Here’s a breakdown of Databricks data engineer courses and how to choose the best path for you:

Databricks Certifications

Databricks offers two primary certifications for data engineers:

• Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate: This certification validates your fundamental abilities in data engineering using the Databricks Lakehouse Platform. It focuses on:
  • Understanding of the Lakehouse Platform
  • ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes with Spark SQL and Python
  • Basic data processing (batch and incremental)
  • Building production-ready pipelines
  • Basic concepts of data governance
• Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional:  A more advanced certification demonstrating your proficiency in handling complex data engineering tasks on Databricks. It covers:
  • Databricks tools (notebooks, CLI, REST API)
  • Advanced data processing techniques
  • Data modeling for the lakehouse architecture
  • Security and governance best practices
  • Monitoring, logging, and optimization
  • Testing and deployment of data pipelines

Databricks Academy Courses

Databricks Academy is the official training arm of Databricks. They offer various courses suitable for data engineers:

• Data Engineering with Databricks:  A comprehensive course aligned with the Associate certification. It’s available in self-paced and instructor-led formats.
• Advanced-Data Engineering with Databricks:  Geared towards those aiming for the Professional certification.
• Apache Spark Programming with Databricks: This course provides in-depth knowledge of Apache Spark, the core data processing engine used in Databricks.

Other resources

• Many online platforms like Unogeeks Online Training Institute:https://unogeeks.com/data-bricks-training/

How to choose the right path:

1. Evaluate your experience:
   • Beginners with limited data engineering experience should start with the Associate certification path.
   • If you already possess data engineering skills, consider the Professional path, primarily if you work with large and complex datasets.
2. Consider your goals:
   • Do you primarily want to gain Databricks-specific skills? If so, focus on Databricks Academy courses.
   • Are you aiming for a broader skillset with industry recognition? The Databricks certifications might be a better choice.

Additional Tips:

• Free resources: Databricks offers free introductory courses on their academy to help you get a feel for the platform.
• Practice: Hands-on practice with Databricks is crucial regardless of your chosen path. You can sign up for a free Databricks Community Edition account.