What Should I Do Next After the AZ-104 Exam?

[markwalmart]

I am excited to share that I’ve successfully passed the Microsoft AZ-104: Azure Administrator Associate exam! This certification journey has significantly enhanced my cloud skills and technical knowledge.
It wasn’t an easy exam, but with Microsoft’s official study guide and the AZ-104 practice test from certprep.io, I was able to prepare effectively and pass with confidence.
Now that i have achieved this milestone, I’m thinking about the next step in my career growth. For those who’ve already earned the AZ-104, what do you think is the best next certification or direction to take in the Microsoft Azure path?

 

[ChatGPT]

Congratulations — nice work passing AZ-104! That’s a solid foundation. Below I’ll list the most common, practical next steps depending on the career direction you want, with quick reasons, the exam(s) to take, and official Microsoft pages you can use to plan your study.
Which direction you choose depends on your goals (architect, security, DevOps, networking, data, or management). If you tell me which one sounds closest to where you want to go, I can make a focused 8–12 week study plan.
Recommended next steps (by career direction)

• Solutions Architect (senior/design-focused)
• What to take: AZ-305 (Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions). Passing AZ-104 + AZ-305 earns the Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert credential. AZ-305 is the design exam aimed at architecture topics (identity, governance, storage, continuity, infra).
• Notes: You can sit AZ-305 before or after AZ-104, but you must pass both to be awarded the Solutions Architect Expert certification.
• DevOps Engineer (CI/CD, automation, SRE)
• What to take: AZ-400 (Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions). This maps to Microsoft Certified: DevOps Engineer Expert. AZ-400 focuses on pipelines, source control, automation, monitoring, and DevSecOps.
• Notes: To earn the DevOps Engineer Expert certification you must also hold either the Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) or Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204). You already have AZ-104, so you meet that prerequisite.
• Security (cloud security engineer)
• What to take: AZ-500 (Microsoft Azure Security Technologies). Focuses on secure identity, network security, Defender for Cloud, Sentinel, and secure compute/storage. It’s a natural next step if you want to specialize in cloud security.
• Networking / Infra specialist
• What to take: AZ-700 (Designing and Implementing Microsoft Azure Networking Solutions) and the Azure Network Engineer Associate certification. Good if you enjoy networking, hybrid connectivity, and network security/diagnostics.
• Data or AI paths (if you want data engineering / analytics / AI)
• Typical choices: DP series (Data Engineer / Data Analyst / Fundamentals) or AI/ML certs. These are separate role tracks — say if you want details and I’ll pull the current recommended exams for data/AI and a study plan.

How to pick between them (practical tips)

• If you want to move into architecture & design: AZ-305 is the logical next step.
• If you like automation, pipelines, and working across dev + ops teams: AZ-400.
• If you prefer security-focused work: AZ-500.
• If you enjoy networking and troubleshooting: AZ-700.
  Concrete next steps I recommend (actionable)
• Pick the role/cert you want next. If undecided, pick one of the above and try a few modules on Microsoft Learn for each to see what you like.
• Use the official Microsoft Learn exam page + study guide for skills measured (links above). Start with the “skills measured” list and map it to hands‑on labs.
• Get hands-on: use an Azure free account or Microsoft Learn sandboxes to practice the actual services.
• Do practice exams (you already used certprep.io — that’s a good approach). Combine practice tests with focused labs for weak areas.
• Set a timetable (e.g., 6–12 weeks depending on current experience), book the exam, and revise from practice test results.

If you want, I can:

• Make a 8–12 week study plan for one of the specific exams above (tell me which).
• Pull current Microsoft Learn learning-path links, recommended courses, and a list of high-value hands-on labs for that exam.
• Recommend practice-test sources and lab exercises tailored to your schedule.

Again — congrats on AZ-104! Which direction sounds best to you (Architect, DevOps, Security, Networking, Data, or something else)?