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Top 20 professional certifications for data engineers

Emmanuel Odenyire Anyira's photo
Emmanuel Odenyire Anyira
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6 min read

Introduction

Data engineers are responsible for building, maintaining, and optimizing the data infrastructure of an organization. They are experts in designing and managing data pipelines, databases, and data warehouses. As the demand for big data analytics and business intelligence continues to grow, the role of data engineers has become increasingly important. To stand out in this field, data engineers should consider obtaining professional certifications. In this post, we will discuss the top 20 professional certifications for data engineers.

1. AWS Certified Big Data — Specialty

This certification focuses on demonstrating the ability to design, implement, and maintain big data solutions using AWS. The certification requires knowledge of Amazon S3, Amazon EMR, Amazon Redshift, Amazon Kinesis, and AWS Lambda.

2. Cloudera Certified Data Engineer

This certification is designed to demonstrate proficiency in designing and building data engineering solutions using Apache Hadoop. The certification requires knowledge of Hadoop, HDFS, MapReduce, Spark, Pig, Hive, Impala, Oozie, Sqoop, and Flume.

3. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Data Engineer

This certification demonstrates the ability to design, build, and maintain data processing systems on the Google Cloud Platform. The certification requires knowledge of Google Cloud Platform, data processing systems, data analysis, and machine learning.

4. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate

This certification focuses on demonstrating the ability to design and implement data engineering solutions on Microsoft Azure. The certification requires knowledge of Azure data services, data storage solutions, data processing solutions, and data monitoring solutions.

5. Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark 3.0

This certification demonstrates proficiency in developing Spark applications using Databricks. The certification requires knowledge of Apache Spark, Databricks, and Python or Scala programming.

6. SAS Certified Big Data Professional

This certification focuses on demonstrating proficiency in working with big data using SAS software. The certification requires knowledge of SAS programming, data management, and data analysis.

7. IBM Certified Data Engineer — Big Data

This certification is designed to demonstrate proficiency in designing, building, and maintaining big data solutions using IBM technologies. The certification requires knowledge of IBM BigInsights, IBM InfoSphere Big Match, IBM InfoSphere Streams, and IBM InfoSphere DataStage.

8. Talend Certified Data Engineer

This certification demonstrates proficiency in designing and developing data integration solutions using Talend. The certification requires knowledge of Talend Studio, Talend Administration Center, Talend Big Data, and Talend Data Quality.

9. Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.7 Database Administrator

This certification demonstrates proficiency in installing, configuring, and administering MySQL 5.7 databases. The certification requires knowledge of MySQL architecture, MySQL installation and configuration, MySQL security, MySQL backup and recovery, and MySQL performance tuning.

10. MongoDB Certified Developer Associate

This certification focuses on demonstrating proficiency in designing and developing applications using MongoDB. The certification requires knowledge of MongoDB basics, MongoDB aggregation framework, MongoDB indexes, MongoDB schema design, and MongoDB administration.

11. MapR Certified Hadoop Developer

This certification demonstrates proficiency in developing Hadoop applications using the MapR platform. The certification requires knowledge of Hadoop basics, MapR architecture, MapR file system, MapReduce, and HBase.

12. Hortonworks Certified Associate (HCA) — Apache Hadoop

This certification demonstrates proficiency in working with Hadoop using the Hortonworks Data Platform. The certification requires knowledge of Hadoop basics, HDFS, YARN, MapReduce, and Pig.

13. EMC Data Science Associate (EMCDSA)

This certification focuses on demonstrating proficiency in data science concepts and techniques. The certification requires knowledge of data science methodology, data exploration and visualization, statistics, and machine learning.

14. Teradata Certified Technical Specialist

This certification demonstrates proficiency in designing, developing, and administering

Teradata solutions. The certification requires knowledge of Teradata architecture, SQL programming, Teradata utilities, and Teradata performance optimization.

15. Alteryx Designer Core Certification

This certification focuses on demonstrating proficiency in designing and building data workflows using Alteryx Designer. The certification requires knowledge of Alteryx Designer tools, data blending, data cleansing, and spatial analytics.

16. Tableau Desktop Specialist

This certification demonstrates proficiency in using Tableau Desktop to analyze and visualize data. The certification requires knowledge of data sources, data visualization, calculations, and dashboard creation.

17. SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional

This certification focuses on demonstrating proficiency in advanced analytics techniques using SAS software. The certification requires knowledge of statistical modeling, predictive modeling, data mining, and machine learning.

18. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate

This certification demonstrates the ability to design and implement artificial intelligence solutions on Microsoft Azure. The certification requires knowledge of Azure Cognitive Services, Azure Machine Learning, and Azure Bot Service.

19. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Cloud Architect

This certification demonstrates proficiency in designing and managing cloud solutions on the Google Cloud Platform. The certification requires knowledge of Google Cloud Platform, cloud architecture, security, and networking.

20. Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP)

This certification focuses on demonstrating proficiency in data management concepts and techniques. The certification requires knowledge of data modeling, data quality, data integration, and metadata management.

Conclusion

Obtaining professional certifications can help data engineers stand out in their field and demonstrate their expertise to employers. The certifications listed above cover a wide range of technologies and concepts, from big data to artificial intelligence to data management. By obtaining one or more of these certifications, data engineers can increase their value in the job market and advance their careers.

References

  1. AWS Certified Big Data — Specialty. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-big-data-specialty/

  2. Cloudera Certified Data Engineer. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cloudera.com/about/training/certification/ccde.html

  3. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Data Engineer. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://cloud.google.com/certification/data-engineer

  4. Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/azure-data-engineer/

  5. Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark 3.0. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://academy.databricks.com/category/certifications

  6. SAS Certified Big Data Professional. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sas.com/en_us/certification/big-data-professional.html

  7. IBM Certified Data Engineer — Big Data. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com/certify/cert?id=48001004v02

  8. Talend Certified Data Engineer. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.talend.com/services/training/certification/data-engineer/

  9. Oracle Certified Professional, MySQL 5.7 Database Administrator. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://education.oracle.com/mysql-database-administrator-certified-professional/overview/pls/psciqas/faq_dbcert

  10. MongoDB Certified Developer Associate. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.mongodb.com/certification

  11. MapR Certified Hadoop Developer. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://mapr.com/training/certification/hadoop-developer/

  12. Hortonworks Certified Associate (HCA) — Apache Hadoop. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cloudera.com/about/training/certification/hca-hadoop-certification.html

  13. EMC Data Science Associate (EMCDSA). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://education.emc.com/guest/certification/data-science.aspx

  14. Teradata Certified Professional Program. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.teradata.com/education/certification

  15. Alteryx Designer Core Certification. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.alteryx.com/designer-core-certification

  16. Tableau Desktop Specialist. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tableau.com/support/certification/tableau-desktop-specialist

  17. SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sas.com/en_us/certification/advanced-analytics-professional.html

  18. Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/azure-ai-engineer/

  19. Google Cloud Certified — Professional Cloud Architect. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://cloud.google.com/certification/cloud-architect

  20. Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dataversity.net/cdmp/

Note: The websites linked above provide additional information about the certification programs, including exam fees, exam objectives, and study materials.

Additional Resources:

Disclaimer: The author of this post is not affiliated with any of the certification programs listed above. The information presented in this post is based on publicly available information as of the date of writing and is subject to change. It is recommended that readers verify the information and requirements for each certification program directly with the respective certification provider.