Top 8 data engineer and data architect certifications

How to prepare: Cloudera recommends candidates take the Cloudera Data Analyst Training course, which has the same objectives as the exam.

Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Associate Big Data Engineer

The vendor-neutral DASCA Associate Big Data Engineer certification demonstrates knowledge of popular big data platforms, including Hadoop and Spark, and knowledge of proprietary and open source developer tools (including HBase, Hive, Pig, and HiveQL). It requires passing a 75-question online exam. There are three candidacy tracks that vary based on level of education and work experience.

Organization: Data Science Council of America

Price: $585 for the exam, standard exam preparation resources, shipping, digital badging, and credential kit

How to prepare: Registration for the program includes a full DASCA Certification Preparation Kit.

Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Senior Big Data Engineer

DASCA’s Senior Big Data Engineer certification is a step up from the associate credential, intended for experienced professionals. It requires passing an 85-question online exam. There are four candidacy tracks that vary based on level of education and work experience.

Organization: Data Science Council of America

Price: $650 for the exam, standard exam preparation resources, shipping, digital badging, and credential kit

How to prepare: Registration for the program includes a full DASCA Certification Preparation Kit.

Google Professional Data Engineer

The Google Professional Data Engineer credential certifies the ability to design, build, operationalize, secure, and monitor data processing systems. It requires passing a two-hour, multiple-choice and multiple-select certification exam. The exam has no prerequisites, though Google recommends candidates have three or more years of industry experience, including one or more years designing and managing solutions using Google Cloud Platform. The exam is available in English and Japanese and may be taken as an online-proctored exam from a remote location or as an onsite-proctored exam at a testing center.

Organization: Google

Price: $200 registration fee

How to prepare: Google offers an exam guide and on-demand or instructor-led training.

IBM Certified Solution Architect – Cloud Pak for Data v4.x

The IBM Certified Solution Architect – Cloud Pak for Data v4.x certification validates an individual’s ability to design, plan, and architect a data and AI solution in a hybrid cloud environment. A certified architect can lead and guide the implementation and operationalization of a solution that may include data governance, analytics, data science, machine learning, and AI. It requires passing a test that consists of six sections containing a total of 63 multiple-choice questions.

Organization: IBM Professional Certification Program

Price: $200

How to prepare: IBM offers a sample test and study guide. It also offers an assessment exam through Pearson VUE. There is also a learning path that takes about 13.5 hours to complete.

IBM Certified Solution Architect – Data Warehouse V1

The IBM Certified Solution Architect – Data Warehouse V1 certification validates an individual’s ability to design, plan, and architect a data warehouse solution. It requires working knowledge of data governance, data processing approaches, data stores and data virtualization, real-time processing solutions, and more. It requires passing a test that consists of seven sections containing a total of 62 multiple-choice questions.

Organization: IBM Professional Certification Program

Price: $200

How to prepare: IBM offers an assessment exam through Pearson VUE. In addition, IBM suggests courses on data topology, data warehousing, and data privacy.

SAS Certified Data Integration Developer

The SAS Certified Data Integration Developer certification program is for individuals seeking to validate their data integration development skills in the SAS 9 environment. The program focuses on defining architecture of the platform for SAS Business Analytics, creating metadata for source and target data, working with transformations, and more. The program requires passing a certification exam administered by SAS and Pearson Vue.

Organization: SAS Global Certification Program

Price: $180

How to prepare: SAS offers an exam guide, The SAS Data Integration Studio: Fast Track course, sample questions, and practice exams.