I Got a Microsoft Certification for Free — Here's How (Applied Skills Review)

I recently earned a Microsoft Applied Skills credential — completely free, taken online from home. Here's everything you need to know.

What are Applied Skills?

Applied Skills are Microsoft's hands-on credentials. Unlike traditional multiple-choice exams, you complete real tasks in a live lab environment. When you pass, you get a shareable badge for LinkedIn and an online-verifiable certificate. And the best part: the assessment is free — no exam fees like the $99+ you'd pay for a full certification.

The one I took: Get Started Developing Agents in Microsoft Foundry

Everyone is talking about AI agents right now, but most people have never actually built one. This credential walks you through the full basics: deploying a model, creating an agent, and testing it — all inside Microsoft Foundry. It took me about a week of casual studying.

You can see the credential details here: https://learn.microsoft.com/credentials/applied-skills/get-started-developing-agents-in-microsoft-foundry?wt.mc_id=studentamb_519411

How to prepare (step by step)

1. Complete the free prep module on Microsoft Learn — it covers exactly what the lab tests: https://learn.microsoft.com/training/modules/get-started-with-generative-ai-and-agents?wt.mc_id=studentamb_519411
2. If you're a student, grab a free Azure account for hands-on practice (no credit card required, $100 in credits): https://azure.microsoft.com/free/students?wt.mc_id=studentamb_519411
3. Once you're ready, launch the assessment directly from the credential page — it runs in your browser as an interactive lab.

Tips from my attempt

• Click Start on the learning module so your progress gets tracked
• Don't skim the lab exercises — the assessment evaluates three things: deploy a model, create an agent, test the agent. Practice all three
• The lab takes a few minutes to load — that's normal, don't panic
• If you fail, you can retake it (there's a 72-hour cooldown between attempts), so there's zero pressure

Is it worth it?

For students: absolutely. It's free, it's hands-on, and "built and deployed an AI agent" is a much stronger CV line than another online course certificate. Next, I'm planning a Copilot-related Applied Skills — if you're new to Copilot, start here: https://learn.microsoft.com/copilot?wt.mc_id=studentamb_519411

Questions? Drop them in the comments — happy to help! 🚀