# A tip for anyone who wants to get Microsoft certified: start with the fundamentals.

AZ-900 took me longer than the exams that I took after it. Part of that was simply because it was my first certification and I was still finding my rhythm. But that time investment paid off — after AZ-900, I was able to prepare for the other exams much faster.

While preparing, I spent a lot of time building actual understanding, and that slower approach paid off.

Because now:

- I recognize patterns faster
- Documentation makes more sense
- Architecture decisions feel more intuitive
- I spot recurring fundamentals faster, like choosing between storage redundancy tiers and the difference between availability sets and availability zones.

Instead of asking "what is this?", I focus on: "when should I use this, and why?"

It's tempting to skip fundamentals or optimize too early, but strong foundations compound. If you're starting with Azure, don't rush AZ-900, and definitely try the free Microsoft practice assessment on Learn before the exam. And you can also use my [cheat sheet, shared here](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7477254624203210753/).

Bonus tip: use AI to generate practice questions and get extra explanations when something is unclear.

![AZ-900 fundamentals overview graphic](https://images.koorevaar.com/linkedin-import/az900-start-with-fundamentals.jpg)

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*Co-authored with Claude.*

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