Apache Spark Certification in 2024

Well since you’re reading this blog, I am very sure that you want to pursue your career in Apache Spark and need in-depth knowledge of it.

Before starting to learn Apache Spark, it is important to learn about big data as you will be implementing Apache Spark on Big Data. So, what is big data? Big data is a vast field of analyzing, extracting, and dealing with data that are too large and complex. By 2022, the data from all the social media sites would be multiplied up to 100 times. So, how will all this data be managed? This is where Big Data, Apache Spark, and Hadoop come into the field. It is estimated that, by 2022, if the companies don’t start working on Apache Spark, they wouldn’t be able to survive.

Check out the video on PySpark Course to learn more about its basics:

Why learn Apache spark?

Apache Spark is the leading Big Data framework that is highly in demand these days and will be so for many years. As it provides batch and streaming capabilities, it will be the next evolutionary change in the data processing environment. If you are looking for fast data analysis, this would be an ideal framework for you. Companies these days are very eager to adopt Hadoop and Spark in their systems, which will create more opportunities.

So, without much ado, let’s jump right into this amazing tool.

How does Apache Spark solve the problem of the cluster of data at once?

Spark can handle petabytes of data at a time, which can be distributed over a huge number of clusters. As Apache Spark has a huge set of APIs and developer libraries supporting many languages such as Java, Python, and R programming, its adaptability makes it apt for a huge span of use cases.

The use cases may include:

Data integration: Data integration deals with extracting, transforming, and loading the data to retrieve it from several different systems, clean it, standardize it, and then load it to a separate system where analysis can be done. Spark does this process by reducing both the cost and the time.

Interactive Analytics: Spark has the ability to respond and adapt quickly to interactive queries. This interactive query process includes exploring data by posing a question and estimating a result or by altering the question and digging into the results.

Machine Learning: Spark can store data and can run recurring queries making it the best choice for training the algorithms of Machine Learning. Also, if the recurring queries run recursively, it saves the time to go through the possible solutions to find the most productive algorithms.

Why get a certification in Apache Spark?

Certification in any course will make you stand out from the crowd. And it is very well known that certification validates your knowledge and definitely increases your confidence at work. Apache Spark Certifications give a huge push to the freshers’ resumes. People with valid certifications are often preferred over the ones who don’t have so. Apart from licensing you as an Apache Spark developer, a proper Apache Spark certification would help you increase your earning potential. The salary of a certified Apache Spark developer is way more than that of an uncertified developer. A spark is an alternative form of data processing, which is unique in batch processing and streaming.

The industry-recognized certification of Apache Spark is the CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer Exam (CCA175).

This exam has the following features:

• Number of Questions: 8-12 performance-based (hands-on) tasks on the Cloudera Enterprise cluster.
• Time limit: 120 minutes
• Passing score: 70%
• Language: English
• Price: US$295

The questions in CCA require you to solve a particular scenario. You might be asked to use tools such as Impala or Hive. But in other cases, you need to code. The template may either be written in Scala or Python, but both are not necessary. The grading is done the same day the exam is taken. That is, it will give a report of passing or failing. In case you have passed the exam, the report for the same would be sent in the mail.

 “How can a certification give a boost to your career?”

• You’ll Gain a Competitive Advantage
• You would be preferred over other employees
• You’d be able to earn more money
• Increased Professional Development
• Increased chances of promotion and advancement

Preparing for an Apache Spark interview? Check out Intellipaat’s Apache Spark Interview Questions prepared by experts.

Is there a scope for Apache Spark-certified individuals in the industry?

To answer you in a single word, yes! The upcoming years of the industry are set to see an increasing demand for Spark Developers. Spark has proved itself to be smarter and more efficient. Along with the Hadoop Developers, the need and demand for Spark Developers have also increased. According to Naukri.com, there are around 7448 job openings that are available right now in India. And the average salary of a Spark Developer in India is more than ₹720,000 per annum, according to PayScale.

If you are one of the following, you should definitely be doing this course:

• Software Engineers looking to upgrade their Big Data skills
• Data Engineers and ETL Developers
• Data Scientists and Analytics Professionals
• Graduates who are looking to make a career in Big Data

Learn the ins and outs of Apache Spark by completing these Apache Spark project ideas.

Top 5 Certifications in Apache Spark

Below is a list of the top Spark certifications, including their full description.

MapR Certified Spark Developer

The MapR certification does not need any specific qualification. If you are not an engineer, developer, or programmer but are interested to work with Spark, you are eligible to attempt this examination. In this exam, there will be around 60 to 80 questions that are based on programming. You need to solve these questions using production-level Spark. To pass this certification test, you must have prior programming experience with both Java and Scala.

Exam duration: 2 hours

Exam fee: US$250

Cloudera Spark and Hadoop Developer

For those who are willing to work on both Spark and Hadoop, this certification is the best. This exam will test your skills in topics such as Flume, HDFS, Spark with Scala and Python, Avro, Sqoop, and Impala. The number of questions will be around 10 to 15 based on your programming aptitude.

Exam duration: 2 hours

Exam fee: US$295

Databricks Certification for Apache Spark

To gain this certification, you must be skilled in Scala or Python. This exam is totally based on programming questions and aims only to test your programming skills in Spark.

Exam duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Exam fee: US$300

O’Reilly Developer Certification for Apache Spark

This certification is quite similar to the Databrick certification. It is the collaboration of Databricks and O’Reilly. This exam is also based on programming, but this certification is a good choice to stand out from the crowd.

Exam duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Exam fee: US$300

HDP Certified Apache Spark Developer

One of the best certifications available for you is Hortonworks HDP Certified Apache Spark Developer. This credential requires your understanding of Spark Core and DataFrames. However, the exam is not a straightforward multiple-choice query exam; instead, you would be required to execute programming tasks on the Spark cluster.

Exam duration: 2 hours Exam fee: US$250

How can you become an industry-recognized Certified Apache Spark Developer?

To become a Certified Apache Spark Developer, you need to do a course on the same. There are so many certified courses in the market. You have the option to check which one is the best for you and why. You need to be very dedicated and focused on the content you’re being taught. Apache Spark Certification needs dedication and motivation. You should be following the curriculum and the timestamp provided.

There are ‘n’ providers that provide Apache Spark certification. However, there are only a few certification programs, which are actually of high quality and have been recognized by reputed companies. One such eLearning provider – Intellipaat provides a very detailed and comprehensive certification course for Apache Spark. It is designed for clearing the Apache spark component of the Cloudera Spark and Hadoop Developer Certification (CCA175). This training course is created by Apache SMEs to help you get top positions in the best MNCs. Further, the training includes valuable real-world projects and case studies.

Learn more about MapReduce through our blog on MapReduce Algorithms.

Intellipaat’s Apache Spark online instructor-led training will help you master the technology. You’ll learn how Spark is able to overcome the drawbacks that MapReduce had caused. It also explains the Spark stack and the difference between fine and coarse-grained updates. This Apache Spark certification course gives an in-depth knowledge of Spark stack, Spark Hadoop YARN, HDFS Revision, and YARN Revision. It also discusses how Spark is better than Hadoop and how can one deploy Spark without Hadoop. Deploying all these for real-world applications and more in this Apache Spark certification training.

What will you learn from Intellipaat’s Apache Spark Certification course?

• Introduction to Spark
• Spark basics
• Working with RDDs in Spark
• Aggregating data with Paired RDDs
• Writing and deploying Spark applications
• Parallel processing
• Spark RDD persistence
• Spark MLlib
• Integrating Apache Flume with Apache Kafka
• Spark Streaming
• Improving Spark performance
• SparkSQL and DataFrames
• Scheduling and parting
• Projects

There are no prerequisites required to take any Cloudera certification exam. The CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer Exam (CCA175) follows the same objectives as Intellipaat’s Apache spark Certification Course. After completion of this course, you will be receiving a certificate, following which, you’ll be able to apply for a few internships at some top-performing Apache Spark companies. Spark is now being used in the Big data industry for data processing requirements. Also, it is anticipated to play a key role in the next generation of Business Intelligence applications. So, it is surely a good choice to take hands-on training in Spark from Intellipaat to excel in the Big Data industry.

I hope that by now you have had an overview of Spark. Before you enroll in Intellipaat’s certification course on Spark, do check out the free Apache Spark tutorial.