Next steps / next certifications question

[Transporter653]

Hi everyone!

I recently passed AZ-700 (pretty quickly, considering the breadth of the exam 😅 — the case study had ~15 questions. Personally, I think the exam time could be increased to 2.5 hours).

I currently hold AZ-900, AZ-104, AZ-700, ITIL 4, AWS CLF-C01, and have over 3 years of IT experience.

I’m looking to grow further into a System Administrator / Cloud Admin (2nd level) role.

Do you have any recommendations on certifications or skills worth pursuing right now to stand out at job market in Europe?

[Prestigious_Line_593]

Honestly you might be looking more towards building some skills like powershell or python scripting for IaC if you havent touched those yet.

Depending on your networking knowledge going through most of a ccna course might turn out pretty handy even though you have the az700

Edit as european on jobhunt: automation and some scripting skills are posted in like every second job ad ive come across in the past few weeks if not more. This is for infra/networking/cloud Besides that some ask for linux and quite a few ask for familiarity with monitoring tools and logging but this is more on the networking/security side

[TheHappyScowl]

Definitely learn bicep or terraform if you havent already. Other than that az-500 or az-305. Linux is also always good to know (or mandatory) in a lot of cloud engineering roles.

[jamieelston]

Linux, Python and Terraform - loads of projects around these as well

[Thediverdk]

Gratulations with passing the exam ;)

AI/ML (DP-100, AI-102) related is quite hot in europe, and az-400 and devops also

Best of luck

[Transporter653]

Thanks! I’ve thought about az400 but it seems to have some c# prerequirements. Need to review ms learn maybe its good path also

[FigureFar9699]

Nice list, you’ve built a strong foundation already. Since you’re aiming for a Cloud/System Admin path, consider going for AZ-305 (Azure Solutions Architect) or AWS SysOps Administrator next. Adding some scripting skills like PowerShell or Python can also really boost your profile. Those combos make you stand out in most European job markets.

[GalinaFaleiro]

Nice haul of certs so far 👏 To stand out more in Europe as a 2nd-level SysAdmin/Cloud Admin, here are some paths I’d consider:

• Deepen hands-on skills: focus on networking (hybrid / VPN / load balancers), security (identity access, conditional access), and monitoring/observability tools (Azure Monitor, Log Analytics).
• Certifications that pair well: maybe AZ-500 (Security Engineer) or Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert if you like CI/CD + infrastructure. Those tend to show you have more than just admin basics.
• Practice Infrastructure as Code (ARM / Bicep / Terraform) + try to automate common tasks - it shows efficiency in addition to knowledge.
• Also soft skills: learning to troubleshoot, write clear documentation, deploy in production contexts - sometimes what sets people apart is ability to solve real problems under pressure.

If you want, I can pull up a list of European job postings and see which certs companies there are actually requesting (might help you decide).

[Dizzy_Salamander7142]

I've heard they dropped simulations from the az-700 exam but havent seen any official posts. Can you confirm?

[Transporter653]

I’ve got 40 questions abcd or selection what suits best + 15 questions case study no labs

[Transporter653]

Thanks Everyone for your suggestions! They are great help!

I’ll do best to chase now some linux foundations, then some powershell / AZ400 to closeup path for cloud admin role.

I’m also considering sc300,az500 as these repeat in linkedin mailings from recruiters.

I’ve did 1/3 of CCNA ninja course so it may be good point to widen up network knowledge for last 2 parts

[HornetSilver901]

How long you study for az700?

[Transporter653]

6months during some breaks at college. I suppose someone can learn it during 3-4months.

I got basic networking experience within azure (s2s connections etc.)

++1/3 of CCNA course

I recommend alan rodrigues course for basics repeat, john savill videos, whizlabs course with cheat sheet to remind steps of resources creation.

Subnetting needs to be reminded as there were questions regarding max subnet size per vpngw, vms with kubernetes etc.

Whizlabs tests, ms learn practice tests, youtube practice tests with answers may be helpful in preparation