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Preparing for a Career in Big Data in 2020

There are various big data certifications that professionals might want to take in order to have a successful career in Big Data

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We live in the age of a data deluge. By 2020, the world will have around 40 trillion gigabytes of data or 40 zettabytes of data, according to a study by EMC. All this data needs to be managed, analyzed, and stored in an easily retrievable format. This has created a huge opportunity for Big Data professionals, who are now in great demand. Having a career in Big Data can prove to be rewarding at present.

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From data scientists to data analysts, data engineers, systems administrators, and managers – every organization is scouting for the elusive big data specialists, offering lucrative salaries in return. As per Glassdoor, there are close to 49,000 open Big Data positions to be filled.

The increased focus on data and its analytics throw up a huge opportunity for professionals to ride the big data wave provided that they have the right skills in place. When it comes to penetrating the big data industry (or moving up the ranks if you’re already part of the industry), the right certification plays a big role in opening up relevant opportunities.

Employers often rely on certifications to evaluate the credentials of prospective employees. For professionals in the field, certifications are a great tool to demonstrate their drive and commitment to learning to their employers. If employers see value in the new skills, they are sure to reward the efforts with a promotion or growth opportunities.

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Statistics also support this assertion. A survey by Certification Magazine demonstrates that 52 percent of respondents got a pay hike within a year of finishing a Big Data certification.

For big data professionals who wish to strengthen their resume with the right certifications, here is a curated list of certifications that they might want to pursue:

Cloudera Top Big Data Certification

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Given that Cloudera is a pioneer when it comes to building a Hadoop-based business, it is a good place to start. The company offers the CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer Certification Exam and recommends the Cloudera Developer Training for Spark and Hadoop to help prepare for the exam. Additionally, it also offers certifications such as the CCP Data Engineer Certification, CCA Data Analyst Certification, and CCA Administrator Certification.

Hortonworks Top Big Data Certification

Hortonworks works with customers to develop and support Apache Hadoop for distributed processing of large data sets across computer clusters. It offers the Hortonworks Certified Associates (HCA) Certification, although it does not recommend any specific training courses to prepare for this.

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MapR Top Big Data Certification

MapR offers a range of certifications that cater to a variety of specialist roles such as cluster administrator, developer, HBase developer, Spark developer, and data analyst, to name a few. Their list of certifications includes the MapR Hadoop Developer Certification, MapR Spark Developer Certification, and MapR Data Analyst Certification. As with Hortonworks, there is no specific list of recommended training courses to help prepare for these.

IBM Top Big Data Certification

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IBM is one of the giants that has been in IT for several decades now. Not surprisingly, the company offers a wide range of certifications too. Two of the major Big Data-specific certifications that it offers are the  IBM Big Data Architect Certification and IBM Big Data Engineer Certification. The company also lists a number of training courses on its website to help prepare for these certifications.

SAS Top Big Data Certification

Being a global leader in analytics, SAS offers a variety of certifications focussed on SAS products. These include the Big Data Professional Using SAS 9 Certification and the Advanced Analytics Professional Using SAS 9 Certification. Both these certifications require applicants to clear multiple exams. In addition, professionals who earn both the Big Data and Advanced Analytics certifications become eligible to appear for SAS Data Scientist certification.

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Most of these certifications are completely exam-focused, which means that you will still benefit from training that gives you extensive knowledge of the big data landscape. Broader vendor-agnostic training courses will hence be valuable as you prepare for these certifications.

As more companies and industries embrace big data, the number of big data jobs and their value to companies is only set to improve. So, while you navigate your way through the massive big data opportunity, preparing yourself though training and certifications will certainly hold you in good stead. Here’s a comprehensive Big Data Career Guide to give you insights into the trending big data technologies and the overall industry landscape. Big data will play a huge role in the future of our world. Go ahead and grab your chunk of it!

By Krishna Kumar, CEO and Founder, Simplilearn

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