I Built Apps for 5 Years Before Taking the AZ-204. I Still Almost Failed. Here's What Tripped Me Up.

Five years of professional development. C#, .NET, some Python. Deployed plenty of apps to Azure. Used App Service, Functions, Cosmos DB — the works. Scored 735 on my first AZ-204 attempt. Passing is 700. I survived by 35 points. That's not a comfortable margin. The problem wasn't that I couldn't develop. The problem was that I couldn't develop the way Microsoft wanted me to answer questions about developing. The AZ-204 Is Not a Coding Exam This is the biggest misconception. You'd think "Azure Developer Associate" means they test your coding ability. Nope. The AZ-204 tests your knowledge of Azure services, their configurations, and when to use which one. It's a services exam wearing a developer costume. Here's what actually showed up: Azure App Service (heavy focus): Deployment slots and slot swapping WebJobs vs Azure Functions — when to use which Custom domains, SSL binding, scaling rules I got multiple questions about App Service deployment strategies Azure Functions (heavier than exp