Certifications
SC-300 study guide: Identity and Access Administrator
Entra ID end to end. The exam that maps most directly to the thing that actually gets organisations compromised.
Why this is the most useful exam in the track
Identity is where Microsoft estates are actually attacked, and SC-300 is the only exam that covers it properly end to end. Someone who genuinely knows this material can prevent more real incidents than someone who has passed any other exam in the security family.
It is also the exam whose content you will use most often. Conditional Access, Privileged Identity Management, access reviews and entitlement management are daily work in any organisation of size, not exam-only trivia.
The four skill areas
Microsoft publishes these as weighted ranges. Midpoints shown.
- Authentication and access33%
- Identity management solution28%
- Access management for apps20%
- Identity governance19%
Weightings are ranges. Treat as planning guidance rather than a guarantee.
Where candidates lose marks
Conditional Access evaluation order
Knowing that all applicable policies apply, that block beats allow, and what an exclusion actually does. Questions here are scenario-shaped and unforgiving of a rough understanding.
Hybrid identity options
Password hash synchronisation, pass-through authentication and federation, and specifically which one survives which failure. Candidates who have only worked cloud-native struggle badly here.
Consent and app permissions
Delegated versus application permissions, admin consent, and consent policies. This is also the area most under-taught relative to how often it causes real incidents.
Entitlement management
Access packages, catalogues and connected organisations. Frequently skipped in preparation because it is last in the objectives, and it is worth roughly a fifth of the exam.
Study resources
Microsoft Learn first, then practice questions to find the gaps.
Microsoft Learn, the official SC-300 outline
- Best for
- Everyone, before anything paid. It is free and it is the source the exam comes from
- Watch out for
- It teaches features rather than scenarios. Pair it with a lab tenant you can break
MeasureUp practice tests
- Best for
- Exam-realistic question style as Microsoft's official practice partner
- Watch out for
- The most expensive option in this list
Whizlabs practice tests and labs
- Best for
- Cheaper repetition, and hands-on labs if you have no tenant of your own
- Watch out for
- Question quality varies by exam. Check the SC-300 course is current before buying
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The verdict
Take this before SC-200 if you have to choose
Identity is where the incidents start. The material is more broadly useful, and it makes SC-100 far more approachable later.
Skip it if you never touch Entra ID configuration. It is an administrator exam and it assumes you have a tenant to practise in.
Disclosure. Some links on this site are affiliate links. Scoring weights are published before any programme is joined, and commission is never a ranking input. Full policy, and the method behind this guide.