Top Data Analytics Certifications

Data analytics certifications and the real-world ability to perform on the job often go hand in hand.

Do a survey of data analytics vendor websites and you can find the company boasting about its certifications.

If you want Oracle analytics work, you better be Oracle certified. If you want to be a player in the Google or SAS analytics space, you won’t get too far without possessing some certifications. 

“Skills have become the global currency of the 21st-century economy,” said Steve Fazio, data governance lead, Talend.

“In a world where competition for jobs, pay increases, and professional success continues to increase, certifications offer a credible, third-party assessment of one’s skill and knowledge for a given subject.”

Here are some of the top data analytics certifications: 

See more: The Data Analytics Job Market

Data Governance Master

The management of data is a basic that underlies all analysis. If the data is incomplete, suspect, or uncleansed, analytical results will be impaired.

With the attention given to data governance and data management by most organizations, it is essential for data analytics professionals to understand the concepts and best practices involved in successful data governance and demonstrate that understanding through a certification, such as the ones offered by DataManagementU. 

The Data Governance Certification is available via its Data Governance Mastery program. Skills acquired: This course guides individuals in studying all the best practices and concepts for implementing data governance. It helps the learner become a master in data governance. There are no prerequisites. The course consists of 24 learning modules with 15-20 minutes of content. It can be delivered virtually or on demand. The cost is $1,599 per learner.

Data Literacy Master

The Data Literacy Master Class is a university-grade course DataManagementU that guides the learner through an in-depth study of data literacy. It helps the individual become a master data literacy professional. Learners who can successfully pass each chapter’s short quiz and the course’s final exam will become a certified Data Literacy Master through Data Management University. There are no prerequisites. The course consists of 19 learning modules with 15-20 minutes of content. It is virtual or on demand at a cost of $1,599. 

“The trend we’re seeing is broader recognition of the value and demand of data literacy skills,” said Christine Haskell, a data literacy consultant.

Jobs requiring digital skills, especially data analytics and visualization, will grow from 23% this year to 37% globally by 2026, according to “The Salesforce Economic Impact” report by IDC. 

See more: 5 Top Trends in the Data Analytics Job Market

SAS 

One of the biggest names in analytics, SAS has a sophisticated training and certification lineup. Courses include how to graph and display data for clarity and storytelling as well as how to communicate analytic findings in writing and verbally. Probably the six most relevant courses and certifications available from SAS are:

• Leading With Analytics
• Communicating Technical Findings to a Non-Technical Audience
• Machine Learning Leadership and Practice — End-to-End Mastery
• Introduction to Data Science Statistical Methods
• Strategies and Concepts for Data Scientists and Business Analysts
• Graphing Data Effectively and Avoiding Common Pitfalls

The tracks and learning paths for SAS are many. For machine learning, for example, there are a large number of courses recommended. An initial one on event stream processing, for example, consists of five half-day sessions at a cost of $1,080. 

Oracle 

Oracle offers plenty of training and certification pathways. Its data visualization and data analytics certification is awarded for those who follow a specific learning path that leads toward becoming a business analytics expert.

Skills acquired: An Oracle Cloud Platform Enterprise Analytics 2021 Certified Specialist is responsible for implementing Oracle Analytics Cloud. They gain the knowledge required to perform provisioning, build dimensional modeling, and create data visualizations. They can use advanced analytics capabilities and create a machine learning model. This includes being able to create analyses and dashboards, load and model data, and configure the Business Intelligence Cloud Service on mobile. In addition, they learn to: collect, merge, and visualize data using Oracle Analytics Cloud; use machine learning and augmented analytics to gain a faster and better prescriptive solutions and actionable business intelligence (BI); and create highly formatted document for analysis using Pixel Perfect Report. 

The requirements are quite involved. Applicants must complete the following courses and perform applicable hands-on labs:

• Business Intelligence on Oracle Cloud
• Enhanced Visual Analysis With Data Visualization
• Advanced Analytics With Machine Learning
• Modern Data Visualization With Augmented Analytics
• Create Pixel Perfect Reports Using Analytics Cloud
• Prepare for Oracle Cloud Platform Enterprise Analytics 2021 Specialist

The duration of the learning path is about 40 or more hours delivered virtually. Cost: video content is free; certification is also free until Feb 28, 2022 and will be $245 starting March 1, 2022. 

Google Certified Data Engineer

The Google Certified Data Engineer certification is the most-sought after certification around, according to the annual “Top Paying IT Certifications” list from Global Knowledge. These certificate holders bring in an average salary of $171,749. Those completing the training are skilled in analyzing information to gain insight into business outcomes, build statistical models to support decision making, and create machine learning models to automate and simplify key business processes. The certification enables data-driven decision making by collecting, transforming, and visualizing data.

To achieve this certification, candidates must pass the Google Certified Professional, Data Engineer exam. There are no prerequisites but at least three years of industry experience is recommended, including at least one year designing and managing solutions using Google Cloud. Google offers preparatory training online via a data analytics Google Cloud learning path at no cost for 30 days. 

If you are interested in becoming a Google Certified Data Engineer, check out this course.

See more: 10 Top Companies Hiring for Data Analytics Jobs