Microsoft's Certification Renewal is Brilliant
Microsoft's certification renewal process has me very impressed and pleased.
Despite not really needing it, I enjoy having my Azure Developer certification. I first earned it almost two years ago and knew its time was coming up. Microsoft's certifications cost only a bit less than other exams and last two years, which is too short in my opinion, so I didn't have a lot of interest in earning any others at any point. Joining AWS, I especially didn't care much but did find it nice to drop on customers who were not sure I knew much about Azure despite working in that for a decade.
Anyway, I received a nice email inviting me to renew my Azure Developer cert for another year online. I thought it would cost money or be a big ordeal but it was simply a small quiz I could take on my own PC when I felt like it and try as many times as I needed. On top of it, they provide a brief study review for content that would show up.
I took their practice courses, which were equal parts enjoyable and brief and even spun up a small azure lab to use for free while studying. This is truly an excellent experience as a customer and I love the thought that went into the process of preparing the test taker.
What I didn't love was that the questions on the exam were sometimes deliberately worded a bit oddly and did not map to the content directly; you would have to know the material vs. solely doing the courses it recommends you to prepare for renewal. On one hand, that is very good. On the other, it's annoying. Ultimately, as there is no punishment for failing and you can try again the next day, I think it's entirely logical and a huge win for the following reasons:
- It's free. You aren't feeding someone's business model to keep taking exams that cost $300.
- You do it on your own time - you're encouraged to fail, learn, and grow without repercussions.
- It incentivizes people to hold onto Microsoft's certifications, which is good businesss for Microsoft as they can tout more experts.
I hope to see others follow in this design as the old model is excessive in our world now. It felt good to renew it, and I even learned a few things in a brief few hours of studies. Good stuff!