Top Data Science Certifications in 2021: Cost Vs. Program

Ever since organizations have realized the importance of the humongous amount of data they generate every day, there has been an upward swing in demand for data science professionals. Businesses globally seek professionals who are not only adept in handling data but also love playing with it and come up with the right and insightful solutions that help businesses grow on a month-on-month basis.    

 

Generally, there is always a rosy picture painted on data science certifications for those aspiring to become data scientists.

 

Yes, there is a huge demand. Yes, the organizations are looking for data science professionals, but there is a huge but’ “ they also face a deficit of skilled (read certified) data science professionals. A recent report by the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF), in collaboration with PwC, cites that nearly 70% of business leaders in the United States will prefer job applicants with data skills by 2021. Therefore, it is important to have better-skilled data science professionals “ and these skilled professionals can be trained or can be educated with the latest industry-relevant data science skills. There are a lot of good data science programs that can help upskill professionals. Here, we will talk about the cost of some of the best data science certifications.

 

Keep reading to know more about the cost, duration of the course, and how the program is delivered.

 

1.Cloudera Certified Professional (CCP) Data Engineer: Cited as one of the best for data science certifications, CCP has a fee of about 400 USD per attempt with around ten performance-based (hands-on) tasks on pre-configured Cloudera Enterprise cluster(CEC). You can appear for the exam from the comfort of your home or your office, as the exam delivery is online. The program is self-paced, and the certification validity is for three years.

 

2.SAS Certified Data Scientist: Another top data science certification for aspiring professionals, the fee for the program is about 180 USD per exam. Again, a self-paced certification (training cost is extra) implying you may take your time to finish the program and take the examination from the comfort of your home, office, or your home office. While it may seem like the best part of the certification, it is always recommended to keep upgrading and upskilling. Yes, you guessed it right; the credentials for this certification program do not expire.

 

3.Data Science Certifications from the United States Data Science Institute (USDSIâ„¢): The institute offers three major data science certifications for aspiring, experienced professionals and business leaders. The certifications are self-paced and include “

 

Certified Data Science Professional (CDSPTM); this certification is for beginners and focuses on the data science foundations and pre-advanced learnings in Big Data, Hadoop, R, and Data Engineering. The cost of this program is 572 USD, inclusive of personalized books, eLearning, Workshop, and practice code.

Certified Lead Data Scientist (CLDSTM); this certification is for professionals in the mid-level of their data science career and looking for a data scientist role. The program is a self-paced and online program focusing on the most relevant data science topics like Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, NLP, Text Analytics and more. The cost of this program is 691 USD, inclusive of personalized books, eLearning, Workshop, and practice code.

 

Certified Senior Data Scientist (CSDSTM); this certification is for senior professionals and business leaders who want to enhance their decision-making role and look for business growth. The program focuses on supervised and unsupervised ML algorithms, data visualization, strategic data science, and more. The cost of this program is 752 USD, inclusive of personalized books, eLearning, Workshop, and practice code.

 

All the programs are validated for three years, implying that after every three years, you either need to retake the exam to stay updated or go for the next certification in case your experience matches the requirement of the next certification program.

 

4.Amazon AWS Big Data Certification: This is another top data science certification for aspiring professionals. The program’s cost is about 300 USD, and you will get 170 minutes to take the exam. The flip side of this certification is that you will have to locate a delivery center, as the exams are not conducted online.

5.Open Certified Data Scientist (Open CDS): As the name suggests, this is an open certification program for data scientists who wish to upgrade their skills and boost their knowledge. The Open Group provides this certification program. There are three levels of certifications for this program; level 1 is the Certified Data Scientist, level 2 is the Master Certified Data Scientist, and level 3 is the Distinguished Certified Data Scientist. You will have to contact their website for the program’s cost, as it may vary depending on the level. The same goes for the duration of the program, and it varies depending on the level you wish to study. The exam can be taken from a physical location, and the credentials for the program are for a lifetime.

 

It is highly recommended to visit their website individually and compare the prices, duration of the program, learning (whether the program is self-paced), or any designated hours within which you need to finish the program.