Laid off, just passed AZ-104, finished my migration lab project — what's the honest next move?

Posted by Dannyeloso@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 11 comments

Hey. Looking for honest input, not hype.

Background

I'm 22, based in Spain. My only real work experience is about a year in IT support — AD user management, M365, some Exchange Online, Entra ID basics (MFA resets, conditional access), and a bit of PowerShell. Nothing glamorous. Got laid off recently.

Outside of that job I've been grinding. Passed AZ-104 in March 2026. Built a full on-prem → Azure migration lab from scratch on VMware: 3 VMs, personal domain, migrated everything end to end and documented it on my personal GitHub.

The honest question

I know the gap between "helpdesk + certs + personal lab" and an actual cloud admin job is real. I'm not deluding myself.

What I can't figure out is whether to:

Keep studying before applying — AZ-305, AZ500 or AZ400, Kubernetes, deeper Terraform

Start applying now for junior sysadmin or junior cloud roles and learn on the job

Something else I'm not seeing

But honestly, the deeper question underneath all of this is: is it even realistic for someone with my profile to land a sysadmin or junior cloud role, or am I going to have to go back to helpdesk first regardless of what I build?

For people who've hired or been in a similar spot: does a lab like this actually move the needle when your real-world experience is L1 helpdesk? Or do recruiters filter you out before anyone technical even sees the project?

What would you do?

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Grand-Height9907@reddit

Why don't you do az-800

teriaavibes@reddit

Cause it's being retired probably

Who said that

Microsoft

You right September this year it will retire

CoolWiener@reddit

I would say aim to try and get into an msp, you'll get a chance to learn a lot in a short time but it might not be the best environment. Terraform would be good as it can be used to prove your looking at IaC and it's not just Microsoft specific (not too difficult for the exam either). If you would be keen on the msp as well they need a certain amount of certified people to be a Microsoft solution provider so you could aim for that if you want. I haven't checked it in a while so you might need to do a bit a research.

OkEmployment4437@reddit

Apply now. A year of support + AZ-104 + a documented migration lab puts you ahead of most junior applicants. More certs won't close the one gap that matters - production time - and you only get that by landing a role.

Concrete tip: frame the lab as a problem you solved, not a tutorial. "Migrated on-prem AD to Azure with hybrid identity" hits different on a resume than "completed a lab." That framing signals you can own a small project.

MSPs aren't glamorous but they'll drop you into real environments fast. Cast wide.

ls--lah@reddit

frame the lab as a problem you solved, not a tutorial. "Migrated on-prem AD to Azure with hybrid identity" hits different on a resume than "completed a lab." That framing signals you can own a small project.

Awful advice imo. Never represent anything you've only labbed as real world, especially at a junior level.

shokzee@reddit

You are in a better spot than you think. A year of real support work plus AZ-104 plus a full migration lab is enough to get interviews if you package it well.

I would aim for junior sysadmin, M365 admin, cloud support, or internal IT roles rather than chasing a perfect Azure title right now. Put the migration lab on your CV like real project work, be specific about what you built, and start applying hard while adding one thing that shows production-minded thinking, like Intune, backup/restore, or Exchange Online mail flow troubleshooting.

pmpork@reddit

Look and keep looking, even if it's a smaller gig with more responsibilities. At least in my career (very similar start, but 20 years ago) experience was king. I managed to work a help desk job AND got the opportunity to help with sys admin work in that role. Experience is experience so I added that work to my resume and found another job. I job hopped twice in 3 years and it was enough to land a gig at a fortune 500. Once you get that, you're golden. But more certs didn't help at a certain point. Hell, I got hired on at Microsoft BEFORE finishing my MCSE (much later I got it, and my MCM for AD).

bill_gannon@reddit

Wait till you land that sweet Azure role and they tell you they are moving to AWS or Google because "its cheaper". Or even better back on prem.