AZ-800 exam - realistic difficulty coming from a pure on-premises networking background?
I've got about 12 years of Windows Server and on-prem networking experience and I'm now working toward the AZ-800 (Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure). My company moved to a hybrid model 18 months ago and I've been hands-on with Azure Arc and Azure AD Connect, but I haven't done much with Azure Virtual WAN or the networking topology components specific to Azure.
I'm about 4 weeks into studying, roughly 90 minutes a day. On the Microsoft practice assessment I'm sitting at around 67%, which I know isn't great. The Active Directory and DNS sections feel solid but the hybrid identity and Azure networking questions are where I keep losing points. Exam is scheduled in 6 weeks.
Is 6 weeks realistic to close that gap from 67% to passing? I know the passing score is 700 out of 1000. Also wondering if lab time matters more than reading - I have access to an Azure subscription through work but I haven't been doing as much hands-on as maybe I should.
Six weeks is realistic if you shift toward lab work. The AZ-800 scenario questions are written to test whether you've actually done the tasks, not just read about them. Azure AD Connect sync configuration and Azure Arc onboarding are worth building and breaking in a lab environment at least 3-4 times each.
The hybrid identity section - Azure AD Connect, pass-through authentication, seamless SSO, ADFS comparison - is where on-prem people with strong Windows backgrounds tend to underestimate the study time needed. Those concepts are different enough from traditional AD that they need dedicated attention.
I came from a similar background and found the Azure Bastion and private endpoint questions harder than expected. The scenarios involve knowing when to use which service and why, not just what it does. Microsoft Learn's learning paths for AZ-800 cover those well.
67% with 6 weeks left is fine. I was at 63% five weeks out and passed at 738. The score jump came mostly from lab practice and going through John Savill's study cram on YouTube twice. That guy covers exactly what shows up on the exam.