SC-300 recently had a minor update, just some reorganization and slight wording changes. If you have already passed other Microsoft exams where AAD is a large part of the score, such as MS-500, AZ-500, MS-100 and MS-101 you probably already know quite a few of the topics the exam covers, so it shouldn’t be too hard an exam to prepare for, but there are two main things to think about as you commence.

The first thing to watch out for when you are preparing for this exam include not accidentally going in without knowledge of changes that have occurred with Azure Active Directory features over time. Not just new features, but enhancements to what may have been included for a while now. Where this is most likely to happen is when you haven’t worked too closely with the technology, especially premium functionality has expanded dramatically.

The example that I always like to use is Access Reviews, which were originally focused on Privileged Identity Management for Azure AD roles, but have expanded across Azure roles, groups and applications, for example. It’s easy to miss this kind of change when you aren’t always being exposed to new functionality as it is being introduced.

The second thing to consider with your preparation is whether your AAD exposure is mostly from within Microsoft 365 workloads, or with Azure workloads. This is going to change what you need to focus on for the exam, examples include app registrations being something that Microsoft 365 focused exam takers should take a look at, and Microsoft 365 groups being something that Azure admins may not have much exposure to. There are more than these two things, just make sure you are targeting features that you haven’t been exposed to, or that you have very limited exposure to.

Implement an identity management solution (25-30%)

Implement initial configuration of Azure Active Directory

Create, configure, and manage identities

Implement and manage external identities

Implement and manage hybrid identity

Implement an authentication and access management solution (25-30%)

Plan and implement Azure Multifactor Authentication (MFA)

Manage user authentication

Plan, implement, and administer conditional access

Manage Azure AD Identity Protection

Implement Access Management for Apps (10-15%)

Plan, implement, and monitor the integration of Enterprise Apps for Single Sign-On (SSO)

Implement app registrations

Plan and implement an Identity Governance Strategy (25-30%)

Plan and implement entitlement management

Plan, implement, and manage access reviews

Plan and implement privileged access

Monitor and maintain Azure Active Directory