As connectivity and computers are becoming cheaper, the businesses are going gaga over the mammoth amount of data generated by consumers. From chipped kids’ nappies to factory robots, the internet of things is forecasted to turn every consumer good into a minicomputer. In this race to catch up with big data bang, the need for specialists who can manage, analyze and interpret enormous data is going to soar.
Glass-door rated data science as the hottest career destination of 2017, and Harvard Business Review labeled it as the sexiest career of the 21st century. No surprise that the number of big data certifications and its certified professionals are rising. As enterprises shift their operations to the cloud, this trend is going to further rocket.
In this changing landscape, professionals can benefit from sailing their careers in the direction of ‘data’ wind. Choosing the right certification that complements your qualifications can help you authoritatively demonstrate your skill sets and stand out from the crowd.
Who’s Who of Big Data Career?
While data analysts study data patterns and derive inferences, data administrators manage huge data into comprehensible chunks. Business intelligence analysts, on the other hand, are the ones who present the results from a business standpoint to the managers and board; and big data engineers, build the pipeline and manage company’s data infrastructure and tools.
With diverse job profiles, there are many niche big data certifications available for people with disparate skills and qualifications. You may opt for the one which best brings out your knowledge and fit-in with your future plans.
Five Niche Big Data Certifications
Among the numerous certifications, here we list five niche big data certifications for entry-level professionals with an experience roughly nada to five years.
1. CCA Administrator by Cloudera
Who is it for? CCA Administrator certification validates candidates with the knowledge and skills of core systems and cluster administrators in Cloudera Enterprise tools. The certification assesses one’s ability to make configuration and service changes through Cloudera Manager, along with the command on Hadoop utilities and basic Linux environment. Professionals specializing in Hadoop and leaning towards a career in big data administration can explore this certification.
Fast Facts
- Certification: Cloudera Certified Associate (CCA) Administrator
- Exam Duration: 120 minutes
- Exam Location: Online
- Passing Score: 70%
- Expiration: 2 years
2. HDP Certified (Spark) Developer by Cloudera & Hortonworks
Who is it for? This certification is offered by Hortonworks, which recently merged with Cloudera. The merger has come to offer two certifications in HDP developer profile — HDP Certified Developer, and HDP Certified Spark Developer. Both of these assess candidates’ prowess to work with Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP) open-source tools including Hive, Sqoop, and Pig. The former is for professionals who develop Hadoop applications for working on data stored in Hadoop, the latter is for developers who work with Spark Core and Spark SQL applications in Python or Scala.
Fast Facts
- Certifications: HDP Certified Developer, and HDP Certified Spark Developer
- Exam Duration: 120 minutes
- Exam Location: Online
- Passing Score: 75%
- Expiration: 2 years
3. Associate Big Data Engineer by Data Science Council of America
Who is it for? Data Science Council of America (DASCA) offers vendor-neutral certifications accepted across a broad spectrum of businesses and software platforms. DASCA counts among the top league big data certification bodies as per CIO listing.
Its Associate Big Data Engineer (ABDE) certification will assess your programming skills across all major big data engineering platforms. As its certified big data professional, you will showcase your hands-on knowledge in Core JAVA, SQL statements, and also PERL or RUBY scripting language with a basic understanding of Linux and Unix environments. ABDE is apt for tech-school undergraduates or entry-level professionals with basic proficiency in Python/JAVA.
Fast Facts
- Certification: Associate Big Data Engineer (ABDE)
- Exam Duration: 100 minutes
- Exam Location: Online
- Expiration: 3 years
4. Associate Big Data Analyst by Data Science Council of America
Who is it for? Data Science Council of America (DASCA) offers Associate Big Data Analyst (ABDA) vendor-neutral certification which will validate your skills across a range of big data analytics platforms. This certification will test your basic know-how of R, Python and Hadoop ecosystems; will evaluate your calculations skills along with capacity to create graphs, and the likes. Entry-level professionals or those having completed or undergoing bachelor’s in business, mathematics, management, marketing, economics, or related field, can earn ABDA certification. It can open doors for jobs as a data analyst, database designer, and business intelligence analyst.
Fast Facts
- Certification: Associate Big Data Analyst (ABDA)
- Exam Duration: 100 minutes
- Exam Location: Online
- Expiration: 3 years
5. Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE)
Who is it for? MCSE Data Management and Analyst is a suite of Microsoft certifications focused on SQL — Server, Database Development, Administration, Business Intelligence (BI) development and BI reporting. They assess expertise in SQL and Data Engineering with Azure (Microsoft Cloud Environment), and will showcase your dexterity in building enterprise-level data solutions.
Fast Facts
- Certification: Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) Data Management and Analyst
- Exam Duration: 8 Exams, each of different duration.
- Expiration: 3 years
Companies are banking their businesses on big data, is your career catching up in the same direction?
