Passed AI103: AI Apps And Agents Dev Associate
I just took the exam today and passed with an 830! The exam was 1 hour and 40 minutes long. It consisted of a 7-question case study and 53 standalone questions. Note: 3 of those standalones were grouped in a separate, mini case study subsection where you **cannot** go back to review your answers.
**My Background & Prep Time**
For some context, I'm a grad student focusing on backend and AI/ML. Going into this, I already had hands-on experience building agentic solutions using frameworks like CrewAI, OpenAI Agents SDK, LangChain, and the older Microsoft AutoGen. I'm getting this certification to back up my projects for upcoming placement drive interviews. Because of my background, I knew a lot of the core concepts, but I still needed to learn the ins and outs of Azure AI Foundry.
Total prep time was about a week, putting in 2 to 3 hours a day.
**Study Resources Used**
* **Luke Ginn’s Udemy Course (6 or 7 out of 10):** I initially relied solely on this course, thinking it would be enough. For comparison, I previously cleared the AWS AI Practitioner using just Stephane Maarek’s course, which I’d give a solid 9 to 9.5 out of 10 (yeah I’m petty like that, no 10/10s). I went through Ginn's entire curriculum to get the code and concepts down. Honestly, his practice tests aren't great; half the questions are repeats, and the rest are just okay-ish at best.
* **Tutorials Dojo (TD):** After blazing through the Udemy tests, I was feeling pretty confident but still slightly skeptical. Thank god I tried the Tutorials Dojo sampler because I got a 50% and failed 😭🤣. That humbled the shit out of me. It forced me to go through the Microsoft Learn modules one by one to brush up on the theory. After that, I bought the full TD practice exam, scored around a 78%, and spent time reviewing my mistakes to understand the reasoning.
**Exam Day Observations & Tips**
* **TD is very close to the real thing:** The case study I got on the real exam was almost identical to the one in TD, just with minor tweaks. At least 4 to 6 of the standalone questions were exact matches too, which gave me a huge confidence boost during the paper.
* **Watch out for the "No Review" section:** A warning about that 3-question subsection! On the TD practice tests, they let you navigate back and forth. On the real exam, you absolutely cannot go back. They warn you before the section starts, but I completely skimmed over it. Out of habit, I selected "no" for the first question and moved on, only to immediately realize that it was probably the answer. But hey, *fuck it we ball*, at least I knew the next two were definitely false!
* **Microsoft Learn (Open Book):** Having access to MS Learn during the test was a lifesaver. It helped me confirm my logic and narrow down the right answers on a couple of tricky questions. Just be very vigilant with your time management because scrolling through docs can eat up your clock way faster than you'd expect.
* **Time Management:** I utilized the entire 1 hour and 40 minutes, but it wasn't like I was running out of time. I blazed through the majority of the questions so I could bank my time for the couple of questions I had no clue about, or the ones where I was stuck between two options.
If anyone has any questions, let me know!
p.s. it's paraphrased by gemini, no attacks please :)