True, Technology has been an integral part of various sectors like healthcare, automotive, education, finance, retail, and manufacturing for many years but in recent days Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought technology to the center of operations in these sectors. 

According to Semrush, the global AI market is expected to reach $190.61 billion in 2025 but at the same time, 93% of AI technocrats worldwide feel we are underprepared with skills to face this machine intelligence challenge. Moreover, organizations worldwide have embraced cloud computing and the demand for creating AI solutions in cloud environments has gained momentum. Acquiring Azure AI certifications by taking up exam AI-102 is the right move to build a career as an AI solution provider in the cloud space. This blog post is a definitive guide to all the aspirants of Exam: AI-102 certification.   

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. An Overview of Azure AI certification

3. Are Azure certifications worth it?

4. How do I prepare for Azure Certification AI 102?

5. Can I Get a job with Azure Certification?

6. Azure AI Engineer Salary Career Path 

7. How CloudThat’s Training Help You to Get AI-102 Certified?

Introduction

As all-sized organizations are embracing cloud computing and migrating their data and resources to the cloud. Developing AI skills relevant to cloud computing are proving beneficial. In this context, Microsoft Azure Certification AI-102 definitely helps professionals passionate about having a career in the Cloud space through AI skill sets.

An Overview of Azure AI certification

Two popular Microsoft Azure certifications on AI are

• Exam AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals
• Exam AI-102: Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solution

The Microsoft AI-900 exam certification allows you to demonstrate your understanding of popular machine learning and artificial intelligence workloads, as well as how to deploy them on Azure. Candidates with both technical and non-technical backgrounds can take up this certification.

Aspirants of AI-102: Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solution should possess: 

• Experience developing, managing, and implementing AI solutions using Azure   Cognitive Services, Azure Cognitive Search, and the Microsoft Bot Framework.  
• Participating in all phases of AI solution development starting from requirements definition and design to development, deployment, maintenance, performance tuning, and monitoring.  
• You collaborate with solution architects to communicate your vision and build entire end-to-end AI solutions alongside data scientists, data engineers, IoT specialists , etc.  

Are Azure certifications worth it?

Microsoft Azure is fast expanding, with a year-over-year increase of 150%. Cloud infrastructure is expected to grow even more in the next years, reaching $ 300 billion in sales by 2021. Importantly, Microsoft had kept up with the times and had become a popular choice for companies and organizations.  

• Supply vs Demand disparity: In comparison, there are a small number of Microsoft certified professionals. As a result, supply is limited, and demand is huge.  
• Availability of more options: There are numerous technology-specific certification examinations accessible in Azure to promote and highlight your main expertise.  

How do I prepare for Azure AI 102 Certification?

Here is a compiled list of tips you can follow as part of the Azure AI-102 certification training strategy:

• Cultivate deeper knowledge of the concepts, by going through the Microsoft learning path  
• Practice the labs thoroughly to have a hands-on experience with the concepts you have learned  
• For more information on the various use cases, see Microsoft documentation.

Can I Get a job with Azure Certification?

Professional certification is not easy to obtain. Taking the time to enroll in a course, study for an exam, and become certified requires a different degree of commitment than self-learning from numerous internet sources. Here are the advantages of earning Azure AI-102certification: 

• Certification will be an excellent addition to your CV and will help you stand out from other candidates with similar work experience but no professional training.  
• Indeed, according to Business Wire, online course credentials improved earnings by 20% to 40%. According to Payscale.com, Microsoft Azure certified professionals can make up to $128,468 per year, depending on their region and work description.

Azure AI Engineer Salary & Career Path

Azure AI engineers have challenging opportunities to play with different technical teams of an organization. Here are some of their roles and responsibilities and pay packages: 

• Azure AI Engineers work with solution architects to translate their vision and with data scientists, data engineers, IoT specialists, and AI developers to build complete end-to-end AI solutions.  
• In 2021, the average income for an artificial intelligence engineer in the United States will be $164,749, according to ZipRecruiter. Salary ranges from $142,500  to $216,500 and is dependent on a variety of factors including skills, education, location, and experience.    

How CloudThat’s Training Help You to Get AI-102 Certified?

CloudThat being the Microsoft Gold Partner and pioneer in cloud training in India since 2012 is the right ally for nurturing your cloud skills. Here is the path CloudThat will take you through to earn Microsoft AI-102 certification.

• Once you participate in the AI-102 certification training course, make the most out of the Microsoft Official Courseware (MOC) provided by us.  
• Refine your knowledge and skills by interacting with our industry-certified and skilled trainers who will support you throughout the training journey.  
• Our hands-on lab sessions will help you gain practical experience which will be immensely helpful in taking up the examination.  
• Before taking the final exam, we provide access to our Test Prep portal for practice and mock tests.

In addition as aspirants you can:  

• Examine the Microsoft documentation as well as any relevant whitepapers or eBooks.  
• Participate in online discussion forums and study groups to expand your knowledge.  
• Self-learning portals such as Microsoft Learn Portal and Microsoft Official Courseware can be helpful (MOC).

Wish you Happy Learning and a great career ahead!

WRITTEN BY Karthik C V