The Power of Mentoring
How I Aced My Microsoft Certification Exams
It all started during COVID 19, the year 2020 when I saw an advert on Microsoft Azure Fundamental Training which will come with a free voucher to write the exam after attending the training. I was super excited to book my space for the training around June 2020, I attended the 2 days training organized by Microsoft and really, I earned the voucher.
Now, the big question: How will I write the exam and pass?
The surfing begins and I started seeking guides on the internet because going through the modules on the Microsoft webpage wasn’t easy and seems cumbersome. I was introduced to 2 major dumps (Certibolt and Examtopic) that I can use to prepare myself after reading the modules but then I skipped the reading and went ahead to practice the dumps. I used 3 months to practice the dumps yet I wasn’t ready because it was more like cramming since I failed to do the normal reading to get the major concept of the topics.
The Exam Appointment
I booked for the exam around October, but alas! I cancelled the appointment a few hours before the exam because I was sure I wasn’t fully prepared, yet I wasn’t ready to fail. I went through the dumps continuously again and I booked another appointment to write the exam on December 19, 2020, by 2:00 am because of stable and good internet, electricity and conducive environment. Even though I was scared but I was encouraged by the loved ones and I was relieved of many chores and work just to stay focus.
A day to the exam, we had no light and my fear for failure rises but then I wasn’t ready to quit so an arrangement for another power source was made should in case the story did not change on the exam day.
On exam day, since I will be writing the exam within the comfort of my room, I set up my workspace before the exam time and then the check-in begins 30minutes before the exam. My questions were later released after thorough screening and there I found the questions facing me. I must say that it wasn’t easy because only 50% of the dumps’ questions were asked and I was only able to use the little knowledge gained from the explanations of the answers given in the dumps’ questions to answer the remaining 50%. After 45 minutes, the exam ended and awaited my result.
Hooray! I scored 770 and 700 is the pass mark so I passed and I was issued an AZ-900 certificate. I was super happy that I bowed to my lord to show my gratitude but then I knew a lot were wronged in the process of my preparation.
The Mentorship Process
In March 2021, I started a program named ALC x Microsoft 4Afrika Skills lab where I took up a challenge to finish 5 modules of a chosen track in any one of AI-900, AZ-900 and DP-900 within 1 week to proceed to the next stage. I was able to move to the next stage and the learning continues. I was added to a slack platform with other participants and we were assigned a mentor per track. I was at the AI track and assigned to Mr John Adeniran for the mentorship process. He did justice to the task given as he walked us through the process of understanding each module by giving us a summary of what the module entails, he engaged us by giving each module to each member to summarise and deliver on the platform. We were also introduced to the use of sandbox to practice all the practical exercises in the modules. This method really worked for me and in no time I got all the concept of the modules right. After a week, an examtopic dump was released and I practised then I took the mock exam organised for us and scored 18/25.
On the 27th of March, I wrote my AI-900 exam still in the comfort of my room and I only did not just pass but scored 937/1000. I can’t curtail my happiness and immediately bowed to my lord to show my gratitude once again. I was fulfilled and confident with the result and certificate because I learnt all the process involved in the right way all through mentorship.
A certification that took me several months to achieve on my own was achieved within a month through mentorship.
I hope this story inspires and help someone out there
