is unavailable to me. I am a hands-on learner. I went through the free Azure subscription troubleshooting connectivity issues with MS Support, and they never found a solution. I'm spending $35 a month for a developer subscription so I can learn the platform and I can't do half of what is described in articles and tutorials. I can't do much of nothing. When they do actually follow the instructions I find out it will cost me $100's of dollars to do so. Then over half the tutorial lab environments were not available. Then when I go to take the exam, I found out it was 67 questions not 50. With an additional case study and lab to boot. The practice test is woefully inadequate to prepare you for the actual exam. The links provided on the practice exam went to content not originally covered in the Challange that I took, which feels like a bait and switch tactic. And now that I failed the exam that I got for half off I can't afford to retake it.

This has been the worst learning experience of my 31+ year career with MS Products and Tools. Azure has become an over bloated, ever changing, overpriced platform to complicate simple good products like SQL Server so that can charge the maximum amount of money for poorly documented, over complicated, and under developed LaaS and Paas offerings.

This is a disaster. Any suggestions of how to fix it?

Answer 1

Hi Cory Bonallo,

Thank you for asking question on the Microsoft Q&A forum.

While practice exams are helpful, they might not fully simulate the real exam. Consider using them as a supplement. Explore practice assessment questions provided by Microsoft, these give you an idea of the question style and difficulty.

The exam format can be surprising, Read the official exam skills measured document to understand what to expect in the exam.

Prioritize learning from up-to-date resources. Microsoft regularly updates its exams, so focus on materials aligned with the current exam objectives. The Microsoft Learn self-guided study materials are a reliable source. Avoid relying solely on third-party content; verify its relevance to the latest exam version.

If the information is helpful, please Accept Answer & Upvote so that it would be helpful to other community members.