Looking to get ahead as a data scientist? Earning one of these data science certs will help you stand out in one of the hottest careers in IT.
Data scientist is one of the hottest jobs in IT. Companies are increasingly eager to hire data professionals who can make sense of the wide array of data the business collects. If you’re looking to get into this lucrative field, or want to stand out from the competition, certification can be key.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) forecasts employment of data scientists will grow 35% from 2022 to 2032, with about 17,000 openings projected on average each year. According to data from PayScale, $99,842 is the average base salary for a data scientist in 2024.
Data science certifications give you an opportunity to not only develop skills that are hard to find in your desired industry, but also validate your data science know-how so recruiters and hiring managers know what they get if they hire you.
Whether you’re looking to earn a certification from an accredited university, gain experience as a new grad, hone vendor-specific skills, or demonstrate your knowledge of data analytics, the following certifications (presented in alphabetical order) will work for you. (Not finding what you’re looking for? Check out our list of top big data and data analytics certifications.)
Top 12 data science certifications
- Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
- Cloudera Data Platform Generalist Certification
- Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Senior Data Scientist (SDS)
- Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Principal Data Scientist (PDS)
- IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
- Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
- Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate
- Open Certified Data Scientist (Open CDS)
- SAS Certified Professional: AI and Machine Learning
- SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional
- SAS Certified Data Scientist
- Tensorflow Developer Certificate
Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
The Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) is a vendor-neutral certification that validates your ability to transform complex data into valuable insights and actions, which is exactly what businesses look for in a data scientist: someone who understands data, can draw logical conclusions and express to key stakeholders why those data points are significant. You’ll need to apply and meet certain criteria before you can take the CAP or the associate level aCAP exams. To qualify for the CAP certification exam, you need three years of related experience if you have a master’s degree in a related field, five years of related experience if you hold a bachelor’s in a related field, or seven years of experience if you have any degree unrelated to analytics. To qualify for the aCAP exam, you need a master’s degree and less than three years of related experience in data or analytics.
Cost: CAP exam: $445 for INFORMS members, $645 for non-members; aCAP exam: $150 for INFORMS members, $245 for non-members
Location: In person at designated test centers or online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Valid for three years
Cloudera Data Platform Generalist Certification
The Cloudera Data Platform (CDP) Generalist certification verifies proficiency with the platform. The exam tests general knowledge of the platform and applies to multiple roles, including administrator, developer, data analyst, data engineer, data scientist, and system architect. The exam consists of 60 questions and the candidate has 90 minutes to complete it.
Cost: $330
Location: Online
Duration: 90 minutes
Expiration: Valid for two years
Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Senior Data Scientist (SDS)
The Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Senior Data Scientist (SDS) certification program is designed for professionals with five or more years of experience in research and analytics. It’s recommended that students have knowledge of databases, spreadsheets, statistical analytics, SPSS/SAS, R, quantitative methods, and the fundamentals of object-oriented programming and RDBMS. The program includes five tracks that will appeal to a range of candidates, and each track has differing requirements in terms of degree-level, work experience, and prerequisites to apply. You need at least a bachelor’s degree and more than five years of experience in data science to be eligible for each track, while other tracks require a master’s degree or past certifications.
Cost: $775
Location: Online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Five years
Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Principal Data Scientist (PDS)
DASCA offers the Principal Data Scientist (PDS) certification, which includes three tracks for data science professionals with 10 or more years of experience in big data. The exam covers everything from fundamental to advanced data science concepts such as big data best practices, business strategies for data, building cross-organizational support, machine learning, natural language processing, scholastic modeling, and more. The exam is designed for seasoned and high-achiever data science thought and practice leaders.
Cost: $850, track 1; $1,250, track 2; $750, track 3; $1,450, track 4
Location: Online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Credentials do not expire
IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
The IBM Data Science Professional Certificate consists of nine courses on data science, open source tools, data science methodology, Python, Databases and SQL, data analysis, data visualization, machine learning, and a final applied data science capstone. The certification coursework takes place online through Coursera with a flexible schedule and takes an average of three months to complete, but you’re free to take more or less time. The course includes hands-on projects to help build a portfolio to showcase your data science talents to potential employers.
Cost: Free
Location: Online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Credentials do not expire
Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
Microsoft’s Azure AI Fundamentals certification validates your knowledge of machine learning and artificial intelligence concepts, and how they relate to Microsoft Azure services. It’s a fundamentals exam, so you don’t need extensive experience to pass. It’s a good place to start if you’re new to AI or AI on Azure and want to demonstrate your skills and knowledge to employers.
Cost: $99
Location: Online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Credentials do not expire
Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate
The Azure Data Scientist Associate certification from Microsoft focuses your ability to utilize machine learning to implement and run machine learning workloads on Azure. Candidates for the exam are tested on ML, AI solutions, NLP, computer vision, and predictive analytics. You need to be skilled in deploying and managing resources, managing identities and governance, implementing and managing storage, and configuring and managing virtual networks.
Cost: $165
Location: Online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Credentials do not expire
Open Certified Data Scientist (Open CDS)
The Open Group Professional Certification Program for the Data Scientist Professional (Open CDS) is an experience-based certification without any traditional training courses or exams. You start at level one as a Certified Data Scientist, then you can move to level two to become a Master Certified Data Scientist and, finally, you can pass the third level to become a Distinguished Certified Data Scientist. Certification requires a three-step process that includes applying for the certification, completing the experience application form, and attending a board review.
Cost: Contact for pricing
Location: On-site
Duration: Varies by level
Expiration: Credentials do not expire
SAS Certified Professional: AI and Machine Learning
The SAS Certified Professional: AI and Machine Learning certification from SAS demonstrates your ability to use open source tools to gain insight from data using AI and analytics skills. The certification consists of several exams that cover topics such as machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and model forecasting and optimization. You need to pass the SAS Certified Specialist exams in Machine Learning, Forecasting and Optimization, and Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision to earn the AI and Machine Learning professional designation.
Cost: $180 per exam
Location: Online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Credentials do not expire
SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional
The SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional credential validates your ability to analyze big data with a variety of statistical analysis and predictive modeling techniques. You need experience in machine learning and predictive modeling techniques, including their use with big, distributed, and in-memory data sets. You should also have experience with pattern detection, experimentation in business optimization techniques, and time-series forecasting. The certification requires passing three exams: Predictive Modeling Using SAS Enterprise Miner 14; SAS Advanced Predictive Modeling Using SAS 9.4; and SAS Text Analytics, Time Series, Experimentation, and Optimization.
Cost: $250 for the Predictive Modeling Using SAS Enterprise Miner exam; $180 each for the other two required exams
Location: Online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Credentials do not expire
SAS Certified Data Scientist
The SAS Certified Data Scientist certification validates your facility with data curation, advanced programming, advanced analytics, and AI and machine learning. It covers programming skills; managing and improving data; transforming, accessing, and manipulating data; and how to work with popular data visualization tools. The certification requires earning the Data Curation Professional or Advanced Programming professional certifications, and then earning either the Advanced Analytics or AI & Machine Learning Professional certifications.
Cost: $180 per exam
Location: Online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Credentials do not expire
TensorFlow Developer Certificate
The TensorFlow Developer Certificate program is a foundational certificate for students, developers, and data scientists who want to demonstrate practical machine learning skills through building and training models using TensorFlow. The exam tests your knowledge of and ability to integrate machine learning into various tools and applications. To pass the exam, you need to be experienced with the foundational principles of ML and deep learning, building ML models, image recognition algorithms, deep neural networks, and natural language processing.
Cost: $100 per exam
Location: Online
Duration: Self-paced
Expiration: Credentials do not expire
More on data science:
- What is data science? Transforming data into value
- What is a data scientist? A key data analytics role and a lucrative career
- Top 10 data science master’s degree programs
- Best data science bootcamps for boosting your career
- Essential skills and traits of elite data scientists
- What does a data scientist do? 7 of these in-demand professionals offer their insights
- IT career roadmap: How to become a data scientist
- The top 11 big data and data analytics certifications
- The age of the citizen data scientist has arrived
- Developing data science skills in-house: Real-world lessons
