Azure skills remain highly sought after in cloud-native development. The AZ-204 exam, Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure, certifies that a developer can design, build, test, and maintain cloud applications and services on Microsoft Azure.

This guide gives a candidate-focused and Microsoft-professional vetted walkthrough of AZ-204: structure, study strategy, practical tips, career impact, comparison to competing higher/similar certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Developer – Associate, Google Cloud Professional Cloud Developer, AZ-400 for DevOps), and resources you can use right away.

Quick facts (at-a-glance)

• Exam code: AZ-204 — Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure.
• Role: Azure Developer (Azure Developer Associate).
• Typical format: Multiple-choice, case scenarios, build/code tasks; time varies by delivery but expect ~120 minutes.
• Official practice assessments & labs: available via Microsoft Learn and Exam Readiness materials.

What is AZ-204 and who is it for?

AZ-204 is Microsoft’s role-based exam for cloud developers who build solutions on Azure. It targets software developers with experience in designing, building, testing, and maintaining cloud applications and services. If you write code that runs on Azure, integrate with Azure services (Functions, App Service, Storage, Cosmos DB, Service Bus, Event Grid), or implement security and identity in cloud apps, AZ-204 maps directly to your day-to-day responsibilities.

AZ-204 Exam domains — what you must master

Microsoft publishes a skills outline listing the exam’s domains. The major areas (paraphrased for study focus) are:

• Implement Azure compute solutions — App Services, Azure Functions, containerized workloads.
• Develop for Azure storage — Blob, Table, Cosmos DB integration, managed identities for access.
• Implement Azure security — authentication, authorization, Key Vault, managed identities.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize solutions — Application Insights, log analytics, performance tuning.
• Connect to and consume services and third-party APIs — Service Bus, Event Grid, Event Hubs, REST integration.

Study tip: Map each domain to a mini-project. For example, build a small app that writes to Blob storage, uses Functions for background processing, and emits telemetry to Application Insights. This covers compute, storage, messaging, and monitoring in one go.

Official exam structure & logistics

Microsoft maintains and updates the AZ-204 exam guide and practice assessments on Microsoft Learn.

• Study guide & skills outline: Use the official AZ-204 study guide on Microsoft Learn as the source of truth.
• Practice assessments: Microsoft provides practice assessments and on-demand instructor-led modules to simulate exam content.
• Registration & delivery: Exams can be scheduled via Pearson VUE or Microsoft’s exam portal; online proctored delivery is common. (Check the Microsoft Certification portal for current delivery options.)

Candidate mindset — plan like a pro

Think in terms of skills.

• The exam rewards a practical ability to implement and troubleshoot Azure services. Microsoft Learning
• Measure progress with mini-projects and the official practice assessments.
• Build a small portfolio: public GitHub repos with sample functions, ARM/Bicep/ARM templates or Terraform modules, and a short README describing architecture. Recruiters and hiring managers value demonstrable work more than a single exam voucher.

Practical, hands-on study plan (8-week roadmap)

Below is a realistic 8-week plan for candidates with at least some programming experience. Each week is short-paragraph friendly for mobile reading.

Weeks 1–2 — Fundamentals & App Service

• Complete Microsoft Learn modules on App Service and App Service authentication.
• Build a simple web app, deploy it via GitHub Actions, and add basic logging.

Weeks 3–4 — Serverless & Functions

• Implement Azure Functions (HTTP-trigger, timed, queue-trigger).
• Practice local development and remote debugging.

Weeks 5–6 — Storage, Databases & Messaging

• Integrate Blob storage and Cosmos DB (or Azure SQL) in a sample app.
• Implement Service Bus/Queue and Event Grid flows.

Week 7 — Security & Identity

• Add Managed Identity and Key Vault secret retrieval.
• Implement role-based access control and OAuth flows with Azure AD.

Week 8 — Observability & Review

• Integrate Application Insights and Log Analytics.
• Run Microsoft practice assessments and 2–3 full-length mock exams.

Real-world tasks you must be comfortable with

The exam tests for realistic developer tasks; be ready to:

• Implement and debug an Azure Function that processes messages from a Service Bus queue.
• Configure and secure connections to Cosmos DB using managed identities and Key Vault.
• Instrument an app for telemetry and diagnose a simulated performance issue.
• Configure deployment pipelines (CI/CD) that deploy App Service or containers to Azure.

A simple sample task to practice: create a file-processing pipeline — upload file to Blob, trigger Function to parse & store metadata to Cosmos DB, push an event to Event Grid, and log metrics to Application Insights.

High-quality resources — official + curated (links included)

Official (must-read):

• Microsoft Learn AZ-204 Study Guide (skills outline): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/resources/study-guides/az-204.
• Microsoft Certification — Azure Developer Associate: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/azure-developer/.
• Microsoft practice assessments & instructor-led modules: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/practice-assessments-for-microsoft-certifications.

Books & prep reads:

• Exam Ref AZ-204 Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure (Microsoft Press) — good for focused reading and exam-style thinking.

Third-party practice & labs:

• Leads4Pass AZ-204 practice materials: https://www.leads4pass.com/az-204.html (PDF and VCE mock Exam).

Sample labs & GitHub:

• MicrosoftLearning community GitHub for AZ-204 labs: https://microsoftlearning.github.io/AZ-204-DevelopingSolutionsforMicrosoftAzure/ (practical labs you can clone).

Job & salary research:

• Glassdoor — Azure Developer salary data (US example): https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/azure-developer-salary-SRCH_KO0,15.htm

Career outcomes & salary signals

Certification alone doesn’t guarantee a job, but AZ-204 strengthens your candidacy for developer roles focused on cloud-native applications.

• Job titles: Azure Developer, Cloud Application Developer, Cloud Solutions Engineer, Full-stack Developer with Azure focus.
• Salary: Glassdoor reports median/average figures that vary by country and experience. Example: US Azure Developer average salary entries show broad ranges; some aggregated sources list median figures from ~$130k–$160k depending on sample and location. Use country-specific Glassdoor/PayScale for current local data.

Interpretation for candidates: Employers value demonstrable experience. Combine AZ-204 certification with a portfolio of deployed apps, CI/CD pipelines, and monitoring setups to maximize interview outcomes.

How AZ-204 compares to competing certifications

This is just a comparison within a small scope. You should make your own analysis based on your career plan. Here are some of my suggestions.

AZ-204 vs AWS Certified Developer – Associate

• Scope: AZ-204 focuses on Azure-specific developer tasks; AWS Certified Developer focuses on AWS equivalents.
• Portability: Cloud concepts translate, but service names and SDKs differ. If you aim for multi-cloud roles, consider both.
• Level: Comparable in difficulty; both require hands-on cloud dev experience.

AZ-204 vs Google Cloud Professional Cloud Developer

• Scope: Google’s exam emphasizes cloud-native development and GCP-specific services (Cloud Functions, Pub/Sub, Cloud Run).
• Decision factor: Choose the exam aligned to your target employer’s cloud stack.

AZ-204 vs AZ-400 (DevOps Engineer Expert)

• Scope: AZ-204 is developer-focused; AZ-400 centers on CI/CD, infrastructure as code, release strategies, and DevOps practices. AZ-400 is often considered a step-up for developers who pivot to DevOps leadership.
• Career path: A common path is AZ-204 → AZ-400 for devs moving into DevOps or platform engineering.

Which is “higher” or more competitive?

No absolute hierarchy; pick based on role. AZ-400 is more specialized toward DevOps; AWS/Google equivalents are parallel tracks on other clouds.

Final recommendations & next steps

1. Start with Microsoft Learn — complete the AZ-204 modules and instructor-led videos.
2. Follow an 8-week hands-on plan — implement the mini-projects above.
3. Use reputable practice tests — Microsoft’s official practice assessments first, then Leads4Pass mocks for success.
4. Build a portfolio — public GitHub repos demonstrating Functions, storage integration, and instrumentation.
5. Consider next certs — AZ-400 if you aim for DevOps, or AWS/Google equivalents for multi-cloud roles.

FAQs

Q1: How hard is AZ-204?

A: It’s moderately difficult — heavy on applied skills. If you have at least 6–12 months of cloud development experience and follow a hands-on study plan, you can pass with focused preparation.

Q2: Can I pass AZ-204 with no experience?

A: Yes, we strongly recommend that you use the Leads4Pass AZ-204 practice exam to strengthen your practice and help you pass the exam. We also suggest that you undertake a 2-3 month real project to gain practical experience and improve your employment prospects.

Q3: What is the best way to practice?

A: Build live projects that integrate compute, storage, messaging, and monitoring. Use Microsoft Learn labs and practice assessments to measure readiness.

Q4: How does AZ-204 affect salary?

A: Certification can improve marketability; salary uplift depends on experience and region. Glassdoor data suggests competitive wages for Azure developers in the US, but always cross-check for your geography.

Closing summary

AZ-204 is a practical, hands-on certification for developers who build cloud applications on Azure. Study with Microsoft Learn as your backbone, back it up with focused hands-on projects, and use Leads4Pass AZ-204 practice assessments to confirm readiness. For career impact, combine AZ-204 with a small portfolio and targeted job applications — that combination is what gets interviews, not certification alone.