In this blog, you will learn about the top 5 cloud roles (and a bonus) you can eye after receiving your Microsoft Azure Administrator certification, AZ-104. Not certified yet? Read through the best study materials that assist you throughout your road to AZ-104 success, with the most important hands-on experience.
Understanding the AZ-104 Certification to Aim Higher
The growth in Azure cloud jobs over the last five years is not to be doubted, and the AZ-104 is a key step to landing these roles. Over 50% of IT teams plan to increase cloud staffing.
Based on the skills validated by the AZ-104, such as managing Azure identities, governance, storage, compute, virtual networks, and monitoring, and insights from industry sources, here are the top five cloud roles you can land with this certification:
1. Azure Cloud Administrator
Azure Administrators benefit from the AZ-104 certification to check their expertise in building, controlling, and monitoring Azure infrastructure, storage, networking, and security systems. This role is important for businesses relying on Azure, as it gives them wide experience with cloud operations.
Your Role, Duties, and Areas that you Oversee
- In your role, you will look after the organization’s cloud infrastructure to maintain efficiency, security, and cost-effectiveness.
- You might provision and configure resources such as VMs, storage, & networks.
- You will also implement security measures using Azure Active Directory, enforce governance policies, and ensure compliance.
- Monitoring system performance and costs with tools like Azure Monitor, optimizing resources, and managing backups and disaster recovery are your critical tasks.
- You will configure virtual networks, troubleshoot issues, and use automation tools like PowerShell to streamline operations.
- Collaboration with IT teams will ensure your seamless cloud integration.
What Skills Do You Develop by Taking AZ-104?
- The main responsibilities involve managing Azure identities, governance, storage, compute, and networking.
- You learn tracking resources, finding ways to save costs, and securing your system, aligning with real-world responsibilities.
- The certification requires practicing tasks such as configuring backups, repairing problems, and automating jobs using PowerShell.
- With 95% of Fortune 500 firms using Azure, the AZ-104 course teaches you the necessary skills for jobs in cloud management.
2. Cloud Infrastructure Engineer
Your Role, Duties, and Areas that you Oversee
- Your main duties as a Cloud Infrastructure Engineer are to design, set up, and manage scalable and secure cloud systems.
- Among your daily responsibilities are to set up VMs, storage, and networks; manage the system’s performance and costs; and add security with Azure Active Directory.
- You will collaborate with DevOps and IT teams to make sure the cloud is smoothly integrated, while you also write down infrastructure designs.
What Skills Do You Develop by Taking AZ-104?
It covers configuring VMs, networks, and backups, implementing security with Azure AD, and automating with PowerShell. You learn to monitor and optimize costs using Azure Monitor, aligning with real-world duties.
3. Cloud Engineer
Your Role, Duties, and Areas that you Oversee
- Cloud Engineers are responsible for deploying, managing, and fixing Azure services, using knowledge from virtualization, automation, and networking as learned from the AZ-104. Because the certification highlights resource provisioning and monitoring, it helps in this role.
- You will manage cloud costs and maintain high availability, often by knowing both AZ-104 and AZ-204 (Azure Developer Associate).
What Skills Do You Develop by Taking AZ-104?
The AZ-104 provides a strong foundation for Cloud Engineers, though additional certifications or development skills may be needed for advanced tasks. It’s a versatile role with growth potential in cloud infrastructure management.
4. Cloud Support Engineer
Entry-level roles like Azure Support Specialist require foundational Azure knowledge, which the AZ-104 provides through its coverage of core services, governance, and monitoring. These roles involve assisting users and resolving basic cloud issues.
Your Role, Duties, and Areas that you Oversee
- Identify and solve technical problems for the users.
- Support setting up and new updates to the system.
- Assisting customers with technical issues related to cloud services.
- Ensuring the service uptime and customer satisfaction.
- Answering support tickets and walking them through Azure services.
- You will monitor system health using tools like Azure Monitor, implement basic security measures, and assist with resource configuration.
- Collaboration with customers and internal teams to resolve incidents and document solutions is key.
How does AZ-104 Prepare You
- Strong understanding of Azure services
- The role can serve as a stepping stone to more advanced positions like Azure Administrator.
5. Azure Cloud Security Engineer
As companies increase their use of cloud systems, their security becomes very important. It prevents sensitive data from being compromised and helps meet the required rules. Cloud security helps organizations continue their work steadily, earn customer trust, and safeguard their finances.
Your Role, Duties, and Areas that you Oversee
- As an Azure Cloud Security Engineer, you will keep cloud security systems and their content secure.
- Your key tasks are protecting your cloud, setting up identity and access management, watching for threats, making sure you follow regulations, and automating security processes.
- Together with DevOps, you will ensure security. It is a part of your development process and checks for risks to prevent vulnerabilities.
What Skills Do You Develop by Taking AZ-104?
- It covers configuring virtual networks, securing identities, and managing resources, which aligns with tasks like IAM and infrastructure security.
- Coupling it with security-focused certifications enhances readiness for cloud security engineer roles, which gives you a certain proficiency in Azure’s ecosystem and security best practices.
Bonus: Cloud DevOps Engineer
Cloud DevOps is important for faster, reliable software releases, reducing downtime, & improving scalability. It helps reduce expenses, increases how well the system runs, and keeps an eye on availability, all of which are vital for cloud customers.
Your Role, Duties, and Areas that you Oversee
- A Cloud DevOps Engineer connects software development to operations to help speed up cloud software delivery. You are required to automate CI/CD processes, oversee cloud resources, improve scalability, and confirm the system’s reliability.
- You deploy and monitor applications, set up containerization, and follow infrastructure-as-code practices using Terraform or Ansible.
What Skills Do You Develop by Taking AZ-104?
- It covers virtual networks, storage, compute resources, and monitoring, aligning with tasks like IaC and pipeline management.
- AZ-104 builds expertise in Azure’s ecosystem, enabling engineers to optimize cloud infrastructure and support CI/CD processes.
- Combining it with DevOps-focused certifications enhances readiness for Cloud DevOps roles.
What Comes After AZ-104 in the Microsoft Certification Path?
Who should take the Azure Administrator certification?
- Azure Practitioners
- Recent Graduates and Entry-Level Professionals
- IT Administrators Transitioning to the Cloud
- Security, Network, and DevOps Professionals
AZ-104 is a great certification for people starting, wanting to switch to new paths, or those who want to develop their cloud skills. It’s not only meant for administrators; anyone eager to work in Microsoft Azure can take it.
Study Resources to help you ace the AZ-104 Certification
Passing the Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification is indeed a value addition to your cloud career; your path towards it can be challenging, but the right resources can take you places. With Whizlabs, you will get Video courses, Hands-on labs, Cloud Sandboxes, and Practice Tests for each step of your cloud certification preparation.
These resources are made to imitate real-world scenarios, helping you develop hands-on expertise as well as understanding. The course helps you whether you are new to IT or an expert, with its organized lessons, helpful content, and engaging environments.
- Video Courses to begin your preparation and get the basics strong, covering every topic in depth with clear explanations.
- Guided Hands-on Labs, which let you apply your learnings right away with step-by-step instructions, boost your confidence through practical experience.
- Sandboxes for you to not worry about cloud bills and play around comfortably in a risk-free Azure environment where you can test, explore, and experiment freely.
- Practice Tests help you validate your learning and work on your areas of improvement by simulating the real exam pattern and highlighting weak areas for focused revision.
Conclusion
As read, the above-mentioned top 5 roles after obtaining the AZ-104 certification might be challenging, but with ample Hands-on experience and quality preparation, you can excel in not just the exam but also the job after it! Cloud certifications alone don’t guarantee jobs. Combining AZ-104 with practical labs or additional certifications like AZ-204 or AZ-500 can significantly increase your prospects. Take the exam to enter the growing cloud market now.
- Top 5 Cloud Roles You Can Land with the AZ-104 Certification - May 27, 2025
- Tips for Tackling SAP-C02 Scenario-Based Questions - May 9, 2025
- How Difficult Is the AWS Solutions Architect Associate Exam? - April 30, 2025
- How to Pass AWS SAP-C02 with Real-World Hands-On Labs? - April 22, 2025
- What are the career opportunities with AZ-104? - April 10, 2025
- Why Is Microsoft Entra Important for Cybersecurity? - March 26, 2025
- Why is Microsoft Fabric Essential for Data Analytics? - March 14, 2025
- How does AWS Lambda Support AI Inference and Model Execution - March 4, 2025