New certification: Microsoft Power Platform Developer Associate

Posted on by

In September 2020, Microsoft announced the new Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate certification, providing an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise in implementing Microsoft Power Platform solutions. To earn this certification, you must pass Exam PL-400: Microsoft Power Platform Developer. This is a standalone certification and doesn’t require any prerequisite certifications or exams.

Exam PL-400 is replacing Exam MB-400

Exam MB-400 expires on December 31, 2020. After that date, only PL-400 will be available. If you’re currently preparing to take MB-400, make sure you take and pass the exam before it’s retired. To compare the two exams, check out the PL-400 skills outline document on the exam page or read Power Platform Developer PL-400 Certification, a blog post written by a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). When you pass Exam PL-400, you’ll have earned your Power Platform Developer Associate certification and it will be valid for two years. If you passed Exam MB-400 before it retired and earned the associated certification, Power Apps + Dynamics 365 Developer Associate, that certification will remain valid for two years.

If you’re a professional developer who would like to extend and further customize Microsoft Power Platform capabilities for your current or future employer, you can benefit from this training and certification. The comprehensive training can get you up to speed with the platform and its extensibility points, providing many examples of how it’s done properly. And by validating your skills, certification can help you get noticed and rewarded with a salary increase or promotion. According to the 2020/2021 Nigel Frank Microsoft Dynamics Salary Survey, 61 percent of respondents believe that certifications give you the edge in the job market, 74 percent of Dynamics 365 professionals think that training and certification make you more attractive to employers, and 73 percent of permanent employees reported that their salary increased after certification.

Is this certification right for you?

Are you a developer responsible for developing, securing, and troubleshooting Microsoft Power Platform solutions? Do you implement components of the solution, such as application enhancements, custom user experience, system integrations, data conversions, custom process automation, and custom visualizations? If so, this certification can help you build and validate your skills.

To train for and earn this certification, you must have strong applied knowledge of Microsoft Power Platform, including an in-depth understanding of its capabilities, boundaries, and constraints. You should also have a basic understanding of DevOps practices for Microsoft Power Platform, and your development experience should include Microsoft Power Platform, JavaScript, JSON, TypeScript, C#, HTML, .NET, Azure, Microsoft 365, RESTful web services, ASP.NET, and Power BI.

When you’ve completed the training and passed Exam PL-400, which is a very broad developer-oriented exam, you’ll have demonstrated skills in Common Data Service, Power Apps (canvas, model, and portal), Power Automate, Power BI, and Power Virtual Agents. You’ll also be able to integrate with, and use, Azure with Microsoft Power Platform.

How can you prepare?

To help you plan your journey, check out our infographic, The journey to Microsoft Certified: Power Platform Developer Associate. You can also find it in the resources section on the certification page, which contains other valuable help. There, you’ll also find links to the free online learning paths and paid instructor-led trainings offered by Microsoft Learning Partners that help you prepare for this exam, along with a link to schedule the exam.

Demand for people trained in Microsoft Power Platform is growing, according to job listings on LinkedIn, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and other sites. See whether this new certification can help expand your opportunities for hiring or promotion.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-learn-blog/new-certification-microsoft-power-platform-developer-associate/ba-p/1469335 https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-learn-blog/new-certification-microsoft-power-platform-developer-associate/ba-p/1469335 2020-11-17 16:00:00Z