Which Certification Is Best For Data Engineers

Data Engineers are yet to fulfill the talent shortage in the market right now. As this gap increases, more and more engineers will be filling in technical roles. If you’re one such individual looking forward to an edge in the market; read ahead as we explore which certification is best for Data Engineers to pursue today!

Do Data Engineers Need a Certification?

Finding jobs require three main components, Knowledge, Certification and Expertise. This is the KCE process that we have mentioned often in our classes as well as in other blog posts.

Just to refresh your memories, here is what it is.

  • Knowledge: Working knowledge about data engineering and tools is of paramount importance.
  • Certification: An independent body that validates your knowledge.
  • Expertise: This is the place where you demonstrate your knowledge by solving a substantial business problem that some one uses (and hopefully you get paid for it)

Acquiring a certification best fits the ‘C’ in the KCE process. Before we hop on to ‘which certification is the best’ – an important question needs answering – is it even necessary to pursue a certification? Most definitely!

Here’s why:

Data engineering roles are technical. Businesses today are more inclined towards jumping in with knowledgeable people rather than training someone from scratch. Although this is no demotivation, a measure of knowledge and skill shouldn’t hurt at all.

That is the core purpose of a certification for a data engineer!

You want to showcase to potential employers – “I’m the right candidate for this role”. Certifications for engineers are just as technical as the role (as we’ll explore) and can test your skill in several vendor-specific (e.g., AWS, Azure) and generic concepts of Data Engineering and Sciences.

We at MLAcademy.io help you learn and gain expertise in these clouds. After which getting these certifications becomes really simple.

Which Certification Is Best for Data Engineers?

If we’ve convinced you to chin up for a certification or you were already motivated to do so, the next step is looking out for certifications. Which certification is best for Data Engineers? Believe it or not, that’s something you have to decide for yourself. 

How come? 

Data Engineers are proficient in a wide array of toolsets. Big Data tools like Hadoop and Spark; Programming languages such as Scala, Java, and Python; and Cloud services like AWS, Azure, GCP or others.

The last point is where we go vendor-specific. Every vendor releases a certification for Data Engineers on their own platform e.g., AWS big data certification or the renown AWS machine learning certification.

Can’t pick one?

Let us help you out by summarizing details from three of the best certifications for data engineers in the market right now:

1. AWS Certified Data Analytics

AWS Certifications are perhaps the most in-demand certifications for Data Engineers right now. From data lakes to analytics services, the certification aims to test the engineer in core concepts of Data Engineering. It can further help you establish credibility and gain hands-on experience on production deployments.

The Certified Data Analytics specialty by AWS is actually one of their top-tier training. To quote AWS itself, they suggest having at least 5 years of experience in data analytics technology and over 2 years of experience with AWS itself. If we talk about the exam’s knowledge areas, here you go:

  • Design, build, and secure analytics solutions on AWS
  • Functionalize core engineering pipelines using AWS services
  • Automate data analytics and leverage big data tools in AWS

If you feel you’re ready – it is an MCQ-based, 180-minute exam which will cost you $300. Simply get started by visiting AWS’ certification page and signing up for the exam for on-site or an online (proctored) mode. In case you’d like to try and certify in a medium-skilled certification, you can try the AWS machine learning certification or the AWS big data certification.

2. Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Associate

Microsoft’s Azure is also a well-used cloud platform amongst Data Engineering firms. To certify Azure users and their skillset in Data Engineering, Microsoft released the Azure Data Engineer Associate certification. The certification requires candidates to pass the DP-203 exam titled “Data Engineering on Microsoft Azure”.

The DP-203 replaces the two exams engineers had to take separately – DP-201 and DP-202. The exam further validates an engineers’ ability to:

  • Integrate, transform, load, and consolidate data from source systems
  • Capability to build analytics solutions on the Azure cloud
  • Possess knowledge of data processing languages like SQL, Scala, and Python

The certification is priced at $165 – which is moderate for a professional certification. It is an excellent choice if your employer is either focused on the Azure platform for data solutions or you wish to work on Microsoft’s solutions to hone your engineering skills. Secondly, there’s no prerequisite. So have at it fresh engineers!

3. Google Professional Data Engineer

Lastly – we have the Google Professional Data Engineer certification. This professional certificate aims to encourage moderate skilled engineers to showcase their data-driven decision making on Google’s own cloud platform. The certification can help you:

  • Test your ability to design, build, and secure infrastructure on Google Cloud
  • Build scalable systems which are both reliable and efficient
  • Train, operationalize and deploy machine learning models in production environments

Google’s certifications are not as renown as the previous two but are definitely climbing to the top quickly. It is a 2- hour MCQ-based examination which will cost you $200 to take. Like AWS, GCP also suggests you have 3 years’ worth of experience in a Data Engineering role and over 1 year of experience on GCP itself. But that’s definitely not a hard-and-fast rule to stop you from certifying yourself in the global market.

Which Cloud Platform Is Best for Data Engineers?

Though this question is also reliant on your skillset and personal preference, we suggest starting with AWS. 

AWS is one of the largest cloud providers to date. Not only that, the market share of AWS in comparison to other cloud providers is definitely a steal. If you hunt for jobs and take a look at job descriptions, you can easily count the number of prospects hiring AWS professionals for Data Engineering roles.

Second, pick one of the other clouds like Microsoft’s Azure and Google Cloud. Currently most enterprises are heading towards multi-cloud strategy. Having working knowledge is a big bonus while applying for jobs.  If you’d like to target the minority market and showcase your potential there, it’s definitely a worthwhile option. Point is – this is your personal choice here.

We suggest you try all three in their trial versions and take a look at their Data Engineering services. If you prefer one over the other, see if you can find market potential for it as well. If both these options pair up, you’re in luck. That’s the best cloud platform for you as a data engineer.

Conclusion: Getting Certified!

We hope to have answered your query on “which certification is best for Data Engineers”. Whether it is the AWS Data Engineer training or a GCP certification, be sure to keep your end goal aligned; to build and grow your skillset. Certifications can only boost your career if you pair it with other traits (Knowledge and Expertise).

Which certification are you deciding to take up? Do share your insights with us!