Preparing for 70-534: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions

I recently passed the exam 70-534: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions so thought I would share a few preparation materials here. From reading the exam blueprint you will notice a certain amount of crossover with 70-533 (and to a slightly lesser extent 70-532), so a fair amount of the resources I used for those exams are also relevant. See my pages here for info on those: https://www.jonathanmedd.net/2017/03/preparing-for-70-533-implementing-microsoft-azure-infrastructure-solutions.html and https://www.jonathanmedd.net/2017/10/preparing-for-70-532-developing-microsoft-azure-solutions.html

In addition for this exam I used the excellent 70-534 preparation course from Scott Duffy on Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/70532-azure/learn/v4/overview  Not only does it have excellent content, but it appears that Scott updates it on a regular basis. Even during the 3 – 4 weeks I was using the course there were updates and new information coming through from Scott which was really helpful. It’s also often available for an excellent price on Udemy, I managed to pick it up for £10.

Scott also has a set of practice questions available on the same site. Split into 3 tests, there are currently 150 questions. I managed to also pick these up for £10 and found them useful as part of the preparation.

-———————————————————————-

Update 21/11/2017: Since I posted this blog I was made aware of the following about Udemy. I would suggest you read it, then make up your own mind about whether you still wish to take one of their courses.

-———————————————————————-

There is a useful exam preparation session from Ignite 2017 which is well worth watching.

After completing the above I still had a week or so left to prepare for the exam so I picked up some practice questions from Measureup. These were a bit more pricey at £70 for 30 days access and while useful in terms of making me go read documentation on subjects I was not so good at, they felt a little out of date.

One additional thing to be aware of is that the 70-534 exam is due to expire 31st December 2017, to be replaced by 70-535. Depending on where you are at in your study preparation, you have a decision to make  on which exam to take. Scott Duffy has some useful info on what is the difference between the two exams which may be helpful in making a decision - his initial looks suggests there is a significant amount of new content added to the blueprint for 70-535 and only a few items removed.

Having now passed 70-532, 70-533 and 70-534 I’m done with these Azure certifications for some time. Having been through this process my recommendation if you are following the same path would be to take all three as close together as possible as you can given the overlap in content. I wasn’t able to for various reasons, but if I had to do it again, I would make more of an effort to make that happen.