How to Get Certified in Spark by Databricks?
This article aims to prepare you for the Databricks Spark Developer Certification: register, train and succeed, based on my recent experience.
Lightning-fast Spark
Spark is this technology everyone is talking about when dealing with Big Data analytics. It is closely related to Hadoop and makes distributed computing accessible.
Yet, in my opinion, it is a wonderful opportunity to build scalable jobs and tackle problems that were up to now reserved for massive computers.
And what would Spark be without Databricks (the company created by the founders of Apache Spark)? More than 30% of the current committers are directly related to the company, that provides support and visibility to Apache Spark.
Certification by Databricks
So why not choose Databricks certification to prove you have the skills to work with Spark?
You can choose between the Scala and Python (aka pyspark) developer certification. I took the Python one.
How do I subscribe to the exam?
Databricks uses a service provider named Kryterion to organize their exams. You will have to register here. I chose the online monitored version, finding it comfier, especially when knowing it lasts 3 hours. The exam itself takes place in an application called Sentinel Secure that, among other things, prevent you from accessing other resources on your computer during the exam.
Note 1: “the online proctored exam is supported by standard English keyboards only”. But all questions are Multiple Choices Questions, so don’t let it destabilize you. Fun story, I took this typing pattern thing too seriously. Since I’m in France, I’m using a French keyboard. And because Sentinel detects your identity through typing pattern, I tried to artificially alter my writing pattern to anticipate the difficulty I would have with the English keyboard during the exam. Result? I had to authenticate 10 times on the exam day. Not the best way to start the exam.
Note 2: “A detached web camera is required for the online proctored exam”. Your internal cam will do the job, no need to buy an external one. But also note that someone will watch you all your exam long. No paper, no pen, no leaving your chair… 3 hours, it’s long.
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Read the full article on Sicara’s blog here.
