How to study and clear the AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals exam?
Phew, it does feel good to jump over the hurdle, after putting in hours studying for an exam.
This article is going to guide you on how to study and clear (hopefully) the AI Fundamentals exam.
I had sat in for the one day webinar on 9th April, 2021 via CloudReady. These sessions are for students who are currently studying in the Uk and not other regions.
We were introduced to the following modules.
- Introduction to AI
- Computer Vision
- Machine Learning
- Natural Language Processing
- Conversational AI
The sessions were taken by good folks like Stephanie Locke and Andrew Bettany.
I felt the one day webinar was a bit long as it had been a while since I had sat for such long sessions. But in hindsight, I am glad it was done in a day rather than spread over two or three days as then you may lose interest or get busy with some other work/assignments.
The webinar introduced us to the basics of what is required to understand and learn how to study for these topics. However, the main part comes in later when you have to self-study. We were also given access to our own page (https://cloudreadyskills.com/ai-fundamentals-resources) where we had instructions on how sign up for practice tests via Measure Up, use the free Azure credit and also sign up for the free exam (if taken within 21 days of the webinar date).
- Pro Tip: We have been told that that we get a second attempt if we don’t clear it. I would suggest clearing it in the first attempt and keeping the second chance for the advanced sessions.
To access the modules, you have to sign up at the Microsoft Learn website. Below is a screenshot of how one of the module looks.
Going through and completing all of these modules should not take much time. I sat and went thru most of them within 8–10 days of the webinar. Most of it is theory but we also have access to run applications and use the free Azure credit to try projects hands on. However, I focussed on the theory for this exam and did not do the practical assignments.
Once you do the first two or three modules, head over to Measure Up and start the practice tests.
Once you have logged into Measure Up, go to ‘My Learning Locker’. This is the place where you will have access to your free practice tests. You can see below the green box.
I can’t repeat the importance of giving the practice tests. They really helped me out. Once you compete two modules, you can go into practice tests and then go and ‘choose objectives’ to see which module test you would like to give. See the video below for a brief idea.
Once you start the practices tests, you may realise you are not doing well. And that’s ok. But here is how you can scale up. After completing a test, go back and click on ‘History’ and get access to the test you gave by clicking ‘Open score report’. Over there, go to the ‘Questions lists’ and go back and see which ones you got wrong. I would suggest putting in the effort and reading all of them. There is an explanation given at the bottom which tells you what every option is meant for in the test. This helps as you understand what the other answers are meant for.
Below is how one practice question looks like.
Also when giving the practice tests, you can also opt to give a test of 100 questions (if want to). Post this, I gave the practice certificate tests where i scored 81%.
As you can see from my scores, I was at 41% but then scaled to 81% after the practice tests.
I had also given my test via https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/ and gave the test on 28th April, 2021. All details are mailed to you in advance. My scores were:
The transcript is available via https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/ immediately and the badge and certificate will follow soon. So what you are waiting for. Go on and give the test and let me know in the comments how you fared.
(You can log in here to see the dates to book your place in the day long webinar : https://cloudreadyskills.com/ )
Onwards and Upwards
Stay Safe
Sanjit
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