How hard is the AZ-104 Exam?
Moderate difficulty Harder than fundamentals (AZ-900), easier than architect exams Requires hands-on experience, not just memorization.
However, anything you are not prepared for is hard.
On my first attempt, I took the official Microsoft Learn Course. and did the Microsoft Test Questions. This was not enough. I scored a 632 just using those resources.
On my second attempt, I reviewed all of these resources again, did more hands on and reviewed my practice test questions again, and scored a 659. Closer and in the right direction. But I had to scratch my head and troubleshoot what I was doing wrong.
For my third and final attempt, I took an exhaustive approach.
- I did every hands on lab I could find
- I reviewed every test question from every major provider. I tested until I was consistently in the 90’s on every exam I could find.
- I wrote mind maps for the content
- I created my own study guides.
- I became the exam.
For most of the Microsoft foundation exams, I found that I could study for a week and pass. For this AZ-104 Exam, I studied exhaustively for 2 months before I finally scored a pass.
One key difference was having a game plan for the case study. I feel if I was more prepared for the Case Study style exam questions, I would have passed on my second attempt.
Hence the creation of this website. I decided that I was going to master this material, not just pass. This website is a collection of my effort throughout the entire AZ-104 journey.