Machine Learning is one of the hottest topics and technologies in the industry right now. Machine Learning is being used to combine with Big Data to automate the processes of gaining insights and predicting future behavior of systems, devices, and people. In an effort to expand out the breadth of certifications and exams offered around Microsoft Azure and the cloud, Microsoft has added the Perform Cloud Data Science with Azure Machine Learning (70-774) exam.

EXAM IS RETIRED: This exam is retired June 30, 2019.

Certification Target Audience

The focus on the Perform Cloud Data Science with Azure Machine Learning (70-774) exam is centered around Azure Machine Learning, Bot Framework, and Cognitive Services. The exam is designed to target candidates who are Data Scientists or Analysts using the Microsoft Azure cloud services to build and deploy intelligent solutions. This exam will test your understanding and familiarity with common data science processes such as filtering and transforming data sets, model estimation, and model evaluation.

Skills Measured

Here is a high level list of the skills and objectives measured on this exam:

• Prepare Data and Analytics in Azure Machine Learning and Export from Azure Machine Learning
  • Import and export data to and from Azure Machine Learning
  • Explore and summarize data
  • Cleanse data for Azure Machine Learning
  • Perform feature engineering
• Develop Machine Learning Models
  • Select an appropriate algorithm or method
  • Initialize and train appropriate models
  • Validate models
• Operationalize and Manage Azure Machine Learning services
  • Deploy models using Azure Machine Learning
  • Manage Azure Machine Learning projects and workspaces
  • Consume Azure Machine Learning models
  • Consume exemplar Cognitive Services APIs
• Use Other Services for Machine Learning
  • Build and use neural networks with the Microsoft Cognitive Toolkit
  • Streamline development by using existing resources
  • Perform data sciences at scale by using HDInsights
  • Perform database analytics by using SQL Server R Services on Azure

When studying for this exam, you’ll definitely want to look at the official exam page from Microsoft for the full list of exam objectives. You’ll need to be sure to study every one of them that will be measured on the exam.

Training Materials

At the time of writing this summary of the 70-774 Perform Cloud Data Science with Azure Machine Learning, the exam is still in Beta as it was just recently published. This means there aren’t any exam guide books, or practice exams available yet. To study for this exam, you’ll need to rely mostly on the Azure Machine Learning documentation, as well as the documentation for the other Azure services and technologies listed in the exam objectives.

Not specific to just this exam, there are some additional resources available from various sources that do cover the technologies and skills measured on this exam. Here’s a short list of a few of these additional resources that may help in studying for this exam:

• Free eBooks
  • Microsoft Azure Essentials: Azure Machine Learning by Jeff Barnes
  • Introducing Microsoft Azure HDInsight by Avkash Chauhan, Valentive Fontama, and 3 others
• Video Courses from Pluralsight
  • Getting Started with Azure Machine Learning by Jerry Kurt
  • Getting Started with Building Bots with Microsoft’s Bot Framework by Matthew Kruczek
  • HDInsight Deep Dive: Storm, HBase, and Hive by Elton Stoneman

Happy studying!

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