Most businesses nowadays depend on the insights provided by data scientists to make data-driven decisions for their daily operations, large-scale processes, etc. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts data scientist jobs to grow by 35% by 2032. A data scientist can earn an average salary of $99,842 in 2024 (source: PayScale). Gaining data science certifications can help develop and expand industry knowledge, gain experience, and get high-paying jobs.
This post will highlight top certifications that are worth investing in to distinguish yourself from the crowd in the data science domain.
How Could You Benefit from Data Science Certifications?
Companies across various industries are giving value to candidates equipped with the latest certifications from recognized institutes and universities. When you earn the most valued certification, it can benefit you to –
- Validate your desire for professional development and constant learning to your potential employers.
- Get an advantage when applying for a job in a data science career by staying updated on the latest industry practices and technologies.
- Improve the value of your resume by adding employer-desired certification.
Top 6 Certifications to Develop and Grow Data Science Career.
- Certified Data Science Professional (CDSP™)
CDSP™ is a world-class certification by the most trusted and well-recognized institute - USDSI® (United States Data Science Institute) offering self-paced online data science certification programs. This certification helps learners start from the basics and develop their careers in data science with a flexible learning schedule.
You will have to pass the CDSP™ exam of 60 questions and 100 minutes duration with 70% passing marks. You can schedule your exam after 25 days from the payment date. To prepare for this certification exam, you will receive a well-structured resource hub comprising all important study materials like practice codes, study books, etc. If you don’t pass the exam on the first attempt, you can reschedule it after paying a nominal fee.
Duration: 4-25 weeks with 8-10 hours of weekly learning.
Expiration: CDSP™ certification comes with 3 years of validity from the date of getting this certification.
- Certified Analytics Professional
The Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) certification is an independent validation of the essential technical knowledge and soft skills required by data science professionals. This is a vendor- and technology-neutral certification for early and mid-career data science professionals that verifies their skills to convert challenging data into meaningful insights and actions, which analytics-oriented organizations value the most. Before earning this certification, you must clear the Associate Certified Analytics Professional exam.
Duration: This is a self-paced certification program with 3 hours of exam duration.
Expiration: The CAP certification is valid for 3 years.
- SAS Certified Data Scientist
This certification demonstrates your ability with data curation, advanced analytics, AI (artificial intelligence), advanced programming, and machine learning (ML). To get this certification, you will be required to gain the Advanced Programming professional certifications or Data Curation Professional certifications and either AI & Machine Learning Professional certifications or the Advanced Analytics certifications.
Duration: 110 minutes
Expiration: The SAS Global Certification Program offers credentials with no expiration.
- Google Certified Professional Data Engineer
This is a professional data engineer certification program by Google to evaluate your ability to design a data processing system, prepare and use data for effective analysis, store data, and maintain data workloads. This certification exam consists of 50-60 multiple-select and multiple-choice questions. With this exam, you will be examined for your Google Certified Professional knowledge of ML models.
Duration: 2 hours
Expiration: This Google certification is valid for 2 years from the date of earning this certification.
- IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
This data science course from IBM is designed for candidates new to the field of data science. It covers a wide range of topics like data science methodology, machine learning, data analysis, open-source tools, data visualization, and more.
To earn this certification, you must sign up for a digital subscription and complete 10 courses at your own pace. It is set on an introductory curriculum, so it doesn’t require any prior experience or knowledge in any programming languages or other data science concepts.
Duration: 5 months (10 hours weekly)
Expiration: Data science and ML certifications issued by IBM do not have any expiration date and are valid for a lifetime.
- Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate
This certification program offered by Microsoft shows candidates’ proficiency in BI (Business Intelligence) data analyst roles and responsibilities. It measures the skills required to prepare, model, visualize, and analyze the data.
Before earning this certification, you must know how to use Power Query and write expressions using DAX (Data Analysis Expressions). You should provide actionable insights by working with given data and using domain proficiency. You must also understand data sensitivity and security.
Duration: 5 months (10 hours weekly)
Expiration: This certification will expire within 6 months of the date of certification.
Conclusion
The field of data science is constantly evolving with new tools and technologies reshaping the industry quickly. Data science certification programs help develop hard-to-find data science skills and advance your career. These certifications will give weightage to your resume and validate your proficiency and life-long learning passion to recruiters. So, choose the right certification program for you, enroll in it, and start mastering the essential data science skills today.
