This is a guide to all the most relevant data science certificates out there, and to the most frequently asked questions – including how worthwhile these certificates really are.
There is an important difference between data science certificates for professionals and for beginners, which for this reason will be treated separately.
CONTENTS
Data science certificates for professionals
Data science certificates for beginners
Data science certificates: are they worth it?
FAQ
What exactly is a certificate?
Is there a difference between a certificate and a certification?
Data science certificate vs data science bootcamp: what are the differences?
Data science certificates for professionals
Certificates for professionals are designed for people who already have professional proficiency in data science at a minimum. They come in two varieties: generalist data science certificates validate broad, general skills in data science as a whole, while specialist data science certificates validate skills in specific subdomains, most often cloud computing (a skill in high demand), but also other things like Machine Learning and AI.
The following is a compact list of all the major data science certificates for professionals, along with their providers and their prices.
i. Generalist Data science certificates
All of the certificates listed from here on out are obtained by signing up for an exam and then preparing for it at your own pace, which is why we no longer specify how long it takes to get one. This first part looks at certificates that validate broad, general skills in data science as a whole.
Provider: Certifiedanalytics.org
Available Certifications:
- Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
Price: $695 USD (€631), discounted to $495 USD (€449) for INFORMS members.
What you should know: The CAP certificate testifies to advanced skills in the field of data analytics. While this may seem like a step down from the more expansive ‘data science’, analytics is an extremely broad field in its own right and arguably the most directly employable skill-set in the world of data. The CAP is one of the more general options on this list, not being limited to the proprietary technology of any given company, and it is certainly not to be taken lightly. Aside from its considerable financial cost, it will require you to submit an array of personal credentials before you are allowed to take the exam. Make sure you are prepared – this is an option only for professionals or academics with several years of experience in the field!
Provider: Coursera
Available Certifications:
- Google Advanced Data Analytics Professional Certificate
- Google Business Intelligence Professional Certificate
- IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
Price: Coursera’s monthly subscription fee costs between €36 and €53, depending on the type of subscription. This will cover all of the above certificates.
What you should know: Coursera is an online platform hosting a variety of course and certificate providers, including many universities of international repute. The above certificates by Google, IBM and Tensorflow are among the most prestigious out there and you should consider them among your first choices, but be aware that they all require several years of experience either in academia or in the industry. The Google and IBM options should not be treated as compatible – they cover similar topics, and you should not waste your time doing both.
Provider: SAS Institute
Available Certifications:
- Data Science Certification
Price: €880, with discount options for students and educational staff.
What you should know: The SAS Institute is a prestigious but also fairly complex educational organization which offers much more than just certificates, and we recommend that you investigate their options thoroughly before committing to any of them. This data science certification, for example, is the equivalent of combining three separate SAS certifications, namely those in AI & Machine Learning, in Advanced Analytics, and in Data Curation. Depending on what you need from your certificate, you may prefer to choose only one or two of these, or perhaps to combine them with other certifications of your choice. The combinations you build will also affect the final price you pay, so consider your options carefully and don’t just dive for the first attractive title you find!
Provider: DASCA – Data Science Council of America
Available Certifications:
- Senior Data Scientist
- Principal Data Scientist
- Associate Big Data Engineer
- Senior Big Data Engineer
- Associate Big Data Analyst
- Senior Big Data Analyst
Price: From $585 (€531) up to $1450 (€1315) depending on the course and on previous qualifications.
What you should know: DASCA’s three levels of certificates are Associate, Senior and Principal in order of importance. All of them require several years of experience working with data, but the Principal level is especially advanced even by the standards of this list, and should be reserved only for the most experienced professionals.
Provider: The Open Group
Available Certifications:
- Open Certified Data Scientist
Price: $400 USD (€363) for Level 1, $500 USD (€454) for Level 2, and $550 (€499) for Level 3.
What you should know: Similar to the DASCA certifications above, this one has three levels of distinction – but in this case, they all exist within the same certificate. You can become an Open Certified Data Scientist, or a Master Data Scientist, or a Distinguished Certified Data Scientist. One of the more affordable options on this list, and of particularly good value for those aiming for Level 3.
ii. Specialist Data Science certificates
While cloud computing qualifies as a distinct field in its own right, in practice all serious data science professionals will be expected to know the ins and outs of it to some extent. This explains the profusion of certificates dealing specifically with cloud computing proprietary technology, and their popularity among professionals working with data. Depending on your portfolio, a complementary certificate in cloud computing may even be preferable to a general one in data science.
Provider: Google Cloud
Available Certifications:
- Professional Data Engineer
- Professional Cloud Database Engineer
Price: $200 USD (€182), may vary by region and local tax.
What you should know: The first of these two certificates has some more general implications, but by and large these are the certs you should be looking for if you see yourself working with Google Cloud. Note that they are valid for 2 years, then a recertification becomes necessary.
Provider: Microsoft
Available Certifications:
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate
- Microsoft Certified: Customer Data Platform Specialty
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate
Price: $165 USD (€150), variable by region.
What you should know: Microsoft’s proprietary certifications are the go-to option for anyone who wishes to demonstrate proficiency with their cloud computing platform Azure. Unlike some of the other options on this list, these certificates do not overlap in terms of topics treated, and – depending on your technical profile – a complementary combination of more than one certificate should certainly be considered. They also come with optional 4-day instructor-led courses, but don’t let that fool you – you will need very considerable background preparation before you can pass any of these exams.
Provider: Cloudera
Available Certifications:
- CDP Generalist
- CDP Administrator – Private Cloud Base
- CDP Data Developer
- CDP Data Analyst
- CDP Administrator – Public Cloud
Price: $330 (€299)
What you should know: A variety of certificates designed to demonstrate proficiency with the Cloudera Data Platform (CDP). They can be taken either individually, or in a selected combination.
Provider: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Available certifications:
- AWS Certified SysOps Administrator (Associate)
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Associate)
- AWS Certified DevOps Engineer (Associate)
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Professional)
- AWS Certified Advanced Networking (Professional)
- AWS Certified Security (Specialty)
- AWS Certified Machine Learning (Specialty)
- AWS Certified Database (Specialty)
- AWS Certified Data Analytics (Specialty)
- AWS Certified SAP on AWS (Specialty)
Price: $150 USD (€136) for Associate level, $300 USD (€272) for Professional and Specialty levels.
What you should know: As above, but dedicated to the popular AWS cloud platform. A wide gamut of certificates organized in the three tiers Associate, Professional and Specialty going from the simplest to the most advanced. There also exists a lower level called Foundational, which is more apt for beginners. Don’t worry about getting all of these – just go for the ones appropriate to your level.
Provider: Tensorflow
Available Certifications:
- TensorFlow Developer Certificate
Price: $100 (€90.7)
What you should know: Not a cloud computing certificate this time, but one for machine learning and AI. This is the first-choice certificate to demonstrate knowledge and skills specifically with the TensorFlow software library.
Provider: Coursera
Available Certifications:
- DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate
Price: Coursera’s monthly subscription fee costs between €36 and €53, depending on the type of subscription.
What you should know: Perhaps not quite as advanced as the TensorFlow certificate mentioned above, but a more than worthy alternative particularly for those who already have a Coursera subscription and want to complement some of the generalist certificates offered on that platform.
Data Science certificates for beginners
The following are self-learning programs in data science which offer a certificate on completion. They are apt for the complete beginner who wishes to introduce themselves to the world of data science and find out if it is something they will like.
Provider: CodeCademy
Available Certifications: Codecademy notoriously has one of the most expansive series of possible courses and certifications on data science, covering just about all the possible topics and specializations in the field. Copying them all here would take up half our article, but you can check the full list on their website.
Price: €17.49 per month for the CodeCademy subscription, with a variety of discount options for students and teams.
How long to get it: Variable depending on the course, usually between 16 and 40 weeks.
What you should know: One of the most famous and widely-used resources for self-learners, CodeCademy is an excellent starting point for beginners looking to learn the basics, and can be used to extend one’s learning into intermediate concepts as well. More advanced topics will probably require a more holistic approach.
Provider: FreeCodeCamp
Available Certifications:
- Data Visualization
- Data Analysis with Python
- Machine Learning with Python
Price: Free
How long to get it: Approximately 300 hours per certification.
What you should know: While not the most exhaustive resource for data science on this list, FreeCodeCamp distinguishes itself for being totally free, which makes it arguably the best possible starting point for those who wish to introduce themselves to data science and find out what it is like.
Provider: Udemy
Available Certifications:
- The Data Science Course 2023: Complete Data Science Bootcamp
Price: €94.99 or €29.99 per month subscription
How long to get it: 32 hours minimum
What you should know: Like CodeCademy, Udemy has an extremely wide range of courses which offer certificates of completion, over and beyond the Data Science Course 2023 certification referred to above. Be aware, however, that their various courses are mostly designed to be independent from each other, meaning many of them will overlap conceptually and cover similar topics. The full list of alternatives can be found here. Also, note that the 32 hour duration indicated for the course only refers to the total duration of their video lessons – the actual amount of time you will have to spend studying and exercising is going to be much longer!
Data Science certificates: are they worth it?
Data science certificates for professionals and for beginners are two qualitatively different things, and they have a very different worth.
Data science certificates for professionals can be powerful tools to boost your career. They exist for university postgraduates or established professionals who already worked or studied in this field, allowing them to demonstrate updated skills and/or aptitude with a particular tool or specialization.
On the other hand, data science certificates for beginners will be worthless on your CV. These ‘certificates’ exist primarily as tools for beginners and self-learners. What you get out of them is not the certificate itself, but the knowledge that you acquired when preparing yourself to get it.
In conclusion, are data science certificates worth it? The most advanced and prestigious certificates will be useful to boost the CV of someone who already has a background in the business. The basic certificates, on the other hand, won’t do very much.
FAQ
What exactly is a certificate?
A certificate is any document from a recognized authority stating that you possess a certain set of skills or experience in a given field.
Is there a difference between a certificate and a certification?
Semantically, the word ‘certification’ refers to something a bit more advanced and difficult to attain than a ‘certificate’. In practice, though, the two terms are interchangeable synonyms, and nobody will care which of these two words you have in your CV.
Data Science certificate vs Data Science bootcamp: what are the differences?
Yet another category that should not be confused with professional certificates is that of modern coding bootcamps in data science, even though these offer completion certificates of their own.
The main difference is that coding bootcamps are about learning new skills, while certificates are about validating skills one already has. A bootcamp will provide a taught program with an instructor and often a cohort of staff (career services, community managers) to attend to you. It will also be a high-intensity affair, in which you’ll be pushed to your limit in terms of how much and how quickly you can learn. Certificates have little support and can be taken at your own pace.
A completed bootcamp is a much superior career option for those looking to break into (or redeploy within) the world of data science, while a certificate is preferable for advanced professionals who wish to demonstrate proficiency with specific tools. Understand which group you belong to before committing to either option.
