Microsoft - Applied Skills Free Credentials

Get hands-on skills directly from Microsoft – Then get the Credential

Author

Shano Collins
November 29, 2024

Firstly, some notable free offers from Microsoft.

$150K free Azure credits if you have an AI startup idea:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/startups

Certification Voucher free for the Fabric Exam DP-600 – Needs to be taken by Dec 31, 2024, read full instructions here:
https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Power-BI-Community-Blog/Get-certified-in-Microsoft-Fabric-for-free/ba-p/4254931

The Applied Skills Credentials program

Is designed to give you free hands-on training in a mainly live cloud environment, and then take an exam to get a credential.

For a Data professional, you should do these:

Secure storage for Azure Files & Azure Blob Storage

Deploy & administer Linux virtual machines on Azure

I’ve done this in jobs 5 times in the last year alone, all to have somewhere to run my Python scripts to access API’s - transform data – write the data to blobs. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/applied-skills/deploy-and-administer-linux-virtual-machines-on-microsoft-azure/

Implement a Lakehouse in Fabric

I tested Fabric - it seems half baked to me, not ready for prime time. But, Microsoft are spending a fortune on marketing, so they may get decent adoption over time. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/applied-skills/implement-lakehouse-microsoft-fabric/

Here is a nice YouTube video explaining the Applied Skills credentials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDgDGE2SvRY

When you pass you’ll see this:

The Exams:

  • Are Free

  • Open book

  • 2 hours to complete lab

  • Receive a Badge on passing.

  • Wait 3 days to take it again, if you fail.

This’ll increase your skill level, give you more confidence and allow you to fill your LinkedIn timeline with credentials. All Good.

Cheers

Shano

Reply

or to participate.