For years, app developers and programmers have been the rockstars of the tech world. With everybody chasing the next big app idea to be the next Uber or Instagram or Spotify, it’s easy to see how some of the most talented tech minds naturally gravitated to app creation and coding as their ultimate career path. But over the past several years, the shift from physical on-site servers to cloud-based systems has been a seismic upheaval of the old status quo. As companies turn to giant cloud providers to handle all of their technology needs, there’s a growing realization that having a seasoned IT professional intimately familiar with cloud technology and able to use the platform to keep all computers, devices and communication running smoothly isn’t just important. It’s life-alteringly vital to a company. In case you doubt their status as the dev world’s new latest and greatest, just look at the salaries being paid to cloud experts these days. If you’re trained in the ins and outs of Microsoft Azure, your salary is likely in the $125,000 a year range. Put that next to paychecks half that size being paid out to app developers and programmers and it isn’t hard to see the way the wind is blowing. In fact, training like that found in The Complete Microsoft Azure Certification Prep Bundle ($29, over 90 percent off, from TNW Deals) is a smart play for young IT pros looking to stake out a piece of prime real estate in this new cyber land rush. The bundle includes four courses aimed at getting students certified by Microsoft in four of the most critical disciplines for elite-level experts tasked with applying and managing their technology.
Azure Architect
If you’re building a new home, someone has to actually sit down and plot out how it’s all going to lay out and function before a single brick is put in place. In the cloud, that’s the role of the Azure Architect, so AZ-300 Azure Architecture Technologies Certification Exam Prep helps students understand how to construct that primary roadmap to a successful cloud network. Over seven hours of training, soon-to-be Azure Architects will understand how to talk with stakeholders, then balance their wishes and demands with fiscal guidelines to turn them all into a sound, reliable, scalable cloud plan. It’s training that requires a expert-level knowledge of Azure, but it may be the most comprehensive post in the entire ecosystem of Azure practitioners.
Azure Developer
Even in the cloud, a developer is a builder — which is why the coursework in AZ-203 Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure Exam Prep aims squarely at developing a student’s ability to design, test and then maintain effective cloud solutions like apps and services. Over another seven hours, budding developers learn their role in all phases of development from ideation to development and deployment to testing and maintenance. Developers are the ones who are most likely to roll up their sleeves and hammer those cyber nails to get a cloud system working, so this coursework gets students conversant in all the major elements of a build, from storage and security to communications as well as the tools necessary to get a cloud network up and running.
Azure Administrator
Of course, if a developer builds a gleaming new home, it’s up to a proper administrator to make sure it keeps running like a champ long after the doors are first opened. That’s where an Azure Administrator steps in. With Microsoft Azure AZ-103 Exam Prep training, you’ll spend six hours taking in a full overview of all phases of a cloud operation, the most wide-ranging training in this collection. To be a proper Administrator, you have to know all sides of the game, so this course not only teaches design and function basics, but gets students familiar with all the analytics tools and know-how to help a growing network stay healthy and scalable responsibly while always staying heavily protected.
Azure Security
It goes without saying that security concerns should be of primary importance to every member of a cloud IT team. With the AZ-301 Microsoft Azure Integration & Security Exam Prep course, students get their closest look at choosing and initiating security control, managing identity profiles and system access, maintaining security vigilance and, most importantly, protecting system data with all the tools in the Azure toolbox. After taking these four courses, you’ll be fully prepared to take and ace each of these four critical Microsoft certification exams. They’re an impressive collection of credentials, one all but guaranteed to put you on the fast track to the wealth and respect cloud pros have earned. Valued at around $100 per course, you can get the entire package now for only $29 while this offer lasts. Prices are subject to change.