Prominent Big Data Analytics Certifications To Pursue In 2022

With firms being inundated with data and requiring skilled professionals to manage it, job opportunities for professionals with big data analytics certifications are plentiful.

6 min readMar 3, 2022

“Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine”.
- Peter Sondergaard (Senior Vice President, Gartner)

There is no denying it: analytics is not simply the future; it is the way of the present! Big data analytics is currently being applied in a wide range of industries, from airline route planning to predictive maintenance monitoring in manufacturing and healthcare facilities. Even industries that you might not associate with big data, such as retail, are getting in on the action, embracing big data analytics to boost consumer loyalty and tailor unique offerings.

With such a surge in the application of big data analytics, having the skills necessary to work with data is not just helpful; it is almost a requirement. The relevance of these abilities will only increase in the years ahead as more industries and organizations join on board, which is why there is now such a focus on data analytics in higher education.

In my view, every student or a professional interested in big data should have the chance to learn data analytics while studying, regardless of whether they hold a graduate or postgraduate degree in related fields. In this article, I will discuss some of the prominent big data analytics certifications that professionals and aspiring big data analysts can earn. Nevertheless, let me answer a critical question asked by students online and interns at my workplace!

Are big data analytics certifications worth it?

Yes, a big data analytics certification is a worthwhile investment because it will help you build vital data analytics skills, which employers are increasingly relying on to evaluate their data these days.

In its report, Allied Market Research says the business analytics software market will have a total value of USD 57 million by 2023, with customer analytics holding a place of prominence, giving you more opportunities for advancement with your current employer and boosting your compensation.

When organizations hire big data professionals to analyze data, it helps them to have:

Improved productivity and efficiency
Faster, more effective decision-making
Improved customer acquisition, retention, and experiences
Developed and newly created revenue systems
Better financial performance

By acquiring a big data analytics certification, you will be able to solve organizational challenges related to data analytics, such as:

Data collecting
Data evaluation
Data visualization with tools such as Tableau or Qlikview
Predictive and statistical analysis
Data modeling (all of this requires big data analysts to have updated statistical knowledge)
Work on competitive market analysis tasks to identify key industry trends using tools like Hadoop, Spark, MongoDB, and by applying programming languages such as Python, SQL, and R
Data warehousing with both relational and non-relational database systems such as Oracle, NoSQL, Cassandra, and many other big data analysis tools

These factors should persuade you to earn a big data analytics certification and, if that is not enough, here are some other essential reasons why you should do so.

Business leaders want big data professionals to be highly skilled!

Today’s business leaders recognize the strategic value of big data. They gather information from a variety of sources, including, mobile, social media, AI, and IoT. Businesses are being transformed as a result of changes in business strategies, administration, marketing, and other business characteristics. They rely on big data analysts to obtain data, store it, evaluate it, and discover trends that can inspire them.

A recent study conducted by IT research firm Foote Partners shows that data skills and big data analytics certifications have been increasing in value every quarter over the past two years. This aligns with what hiring experts are hearing from employers trying to hire data professionals.

Big data analysts are paid high!

Data analyst roles currently pay well compared to other tech careers, with an average annual salary of roughly USD 99,558. There is an evidence that even if you are already in this field, expanding your skillset could increase your compensation. According to IBM’s research, individuals with Hadoop experience, for example, are in demand for jobs earning more than USD 110,000 per year on average.

Additionally, even if you are retooling and considering a career move, obtaining certification would be important for opening doors. It will enable you to build a knowledgeable and capable big data career.

Which are the prominent big data analyst certifications to earn!

Industry-relevant data analytics certifications help you to gain a competitive edge. You can climb the career ladder faster as compared to your non-certified peer group. You will be considered a prized asset to your organization. Here’s the list of best data analyst certifications:

1) CCA Data Analyst (CCA159)

This data analyst certification is provided by Cloudera. It is one of the popular vendor big data certifications. The certified professionals gain the core competencies necessary to generate reports in Cloudera’s CDH environment. The certification is suitable for data analysts, SQL developers, BI specialists, database administrators, and developers. Take a look at the exam details here.

❓Type of questions: Performance-based tasks on a Cloud Enterprise cluster

⌚️Time limit: 120 minutes

💰Price: USD 295

You can visit the link for more details: https://www.cloudera.com/about/training/certification/cca-data-analyst.html

2) Associate Big Data Analyst (ABDA™)

This big data analytics certification is provided by the Data Science Council of America (DASCA) which is an independent international data science credentialing body in data science.

ABDA™ is a benchmark global qualification in big data analytics widely preferred by young professionals and students from diverse professional and academic backgrounds. This certification is most popular in the global job markets and recruiters at top companies across business verticals. ABDA™ is a vendor-neutral and industry-agnostic qualifications covering all domains and levels of professionals generally required by the industries globally.

This certification is offered under three different tracks, you can select a track based on your education levels and work experiences.

Pre-requisites:

To choose any one of these tracks, you are required to hold at least a diploma or a bachelor’s degree in math, computer science, statistics, information system, social sciences, and related fields. Your experience to register for these tracks can range between 0–2 years.
A basic understanding of programming and the ability to use spreadsheet applications and statistical tools for statistical computations will be a significant advantage.

You can check out their program brochure to learn more about their certification: https://www.dasca.org/data-science-certifications/certified-abde

❓ Type of questions: Multiple-choice-single-answer

⌚️ Time limit: 100 minutes

💻 Mode of examination: Online

💰 Price: USD 585 (All-Inclusive)

You can visit this link for more details: https://www.dasca.org/data-science-certifications/abda

3) Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)

This credential is provided by the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS). You can choose to earn the Certified Analytics Profession certification if you want vendor independence. The certification helps you solve analytics problems, implement analytics in your organization, and manage model lifecycles.

The candidate should have a graduate degree and at least three years of experience in the related field. The examination is developed by subject matter experts and practitioners.

You can check out their CANDIDATE HANDBOOK to know more about their certification process: https://www.theorsociety.com/media/1712/cap_handbook_14122017133427.pdf

❓Type of questions: Multiple-choice questions

💰Price: The base price is USD 695. For members of INFORMS, it is USD 495.

You can visit their website to explore more: https://www.certifiedanalytics.org/index.php.

4) SAS Certified Big Data Professional Using SAS 9

This certification provides beginners an insight into big data by using a variety of SAS Data Management tools and open-source tools. Professionals will utilize machine learning models to develop business recommendations for deploying the models at scale using the robust and flexible SAS environment. To earn a SAS Certified Big Data Professional data analytics certification one must pass all five exams, which consist of interactive questions, short-answer, and a mix of multiple-choice. The five exams are:

SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional:

Predictive Modeling Using SAS Enterprise Miner 7, 13, or 14
SAS Advanced Predictive Modeling
SAS Text Analytics, Time Series, Experimentation, and Optimization

SAS Certified Big Data Professional:

SAS Big Data Programming and Loading
SAS Big Data Preparation, Statistics, and Visual Exploration

💰Price: USD 180

You can visit this link for more details: https://www.sas.com/en_th/certification/credentials/data-management/big-data-professional.html

In a nutshell…

A data analytics certification would be beneficial at any moment. It exhibits to a future employer a genuine level of interest in the business and skill set, and it also demonstrates work ethic and commitment.