Cloudera is a leading company that provides a one-of-a-kind enterprise data cloud for different companies across the globe. It is based on open-source technologies and spearheads the digital transformation for some of the biggest enterprises around the world. While it is known for its machine learning & analytics, this vendor is back with a series of performance-based certifications to help prove your mastery of its products alongside solutions.

Cloudera Certification Program Overview

To begin with, the Cloudera certifications are available in two levels including the Cloudera Certified Professional (CCP) and Cloudera Certified Associate (CCA). Under the professional track, you will have the CCP Data Engineer certificate which targets data engineers tasked with developing reliable and scalable data pipelines to create enhanced workloads. The Cloudera Certified Associate (CCA) designation level, on the other hand, assesses the fundamental IT skills to help you build a solid foundation for a professional career using the CCP certification track. This path, in particular, features the following certificates:

• the CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer;
• the CCA Data Analyst;
• the CCA Administrator;
• the CCA HDP Administrator Exam.

Top 3 Cloudera Exams to Pass in 2021

In the next section, we are going to discuss the 3 most popular Cloudera exams:

• CCA131: CCA Administrator

  The Cloudera CCA Administrator certification is designed for individuals willing to showcase their foundational level mastery of systems and cluster concepts to help their organizations deploy Cloudera solutions effortlessly. This program requires success in the CCA131 test, a 120-minute-long test featuring 8-12 performance-based items. The actual test costs $295 per attempt and only those individuals who meet the standard passing score, usually 70%, will attain the certificate. At the moment, the CCA131 evaluation is only available in the English language and has no prerequisites. However, obtaining systems administration skills before scheduling this test will go a long way towards boosting your confidence in the long run. Lastly, to ace this test, you should demonstrate your proficiency in installing, configuring, managing, securing, testing, and troubleshooting Cloudera Manager and the relevant projects.

• CCA175: CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer

  First things first, the CCA175 evaluation is an associate-level exam comprising 8-12 performance-based questions that must be completed within 120 minutes. This is the test associated with the CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer certification and costs $295 for every attempt. In general, this exam requires a strong understanding of the transformation, staging, storage, analysis, and configuration of the concepts related to Spark applications and HDFS. Like the administrator evaluation, this exam has a passing score of 70% and only exists in its English version.

• DE575: CCP Data Engineer

  The CCP Data Engineer certificate suits experienced open-source programmers willing to showcase their expertise in ingesting, transforming, storing, and analyzing data within the Cloudera CDH environment. This designation has no prerequisites even though students will be required to build a solid understanding of engineering solutions including how to develop them at the highest level. Generally, the DE575 exam uses 5-10 performance-based items to identify outstanding data professionals who are keen to get recognized by the hiring managers for their crucial role in big data environments. To add more, Cloudera strongly advises that the CCP Data Engineer exam candidates should first complete its Spark and Hadoop Developer course to build an excellent foundation even though this is never a mandatory requirement. Also, it's worth reminding that the DE575 test will cost $400 per attempt with a passing score of 70%. The total seat time is 240 minutes and candidates can only write this test in English.

Career Opportunities

The Cloudera certification program is directly linked to the following roles:

• Hadoop Administrator

  Hadoop administration is an exciting role with a never-ending challenge of managing Hadoop clusters and big data. Typically, these individuals understand the deployment of Hadoop clusters, the maintenance of the same, and the addition or removal of nodes with the help of different monitoring tools such as Cloudera Manager. Also, individuals in this position implement and manage a Hadoop infrastructure, manage the everyday operation of Hadoop clusters, and perform capacity planning depending on their position in the organization. Usually, a Cloudera Certified Hadoop Administrator is guaranteed an average annual pay of $123,902 according to PayScale.com.

• Software Engineer

  A typical software engineer improves system quality by detecting basic issues and concerns, enhances applications by recommending upgrades together with improvements, and maintains the available codebases. Also, such specialists investigate new technologies and work closely with the general IT staff when implementing technical designs. In the current employment market, software engineers may be called upon to analyze client requirements, write or test code, and integrate the available software products. Aside from the formal qualifications, a software engineer should demonstrate an enviable passion for handling complex problems, an unparalleled knowledge of data structures & algorithms, and excellent analytical as well as reasoning skills. Consequently, these individuals are compensated with an average salary of $87,349 per annum according to PayScale.com.

• Big Data Architect

  A big data architect oversees the general lifecycle of Hadoop solutions. Particularly, this covers the general analysis of the available requirements, the selection of the right platform, and the design of the technical architecture. Also, this role involves application development and design, and the testing as well as deployment of the projected solutions. For many organizations, big data architects are the most suitable individuals to identify the prevailing data gaps, build data pipelines, and deliver automated solutions in line with the company’s operations. Besides, to succeed in this role, a candidate needs top-notch skills in managing popular data solutions such as Hadoop. According to PayScale.com, a typical big data architect makes an average of $144,315 yearly.

Certification Path

Perhaps, this is a worthy reminder that the Cloudera validations are offered in two levels, Associate and Professional. So, you will consider your career level when choosing the most suitable certificate. At the moment, the Cloudera Certified Professional (CCP) is the widely recognized qualification that recognizes an advanced mastery of the highly sought-after skills in the modern employment market. Upon completing this certificate, you can elect to go for advanced big data certifications from other external vendors like Microsoft and AWS.