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15 data science certifications that will pay off

Looking to get ahead as a data scientist? Earning one of these data science certs will help you stand out
in one of the hottest careers in IT.

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By Sarah K. White

Senior Writer, CIO

NOV 6, 2020 3:00 AM PT

Data scientist is one of the hottest jobs in IT. Companies are increasingly reliant on data and are eager to
hire data professionals who can make sense of the information the business collects. If you are looking
to get into this lucrative field, or want to stand out against the competition, certification can be key.

Data science certifications are a great way to gain an edge because they allow you to develop skills that
are hard to find in your desired industry. They're also a way to validate your skills, so recruiters and
hiring managers know what they’re getting if they hire you.

[ Learn the essential skills and traits of elite data scientists and the secrets of highly successful data
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Whether you’re looking to earn a certification from an accredited university, gain experience as a new
grad, hone vendor-specific skills or demonstrate your knowledge of data analytics, the following
certifications (presented in alphabetical order) will work for you.

Top 15 data science certifications

Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)

Cloudera Certified Associate (CCA) Data Analyst

Cloudera Certified Professional (CCP) Data Engineer

Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Senior Data Scientist (SDS)

Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Principle Data Scientist (PDS)

Dell EMC Data Science Track (EMCDS)

Google Professional Data Engineer Certification

IBM Data Science Professional Certificate

Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate

Open Certified Data Scientist (Open CDS)

SAS Certified AI & Machine Learning Professional

SAS Certified Big Data Professional

SAS Certified Data Scientist

Tensorflow Developer Certificate

Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)

The Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) is a vendor-neutral certification that validates your ability to
“transform complex data into valuable insights and actions,” which is exactly what businesses are
looking for in a data scientist: someone who understands data, can draw logical conclusions and express
to key stakeholders why those data points are significant. You’ll need to apply and meet certain criteria
before you can take the CAP or the associate level aCAP exams. To qualify for the CAP certification
exam, you’ll need three years of related experience if you have an master’s in a related field, five years
of related experience if you hold a bachelor’s in a related field, and seven years of experience if you
have any degree unrelated to analytics. To qualify for the aCAP exam you will need a master’s degree
and less than three years of related experience in data or analytics.

Cost: CAP exam: $495 for INFORMS members, $695 for non-members; aCAP exam: $200 for INFORMS
members, $300 for non-members
Location: In person at designated test centers

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Valid for three years

Cloudera Certified Associate (CCA) Data Analyst

The Cloudera Certified Associate (CCA) Data Analyst certification demonstrates your ability as a SQL
developer to pull and generate reports in Cloudera’s CDH environment using Impala and Hive. SQL
developer skills will allow you to pull, model, manage, analyze and work with data right from the source
as a data scientist. During the 120-minute exam, you’ll be given eight to 12 customer problems with a
unique data set and a CDH cluster. You’ll be tested on your ability to analyze each question and then
decide how best to “implement a technical solution with a high degree of precision.”

Cost: $295 per exam specialty and per attempt

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Valid for two years

Cloudera Certified Professional (CCP) Data Engineer

Cloudera touts its Certified Professional (CCP) Data Engineer certification as one of the most rigorous
and “demanding performance-based certifications.” Those looking to earn their CCP Data Engineer
certification should have in-depth experience in data engineering and a “high-level of mastery” of
common data science skills, according to Cloudera. The exam consists of five to 10 performance-based
hands-on tasks on a pre-configured Cloudera Enterprise cluster. The exam lasts four hours and you’ll
need to earn a 70 percent or higher to pass.

Cost: $400 per attempt — each attempt includes three exams

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Valid for three years

Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Senior Data Scientist (SDS)

The Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Senior Data Scientist (SDS) certification program is
designed for professionals with five or more years of experience in research and analytics. It’s
recommended that students have knowledge of databases, spreadsheets, statistical analytics, SPSS/SAS,
R, quantitative methods, and the fundamentals of object-oriented programming and RDBMS. The
program includes five tracks that will appeal to different candidates — each track has different
requirements in terms of degree-level, work experience and prerequisites to apply. You’ll need at least a
bachelor’s degree and more than five years of experience in data science to be eligible for each track,
while other tracks require a master’s degree or past certifications.

Cost: $650

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: 5 years

Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Principal Data Scientist (PDS)

The Data Science Council of America (DASCA) offers the Principal Data Scientist (PDS) certification, which
includes three tracks for data science professionals with 10 or more years of experience in big data. The
exam covers everything from fundamental to advanced data science concepts such as big data best
practices, business strategies for data, building cross-organizational support, machine learning, natural
language processing, scholastic modeling and more. The exam is designed for “seasoned and high-
achiever Data Science thought- and practice leaders.”

Cost: $850, track 1; $850, track 2; $300, Track 3; $950, track 4

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Credentials do not expire

Dell EMC Data Science Track (EMCDS)

The Dell EMC Data Scientist Track (EMCDS) includes two programs — the Data Science Associate v2
(DCS-DS) certification and the Data Science Specialist (DCS-DS) certification. At the associate level, you’ll
cover the foundations of data science and big data analytics — the courses can be completed in-person
or online. Once you complete the associate-level program, you can move onto the specialist-level which
covers topics such as natural language processing, advanced analytical methods, Hadoop, Pig, Hive,
HBase and visualization methods.

Cost: $230 per exam

Location: In-person or online via Pearson VUE

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Does not expire

Google Professional Data Engineer Certification

The Google Professional Data Engineer certification is best suited for those with foundational knowledge
of the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and experience designing and managing solutions using GCP. The
exam will test your abilities with designing, building, securing and operationalizing machine learning
models and data processing systems. It’s recommended to have at least three years of industry
experience, including one year or more of designing and managing solutions using GCP.

Cost: $200

Location: Online

Duration: Two hours

Expiration: Credentials do not expire

IBM Data Science Professional Certificate

The IBM Data Science Professional Certificate consists of nine courses in data science, open source tools,
data science methodology, Python, Databases and SQL, data analysis, data visualization, machine
learning and a final applied data science capstone. The course takes place online through Coursera with
a flexible schedule and takes an average of three months to complete, but you are free to take more or
less time. The course includes hands-on projects to help you build a portfolio to showcase your data
science talents to potential employers.

Cost: Free

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Credentials do not expire

Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft’s Azure AI Fundamentals certification validates your knowledge of machine learning and
artificial intelligence concepts and how they relate to Microsoft Azure services. It’s a fundamentals
exam, so you don’t need extensive experience to pass the exam. It’s a good place to start if you are new
to AI or AI on Azure and want to demonstrate your skills and knowledge to employers.

Cost: $99

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Credentials do not expire

Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate

The Azure Data Scientist Associate certification from Microsoft focuses your ability to utilize machine
learning to implement and run machine learning workloads on Azure. Candidates for the exam are
tested on ML, AI solutions, NLP, computer vision and predictive analytics. You will need to be skilled in
deploying and managing resources, managing identities and governance, implementing and managing
storage, and configuring and managing virtual networks.

Cost: $165
Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Credentials do not expire

Open Certified Data Scientist (Open CDS)

The Open Group Professional Certification Program for the Data Scientist Professional (Open CDS) is an
experience-based certification without any traditional training courses or exams. You’ll start at level one
as a Certified Data Scientist, then you can move to level two where you’ll become a Master Certified
Data Scientist and finally, you can pass the third level to become a Distinguished Certified Data Scientist.
Certification requires a three-step process that includes applying for the certification, completing the
experience application form and attending a board review.

Cost: Contact for pricing

Location: On-site

Duration: Varies by level

Expiration: Credentials do not expire

SAS Certified AI & Machine Learning Professional

The AI and Machine Learning Professional certification from SAS demonstrates your ability to use open
source tools to gain insight from data using AI and analytics skills. The certification consists of several
exams that cover topics such as machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision and
model forecasting and optimization. You’ll need to pass the SAS Certified Specialist exams in Machine
Learning, Forecasting and Optimization and Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision to earn
the AI & Machine Learning professional designation.

Cost: $180 per exam

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Credentials do not expire

SAS Certified Big Data Professional

The SAS Big Data Professional certification includes two modules with a total of nine courses. You’ll need
to pass two exams to earn the designation. The course covers SAS programming skills, working with
data, improving data quality, communication skills, fundamentals of statistics and analytics, data
visualization and popular data tools such as Hadoop, Hive, Pig and SAS. To qualify for the exam, you’ll
need at least six months of programming experience in SAS or another language.

Cost: $180 per exam

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Credentials do not expire

SAS Certified Data Scientist

The SAS Certified Data Scientist certification is a combination of the other two data certifications offered
through SAS. It covers programming skills, managing and improving data, transforming, accessing and
manipulating data and how to work with popular data visualization tools. Once you earn both the Big
Data Professional and Advance Analytics Professional certifications, you can qualify to earn your SAS
Certified Data Scientist designation. You’ll need to complete all 18 courses and pass the five exams
between the two separate certifications.

Cost: $180 per exam

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Credentials do not expire

TensorFlow Developer Certificate

The TensorFlow Developer Certificate program is a “foundational certificate for students, developers
and data scientists who want to demonstrate practical machine learning skills through the building and
training of models using TensorFlow.” The exam tests your knowledge of and ability to integrate
machine learning into various tools and applications. To pass the exam you will need to be experienced
with the foundational principles of ML and deep learning, building ML models, image recognition
algorithms, deep neural networks and natural language processing.

Cost: $100 per exam

Location: Online

Duration: Self-paced

Expiration: Credentials do not expire

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