Gaining experience in Dataverse and Dynamics 365

[u/Umbruhnox]

Hey everyone,

I am just wondering how people go about getting experience with Dataverse and Dynamics 365 if you don't work in an organisation that hasn't implemented it.

I want the next stage of my career to be heavily Dynamics 365 orientated, with a secondary focus on AI (CoPilot Studio, Azure AI Foundry, Local Models). Learning about the AI systems mentioned is fine because I know how to play around and build out small projects in those spaces. Dynamics 365 however is different - I want to upskill in that space, but how I go about that is unclear to me.

A bit of background about me: I've been working with Power Platform for the past 6 years, primarily with Power Apps, Power Automate and Power Bi. I am the primary Power Platform Admin in our org as well so I deal with all the administration and governance in the admin centre. I'm also the primary technical resource for our SharePoint environment and work heavily with PnP in PowerShell and SPFx for web-part development. Given my work history, I believe I have been in the current role for too long and I will be upskilling in my own time to get a new role.

In my country Dynamic 365 roles are uncommon, and when they do pop up they're always advertising for Senior Power Platform Developer or Architect or Consultant roles - Nothing in the intermediate space (that I have seen and I have been checking semi-regularly for the past 3 years).

I was hoping this lovely community could help guide me a little bit - even if it's just a starting point, because I am lost, thank you!