MicrosoftFundamentals
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals
Exam: DP-900
The most beginner-friendly data fundamentals cert across any cloud — even AWS/GCP folks benefit.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
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Data Engineer Certification Roadmap
Data engineering certifications fall into two buckets: platform-specific (AWS DEA-C01, Azure DP-700, GCP PDE, Databricks DEA) and cross-cutting (data fundamentals, SQL, analytics). This roadmap shows you where to start and where to specialize.
4 phases · 15 certifications9–18 months
Data EngineerAnalytics EngineerData Platform Engineer
Filter by vendor
1
Phase 1 — Data & Cloud Foundations
Establish data vocabulary alongside your chosen cloud.
After this phase: You understand relational vs non-relational data, ETL vs ELT, and your cloud's data services.
AWSFoundational
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner
Exam: CLF-C02
Pre-req-style cert for AWS data engineers who are new to AWS.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
GoogleFoundational
Google Cloud Digital Leader
Exam: GCP-CDL
Lightweight GCP intro. Optional if you go directly into ACE.
~1 mo prepPractice questions
2
Phase 2 — Cloud Associate
Optional but useful — broad cloud fluency makes the data engineer specialty exam easier.
After this phase: You can navigate the compute, storage, and networking layers under your data pipelines.
AWSAssociate
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
Exam: SAA-C03
Strong AWS fluency makes DEA-C01 noticeably easier.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
MicrosoftAssociate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
Exam: AZ-104
Optional for Azure data engineers — useful when you own the platform end-to-end.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
GoogleAssociate
Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer
Exam: GCP-ACE
Strongly recommended before the GCP Professional Data Engineer cert.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
3
Phase 3 — Data Engineer Role
The cert that makes you a data engineer on your platform.
After this phase: You can design and operate ingestion, transformation, storage, and serving pipelines.
AWSAssociate
AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate
Exam: DEA-C01
AWS's flagship data engineer cert — Glue, Redshift, Kinesis, EMR, and Lake Formation.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
MicrosoftAssociate
Microsoft Certified: Fabric Data Engineer Associate
Exam: DP-700
The newest Microsoft data engineer cert — Microsoft Fabric, OneLake, and Synapse data engineering.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
MicrosoftAssociate
Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate
Exam: DP-600
Pairs with DP-700 if you also do analytics modeling.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
GoogleProfessional
Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer
Exam: GCP-PDE
GCP's top data engineer cert — BigQuery, Dataflow, Dataproc, Pub/Sub.
~4 mo prepPractice questions
DatabricksData Engineer
Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate
Exam: DEA
The most relevant data engineer cert if you work on Databricks (any cloud).
~3 mo prepPractice questions
4
Phase 4 — Specialize
Pick a specialty — analytics, advanced platform, or database administration.
After this phase: You bring a specialty alongside your core data engineer credential.
DatabricksData Engineer
Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional
Exam: DEP
The senior Databricks data engineer cert — performance, optimization, streaming.
~3 mo prepPractice questions
DatabricksData Analyst
Databricks Certified Data Analyst Associate
Exam: DAA
Good complement if your team blurs the data engineer / analytics engineer line.
~2 mo prepPractice questions
MicrosoftAssociate
Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate
Exam: DP-300
Useful if your data engineering role still owns OLTP databases.
~2 mo prepPractice questions
MicrosoftAssociate
Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst
Exam: PL-300
Optional. Helps when your stakeholders consume Power BI heavily.
~2 mo prepPractice questions
Frequently Asked Questions
AWS DEA-C01 or Databricks DEA — which one first?
Pick the one your employer uses. If your stack is open (Glue, EMR, Redshift), do DEA-C01. If you're on Databricks (any cloud), the Databricks DEA is more directly relevant.
Is GCP PDE harder than AWS DEA-C01?
Yes — GCP PDE is a "Professional" exam with deeper scenarios. AWS DEA-C01 is Associate-level. Expect roughly 30–40% more prep time for PDE.
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