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Growing your career: permanent & freelance IT Consultants

A Microsoft Technologies Careers Guide

Learn all about Microsoft careers and the various paths one can take within the Microsoft Technologies ecosystem with this guide.


It was not that long ago that Microsoft seemed on track to take a more secondary role in the future of enterprise technology.

Software sales had been sluggish for some time, and the company seemed unable to keep up with the pace of innovation of its competitors. Well, things change quickly, especially in IT.

To the surprise of some, Microsoft has managed to bounce back in just a few years. It has indeed delivered its finest OS to date, Windows 10, created a new line of successful hardware products like the Surface. Thus it become a top contender in the cloud wars. Moreover, Microsoft is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the current situation. Being incredibly fortunate with cloud-based collaboration tools ranging from Azure and Office 365 to Microsoft Teams.

Hence, investing time and resources in pursuing one of the many Microsoft careers is a solid career bet. Here is a little roadmap that we hope helps guide you on your journey to personal and IT professional success.

Microsoft careers: a solid IT career investment

Microsoft careers: a solid career investment

The surge in remote work caused by COVID-19 has greatly helped the cloud industry. Microsoft’s Azure business keeps on growing, consolidating the company’s position as the world’s second-largest cloud provider with only Amazon ahead. In turn, the increased demand for cloud know-how has led to a severe drought of talent, especially in areas like cybersecurity. Both cloud and security are highly coveted these days.

Additionally, in a world dominated by data, business intelligence is key. Here, Microsoft also reigns supreme with tools like Microsoft Power BI — a business intelligence platform that caters to business users. As an IT professional, knowing your way around MS Power BI will make you a great asset in today’s enterprise. There will always be someone in need of an expert to set up the environment, train end-users and troubleshoot.

Finally, Microsoft’s sheer size and reach, as well as its tools and platforms focused on developers. This means that a vast amount of applications and solutions are developed using Microsoft’s technology.

Ubiquity, scalability, flexibility and endless possibilities are the words that come to mind when trying to explain what Microsoft stands for in this day and age.

In addition, the Redmond, Virginia company is almost everywhere and in everything, connecting the world economy across industries, practices and solutions.

This Microsoft careers guide connects the dots and providing a holistic perspective on the Microsoft ecosystem and the various career paths one can take within.

The Microsoft Technology Stack

Microsoft careers: The Microsoft Technology Stack

Ubiquity, productivity, scalability, flexibility. These are some of the words that come to mind when trying to explain what Microsoft stands for in this day and age. The Redmond, Virginia company is almost everywhere and in everything, connecting the world economy across industries, practices and solutions. Cloud, operating systems, repositories, collaboration tools…

But, as an IT professional, you would encompass more than enough by focusing on the company’s core solutions. Here are the principal technologies in the Microsoft Technology Stack.

The different IT career paths within Microsoft

Microsoft careers: The different career paths within Microsoft

Given the breadth and depth of Microsoft’s tech stack, the number of jobs and specialties that the environment comprises is practically impossible to capture completely and concisely at the same time. There are just too many.

However, you can identify a series of recurrent role across the various technologies. The company itself highlights these common career paths in its training programs.

Also explore our article on Microsoft career paths for an overview of the different career paths within the Microsoft ecosystem.

Developing your Microsoft expertise

Microsoft careers: Developing your Microsoft expertise

As with other proprietary families of technologies, the best way to go about learning the basics and getting a foot in the door is through official Microsoft certifications. These provide you with a solid technical foundation while validating your expertise in front of recruiters and the overall industry.

In conclusion, there is a myriad of certifications one can obtain, based on desired role or IT career path, or depending on the specific skills you would like to acquire.

Here’s a quick guide to the world of Microsoft certifications.  

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Press review Tech Magazine

Weekly News: Artificial Intelligence, Minecrafting the Real World

Since 2018, the Generative Design in Minecraft (GDMC) competition challenges participants to push the limits of artificial intelligence and come up with realistic cities from scratch.

If you are unfamiliar with Minecraft (I doubt it), the cube-based video game lets players build all sorts of structures with almost absolute freedom. In other words, cubic freedom.

Participants must leverage a combination of various Artificial Intelligence techniques in Minecraft to level terrain, build roads and bridges and erect buildings. It is a very complex task involving everything from path-finding algorithms to machine learning, but it’s starting to come together. 

Surely the technology is still years away, but it looks like city planners and designers will soon have a new digital partner for their construction projects.

Your future apartment building might well be designed by an AI architect. At least parts of it.

Racist Artificial Intelligence strikes again

And speaking of artificial intelligence I, yet another poorly trained algorithm has put yet another Internet giant in serious trouble. This time it was Twitter’s turn. 

Have you ever wondered how the platform decides what parts of a picture to crop in preview mode? It is, of course, an image-cropping algorithm. Using a combination of tools, Twitter tries to prioritise faces and text, unless your face is black. 

Ironically, the issue was discovered when a PhD student was trying to tweet about another racially-biased algorithm he had encountered on Zoom. The videoconferencing service had erased the image of his black colleague after failing to recognise his face. Twitter decided that wasn’t enough and erased his colleague from the screen capture too. 

Although the company was quick to apologise for not testing the algorithm thoroughly enough, Twitter feeds quickly filled up with people doing experiments to test the flaw. Some even tried posting images of differently coloured dogs. 

Time for lessons to be learnt.

Announcements from Microsoft Ignite

Microsoft has kickstarted its annual Ignite user-focused conference by announcing a series of additions to its cloud and productivity portfolios. 

Teams is getting new security and compliance-related features, as well as a suite of new tools to help companies better support remote workers. The latter are mainly data insights to assess the overall wellbeing of employees, made available to users and managers to help them improve productivity and reduce burnout.

The company has also teased Virtual Commute, an upcoming Teams functionality aimed at helping workers unwind after a long day of work. Hmm, how about not being on Teams after working hours to start with?

Plans to expand Azure Stack’s hybrid cloud capabilities have also been announced. The platform lets businesses run public cloud-like workloads within on-premise data centres. Users will be now able to run and deploy containerized applications on the setup, while the Azure Stack Hub will incorporate GPU support for broader machine learning capabilities. 

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Growing your career: permanent & freelance IT Consultants

IT Contractors: How to Ensure a Constant Stream of Work

Starting out as a freelancer is for many the realization of a life-long project. While the contractor status means there is no guarantee of job security, there are nonetheless several methods to perpetuate your collaborations and ensure a constant stream of work from loyal and happy customers. How to ensure a constant stream of work?

Here is a quick overview of best practices for maintaining a robust client portfolio that provides you with a steady stream of work.

Become indispensable

To become irreplaceable, you have to develop a unique value proposition and, of course, get your work done on time. First of all, it is important to honour your commitments as agreed upon at the signature of your contract. But then you must go beyond and work to bring added value to the project. Inject a bit of your personal touch to make yourself stand out.


Becoming indispensable means that from the very first interview, you must make sure to stand out, without going overboard. Your interview should not be a simple question/answer exchange, but a real discussion between professionals. Keep in mind that the person you will be working with is not your employer. You collaborate together, for a common goal. Anything that can bring a real, personalised touch to the project and that is not offered by all the other freelancers is to be highlighted. This will encourage your customers to seek to collaborate with you over the long term.

Finally, remember that skills alone are not enough. It is essential that you find the right positioning between professionalism, rigour and proximity. You will thus assert your personality and demonstrate charisma while projecting confidence.

Establish a healthy line of communication

Healthy communication between a freelancer and their clients is essential to ensure long, win-win collaborations. So how do you do it?

  • Check in regularly, but without being pushy or appearing overly eager
  • Show your interest in the company and its projects. Typically, contractors who show an interest in the client’s broader work are more likely to snatch long-term collaboration contracts
  • Do not hesitate to ask for feedback on your work and to be proactive in proposing ideas This is greatly appreciated
  • Do not be afraid to clarify any unspoken or perceived misunderstandings. If you do not dare to discuss a potential issue for fear of string up the waters, the problem could end up weighing heavily both on your morale and your client’s satisfaction with your work
  • Anticipate your next mission. Ask questions about or propose future projects, as well as if you can help in any other areas. Besides giving you vital insight into your client’s operations, this attitude will help you become a long-term partner who goes beyond individual assignments and provides more strategic support

Stay visible

Once a mission is completed, and if you have received positive feedback, it is advisable that you connect with your points of contact over social media and professional networks like LinkedIn. This of course requires an active presence on the various platforms, as well as a solid online image.

Keep your profiles updated and add new content on a regular basis. You can also publish promotional offers like discounts, or new services and skills you have developed. 

If you are visible enough, your clients will remember you and your professional qualities. They will call on your services again, especially if you offer them loyal-customer discounts based on the volume of work requested.

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IT Infrastructure Job Descriptions

Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) : Job Description

Use our template to create a compelling and comprehensive Site Reliability Engineer job description to attract top talent.

The Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) is an increasingly coveted function within IT departments.

The Site Reliability Engineer role stems from an approach to production systems management created within Google in 2003. As well as from the expansion of the DevOps mentality. The function is based on the implementation of synergies between development and operations to accelerate the creation and deployment of applications.

Also discover our interview: How to Become an Azure MVP

What is the role of the SRE?


Analyze project specifications

The first mission of an SRE is to analyze all security and operational problems of an application. Figuring then out what works and what doesn’t to optimize it.

Work in collaboration with developers and salespeople

The SRE regularly meets with developers and salespeople to benefit from their feedback and do a better job. The opinion of both sides is important to understand user experience and what the users criticize in terms of safety/reliability. They must understand what the developers have do at the technical level to assess problems more effectively.

Deploy automation

In order to save time and be more efficient, the site reliability engineer should be able to set up automated processes for recurring tasks.

Also read the IT Infrastructure best practices

Required skills of the SRE

Be comfortable with programming languages

The SRE should also be able to write and program all types of applications. And should also be comfortable with the most used coding languages including JavaScript, Java and .NET. More recent tools, ​​like Node.js or Golang, are also a plus.

Translate business language into technical language

In addition, when the SRE receives the specifications, they must be able to understand the app’s business goal and then put in place the technical means to resolve the problem.

Understand all points of view

The site reliability engineer will also have to put himself in the shoes of the developers. But also of the end users to understand what roadblocks may arise and how to overcome them.

Within the industry

In general, an SRE is first and foremost a developer, who, in addition, has knowledge of operational infrastructure and performance issues.

Salary of the SRE

The average daily rate of a Site Reliability Engineer fluctuates between €550 and €750.

Training to become an SRE

To become a Site Reliability Engineer, it is best to have a background in computer science and a focus in language and programming.

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How To Code Well: Taking Breaks and Other Pieces of Timeless Career Advice

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Press review Tech Magazine

Weekly News: Fishing for Data & Data Storage

Fishing for Data, cloud storage, data center, AI, cloud gaming and DevOps, discover latest news with Mission Control Center by Mindquest.

Data storage & Liquid cooling

Some weeks ago we learnt how a future where cloud gaming was the norm could see emissions rise by 30%. 

Maintaining a data centre and a data storage is a costly endeavour. Especially because of how much power is devoted to cooling the hardware. But Microsoft has a solution. 

Earlier this week, the company retrieved a cylinder-shaped data centre it had sunk off the Scotland coast two years ago. Albeit covered by algae and barnacles,; the data centre is in perfect working order and has in fact proven to be more reliable and efficient than traditional server rack environments. 

Researchers attribute the positive results to a combination of less human interaction and cooler temperatures; as well as to the nitrogen that was used for ventilation instead of the usual oxygen. Which reduces corrosion.

Although one could wonder how an ocean floor full of servers would affect global water temperatures. 

BBC

Snakeoil sellers beware

And speaking of AI…

An international coalition of medical experts has introduced the world’s first standards for clinical trials involving artificial intelligence. 

The standards, which were published on Nature Medicine and The Lancet, are aimed at tackling the current hype around AI and preventing interested parties from leveraging the media attention to sell dubious research.

The move comes at a time when the entire world is laser-focused on Covid vaccine clinical trials. An area in which AI can help speed up things immensely. Applied wrongly, however, the technology could endanger millions of people.  

MIT Technology Review

DevOps: the future of the enterprise

In an interview with SiliconANGLE, Gene Kim, the DevOps guru behind books like “The Phoenix Project” stressed how vital DevOps is to the future of the enterprise. 

At a time when ensuring effective data storage, management and analytics is so pressing, businesses are prioritising developer operations to make informed business decisions.

Kim argues that DevOps not only helps organisations’ bottom line; it is the new bottom line.

A focus on empowering developers, Kim says, will undoubtedly reward companies with unprecedented freedom and agility.

SiliconANGLE

Discover our article: The IT Jobs Market of Today

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About us Captains’s Log

The Mindquest Manifesto

Technology is reshaping not only the ways in which we live and communicate but also how we work. Discover the Mindquest Manifesto.

The skills we need to be successful in our careers and business projects—that means both hard and soft skills—are constantly evolving. The ways in which companies and teams operate are changing dramatically, even more so since the start of the pandemic. But that is just the beginning. The classical employee-employer relationship is being fundamentally redesigned.

These sudden and profound changes can be confusing for both companies and employees, creating a great deal of uncertainty and posing a new set of challenges.  

Today’s IT professionals are concerned about how to best manage and build a successful career of their choosing in an ever-changing environment where skills must be constantly updated to stay relevant. On top of that, tech workers, like any other professional collective, have personal lives to attend to and want to figure out a way to achieve career success while ensuring that all their needs are covered at each stage of their life cycle. Should they work as a permanent employee, or as a freelance contractor? The answer might change depending on which point of their lives they are in.  

For companies and IT managers, it is all about how to adapt to and stay ahead of this changing landscape while retaining agility, competitiveness and a cohesive approach to talent and operations. New ways of working require shifts in company structure, as well as new ways of managing teams that are increasingly composed of both permanent employees and external contractors. Aspects like maintaining a unified company culture, securing the best talent before the competition does, and preparing for upcoming regulations are of major importance to today’s business leaders.     

At Mindquest we like to think of these changes as a journey, for professionals as well as for businesses. 

The journey requires all parties to be in constant motion, to step out of one’s comfort zone, to make a few mistakes and learn a lot to keep on advancing.

Some people can get lost along the way and make the wrong decisions, resulting in greater concerns, anxiety, and a waste of talent and energy.

Mindquest – This is where we come in.

Our mission is to provide people and businesses with the best possible guidance and support throughout their entire professional journey. For us, it’s all about people, and it’s all about growth — personal and business growth.

We are here to uncover the true potential of brilliant and unique minds and help them build their desired career paths, working with companies and projects where they will be able to excel and achieve their professional goals.

We are here to help business leaders find the best IT talent and develop comprehensive talent strategies that generate as much value as possible.

We are here to create a new kind of community within the tech sector, to create long-lasting professional relationships and partnerships from a win-win perspective.

We are here to help our partners live up to their full potential in this new technology-driven world of work.

We are here for you.

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Growing your career: permanent & freelance IT Consultants

5 Online Courses to Get You Up-To-Speed with AI in 2023

Spoiler alert: Artificial Intelligence is the future of work. Or at least part of it. This is not to say that everyone will become an AI engineer. But in just a few years from now, a large part of job positions will require or reward AI skills that help employees be more efficient and dedicate themselves to higher-level tasks. Especially in areas like IT, where human error can have dire consequences. So what online AI courses are best to get you up-to-speed with this booming discipline?

AI has experienced a major explosion in popularity in recent years, becoming one of the fastest-growing roles in job markets across the world. Indeed, just at the beginning of the 2020, a LinkedIn report identified AI-related skills as the fourth most in-demand skills group among employers. And that was before the pandemic set in.

Since then, Artificial Intelligence has emerged as a compelling choice for students and professionals who want to keep up with innovation and trends. Analytics Insight points out very good reasons to study AI in 2023.

Bottom line: believe the hype. It’s about time you put on your AI boots if you still haven’t done so. Here are five courses to get you started that touch upon some of today’s core AI skills.


Find your next assignment on our freelance and permanent IT recruitment platform, or join Mindquest so you don’t miss out on any job opportunity!


1. Online AI courses : the basics

Artificial Intelligence

Firstly, how comfortable would you feel explaining to someone the difference between AI, machine learning and deep learning? What comes to mind when you hear the words ‘neural network’?

If you are not quite sure, start with the fundamentals. This Coursera course by IBM provides a good introductory overview of artificial intelligence and its many aspects:

2. One of the most popular online AI courses : Python

Python

Python is to AI what English is to Shakespeare’s plays. Thus, this nimble yet powerful language is one of the most popular among programmers and engineers, and, if you haven’t gotten around it already, well – you should.

This course on Udemy kicks off with a Python crash course and then gets into its data science and machine learning applications, covering the most widely used Python libraries and tools for AI (NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib…):


Need tips on how to find a job in IT? Check out our IT job hunting guide.


3. Machine learning

Machine Learning

In essence, machine learning is the use of algorithms to process data, learn from it and then act according to these learnings. Machine learning allows computers to autonomously learn and improve processes and assessments through experience, without being explicitly programmed beforehand. It’s pretty much ubiquitous these days –from your phone’s predictive keyboard to web searches.

This course by Stanford is a good starting point:

4. TensorFlow, neural networks and deep learning

TensorFlow

Moreover, developed by Google Brain Team, TensorFlow is an open-source library for numerical computation with powerful AI capabilities. TensorFlow is Python-friendly and is currently one of the most in-demand AI skills.   

This video offers a great hands-on introduction to building neural networks with TensorFlow:

The course requires previous Python literacy, so you should not jump into it before learning the language.   

5. Natural Language Processing (NPL)

Natural Language Processing (NPL)

Last but not least, NPL is a branch of artificial intelligence that focuses on analyzing, understanding and producing human language. It is an integral technology to many everyday features of the digital economy, from autocorrects to chatbots.

This Codecademy course provides a practical and project-based introduction to NPL:


Are you looking for IT mission opportunities in the Tech and IT sectors on a freelance or permanent basis? Mindquest can help you find your next IT mission opportunity. Find your next mission by browsing our freelance and permanent vacancies available on our digital recruitment platform.


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Growing your career: permanent & freelance IT Consultants Job application advice

How to Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile as an IT Consultant

Knowing how to improve your online visibility is key to your career success. In terms of visibility on the web, LinkedIn is a must. Here’s how to optimise your LinkedIn profile as a tech or IT consultant and get that dream job.

IT consultants: how to highlight & optimise your LinkedIn profile

With more than 600 million users worldwide, 40% of whom are active every day, LinkedIn is a major tool for freelancers of all backgrounds. IT freelancers who manage to build a complete and optimized profile are way more likely to appear first in search results and attract the most interesting recruiters. Here are a few steps to make your LinkedIn profile shine and set yourself apart from other IT consultants.

Take care of your LinkedIn profile

The first element to take care of is your profile’s presentation. Your profile should be cared for and frequently updated, allowing you to appear in the best light possible for your future clients. This implies taking care of several elements:

A professional and impactful title

LinkedIn allows you to describe your activities in 120 characters. You need to choose an impactful title, being creative to attract the attention of recruiters while remaining professional. Note that the title is the element that appears directly in the search engine results. It is therefore important to pay particular attention to it. In addition to appearing after your name, the title will largely impact the recruiter’s first impression.

It is advisable to include in the title the mention of your consultant status as well as your area of expertise. The title should include the main search keywords related to your profile.

A professional photo that represents you

A profile with a photo is always more likely to stand out. The photo must be taken from the front, always clear and of good quality. Preferably, you should be smiling –, without exaggeration of course.

A concise summary of your profile and the opportunities you seek

In this rather summary, list your skills and detail your professional experience. So, if you are hyper-specialized in a particular sector, do not hesitate to include that in your summary: this may interest recruiters looking for very technical skills. It is also an opportunity to add your diplomas, your most significant professional successes and everything that makes a company more likely to choose you than another consultant. Try to demonstrate as much as possible that you know how to anticipate the needs of a business.

Also do not forget that your LinkedIn profile allows you to give information on what you are looking for: types of job, location, aspirations in terms of projects and professional development … With this simple step, you will avoid being contacted by recruiters who would approach you with ill-suited assignments or positions.

A more detailed summary of your past experiences to optimise your LinkedIn profile

Your LinkedIn profile is the ideal support for detailing your experience and the various positions you have held — just as you would do on your CV. You can provide background information, technical stacks, and tasks associated with these projects. Focus on your accomplishments by highlighting concrete results.

Share relevant content about IT consulting on LinkedIn

To improve your visibility on LinkedIn as an IT freelancer, it is strongly advised to share content frequently. You can share all kinds of content, including:

  • Links to articles related to your area of ​​expertise and your favourite subjects
  • Infographics or videos to spread a message visually and thus make it more impactful
  • Posts in text form, to share news about your professional life for example.
  • Articles that you have written on the platform, to highlight your knowledge of specific subject. This requires a certain investment in terms of time but can really help you enhance your profile.

It is better to share content regularly, without necessarily looking for the quantity. Unlike other platforms where the organic reach of posts requires sharing content on a daily basis, LinkedIn works differently. Also, remember that LinkedIn now accepts user tags and hashtags, which improves thematic search.

Last tip: don’t hesitate to share and comment on the posts of other people in your network. Taking part in conversations about your areas of expertise will allow you to position yourself as an expert and to be identified by recruiters for the best missions.

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Weekly News: IT Professionals Feeling Confident Lately

A renewed sense of confidence for IT professionals

A new report from SolarWinds suggests that IT professionals are feeling more confident during the pandemic. Thus, according to the survey, tech experts admit to having been more proactive in bringing new ideas to the table and taking on a bigger role.

Also, experts believe this newfound confidence is the result of IT pros being used to sudden shifts and unexpected situations – a quality that has helped them ride the Covid-19 wave as opposed to being swept by it.

IT has been pivotal to business resilience during this unprecedented crisis, elevating tech experts within their organisations and putting them closer to the decision-making process. 

Luckily, it looks like things will stay this way.

ITProPortal

IT professionals: Bye to VS Codespaces and Flash Player

Microsoft has decided to end Visual Studio Codespaces (formerly known as Visual Studio Online). The cloud-based development environment will then be merged with GitHub’s version of the same product.

Microsoft’s move comes after some developers expressed confusion between the two nearly-identical products. Unfortunately for developers, there is currently no way to migrate existing projects from one platform to the other. 

The company has also warned businesses to get ready for the end of Adobe Flash Player support. Microsoft and Adobe first announced the phase-out of the popular internet media player in 2017. From January 21, Flash will be disabled in both IE 11 and Microsft Edge browsers.

ZDNet / TechRepublic

IT professionals: IT jobs are booming in the UK

IT professionals are feeling more confident so that the government-funded think tank Tech Nation reports a 36% increase in tech vacancies between June and August. 

The sector is experiencing a fast recovery compared to other industries, with 90,000 new jobs being advertised every week across the UK. 

The most sought-after skills identified in the report include:

  • Engineering
  • .net
  • Javascript
  • Java
  • C++
  • Data
  • SQL
  • Python
  • Amazon Web Service
  • Client

CBR

C++ just got an A+

Tiobe Software’s latest Programming Community index points at a revival of C++. 

The 35-year-old language is the fastest growing language in terms of popularity, while C tops the list of most used languages.  

Experts at the company believe the new C++20 standard is responsible for the recent uptick, moreover, the standard includes a new modules feature which replaces the infamous include mechanism function.

Other languages gaining popularity are R and C#, whereas Java has experienced a drop compared to last year.  

ADT Mag

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Hiring an IT consultant IT Decision-makers

Microsoft Certifications Guide

This quick Microsoft certifications guide will provide you with a bird’s-eye view of all the company’s official trainings and thus help you advance your career.

Microsoft’s Learn portal offers a multitude of courses and Microsoft certifications for anyone to explore. Obtaining one of these certifications is therefore the first step when starting a career in the ecosystem or advancing or shifting your existing one.

Beyond providing you with theoretical and practical knowledge these certifications will validate your expertise within the industry and among recruiters. This is because, certifications demonstrate that you are up-to-date with current best practices and new tools, with some of them requiring to be renewed every year.

Courses to obtain certifications are free through the Learn platform and can be taken at your own pace from the comfort of your home. There are also several MS-vetted third-parties offering guided lessons and complementary coursework.

Students need to pay only for the practical exams, which can be taken online or at designated testing centres. Microsoft has expanded its online testing capabilities since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.


To start, there are several ways in which you can approach Microsoft training programs. You can focus on a particular platform within the Microsoft Technology Stack, or opt for a specific role and then choose a platform to focus on. You can also choose a specific career path or focus on a very concrete skill that you would like to acquire. Then, Microsoft outlines all available career paths, defining the series of certifications you will need to obtain to reach your career goal.

Certifications are divided according to the level of expertise and seniority: Fundamentals, Associate and Expert. Our Microsoft Certifications Guide will give you an overview, but you will have to dig deeper to find what really makes you tick.

Microsoft Certifications guide: Fundamentals certifications

First, as their name suggests, these certifications are the recommended starting point for anyone starting their career or looking to move into another platform within the MS tech stack. They cover:

  • Azure Fundamentals
  • Azure Data Fundamentals
  • Azure AI Fundamentals
  • Dynamics 365 Fundamentals
  • Microsoft 365 Fundamentals
  • Power Platform Fundamentals

Learn more about MS Fundamentals certifications.

Credentials

To continue, some MS certifications encompass more than one platform and require you to multiple individual certifications. Also, each of these certifications is tailored to a specific area of IT (security, networking, cloud, etc.)

Also, there are three tiers of certifications depending on the level of expertise:

  • Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA)
  • Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA)
  • Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) /Microsoft Solutions Developer (MCSD)

Learn more about MS certification credentials.

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Role-based and specialty Microsoft certifications

Certifications targeting specific roles are a great way of specializing or moving from one role to the other within the Microsoft ecosystems. Moreover, roles can comprise multiple MS platforms or focus on a particular one, and include:

Administrator

Administrators oversee the implementation of Microsoft platforms, thus maintaining solutions for storage, networking, computing and security.

AI Engineer

Then, AI engineers design and implement artificial intelligence solutions by leveraging different MS tools.

Data Engineer

Being in charge of mapping out and executing the management, monitoring, security, and privacy of data, Data Engineers are therefore proficient in a platform’s different data services and tools.

Data Scientist

Not to be confused with a Data Engineer, this role requires a deep knowledge of data science and machine learning. Moreover, expertise in data modelling is a must.

Developer

At the frontlines of deployment and operations, Developers partner with architects and administrators to design, create, test, also they maintain cloud applications and services.

DevOps Engineer

Advocates of agile methodologies for software development, DevOps professionals unify teams, processes and technologies in order to streamline the product pipeline.

Functional Consultant

Moreover, functional consultant implements core application setup processes that help businesses in areas like marketing, sales or supply chain management.

IoT Developer

On the other hand, IoT Developer designs, develops and maintains Internet of Things solutions and devices within MS environments. From coding to the set-up of physical devices.

Security Engineer

As the title suggests, security professionals protect the integrity of data, applications and networks by implementing threat detection and security controls.

Solutions Architect

To conclude, the Solutions Architect is the first person to be involved in a platform deployment process. Moreover, Architects must have a deep understanding of the entire ecosystem to design solutions that run on it.

Has our Microsoft Certification Guide sparked your interest? Explore all role-based MS certifications and specialty certifications.


Learn more about pursuing a career in Microsoft Technologies with our comprehensive Microsoft Technologies careers guide.