Given that I’ve been working in Azure Data Engineering for a while now, I figured it was time to take a Microsoft Certification. I’ve taken them before related to SQL Server and Data Management, but it’s been a few years.
DP-203: Data Engineering on Microsoft Azure
You can find the exam information here:
The major categories covered by this exam (as of the time of this writing) are:
- Design and implement data storage (15–20%)
- Develop data processing (40–45%)
- Secure, monitor, and optimize data storage and data processing (30–35%)
The test primarily seems to cover the stuff you can do in Synapse, as well as Azure Data Factory and Databricks (which conceptually are included in Synapse). It did also include some questions around Event Hubs and Stream Analytics.
Learning
The exam page has a learning pathway described on it – the trainings in those pathways did help to walk through the materials ahead of time. I had experience with much of Synapse, so some of it was review – but I find in situations like this you end up learning more of the little things that you might miss when learning by implementation.
Test Day
There are options to test virtually at home or in a testing center. I’ve used the testing centers before, and I’ve heard that the virtual testing experience is less than stellar.
The biggest surprise was that the test is now “open book”! There’s a link right in the test to bring you to Microsoft Learn to lookup whatever you need during the test. This proved quite valuable during the test, however I also caught myself looking up way too many answers early on in the test. I’d suggest taking a pass through all of the questions and mark the questions you want to return to.
They allow 1 hour and 40 minutes for the test (after 20 minutes of prep), and I finished with about 10 minutes left.
The Results
The “Open Book” detail really made me feel better – I was worried I hadn’t caught quite enough details for the test. You need 700 to pass, and I passed it with 840. I was worried approaching test day, but I passed with plenty of margin.
Conclusion
There are a lot of great training available options available for the DP-203 exam, and if it’s something you’re interested in I say go for it! Next up: Exam DP-600: Implementing Analytics Solutions Using Microsoft Fabric