Seeking Guidance for Spark Certification

[adhi_databricks]

Hi Databricks Community! 👋

I'm currently preparing for the Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark exam, and I’ve noticed there’s been a recent update to the exam pattern as of June 2025. I’m reaching out to gather insights, resources, and advice from those who’ve either recently taken the exam or are also preparing for it.

🆕 What I Know So Far About the New Exam Format:

• Total Questions: 45

• Time Limit: 90 minutes (reduced from the previous format)

• New Emphasis: Certain topics seem to have increased in importance, possibly including more practical, scenario-based questions or newer Spark features.

❓ What I’m Hoping to Learn From the Community:

📚 Study Materials & Learning Resources

• What courses or training programs have you found most aligned with the latest exam format?

• Are there any specific Databricks Academy modules, YouTube channels, or MOOCs you’d recommend?

• Any official documentation, whitepapers, or books that helped you solidify key Spark concepts?

📝 Practice Questions & Mock Exams

• Where can I find mock exams or question banks that reflect the new 2025 format and question types?

• Any websites or platforms offering realistic practice tests or simulations?

• If you’ve come across sample questions on newer or tricky topics, I’d love to see a few examples.

💡 Insights from Real Exam Experiences (Post-June 2025)

If you’ve recently taken the exam (after the new pattern update), I’d be incredibly grateful to hear about your experience:

• How did you manage your time during the test — was it tight or manageable?

• Which topics or types of questions showed up most often?

• Were there any surprising areas that you hadn’t expected to be covered?

• What study approach or strategy helped you the most in passing the exam?

I know everyone's experience is different, but even a few tips or insights could go a long way in helping those of us preparing now. 🙏
If you’ve got links, screenshots, tips, or even just encouragement, I’d love to hear it!

Thanks in advance and best of luck to anyone else on the same journey. 🚀

[Advika]

Hello @adhi_databricks!

To build a solid foundation, these Databricks Academy courses are definitely worth diving into:

• Instructor-led: Apache Spark™ Programming with Databricks
• Self-paced:
  • Introduction to Apache Spark™
  • Developing Applications with Apache Spark™
  • Stream Processing and Analysis with Apache Spark™
  • Monitoring and Optimizing Apache Spark™ Workloads on Databricks

You’ll also find valuable prep materials under the “Getting Ready for the Exam” section on the official Certification page. This section includes topic coverage and sample questions to give you a sense of what to expect.

Wishing you all the very best, you've got this!

[BS_THE_ANALYST]

Hi @Advika. 

I'm currently doing the self-paced learning at the moment, for the Apache Spark Developer cert. I see that there's a lot of references to Labs throughout the material & even a github repo (which seems to be taken down?). 

Do you know if there's a plan to provide some hands-on material? Watching the videos is pretty passive. 

Interestingly, especially from a newbies point of view, Databricks Free Edition offers Serverless Compute. We can't actually interact with the Spark UI nor mess with the spark RDD api. This is supported by the documentation. It makes me wonder whether or the content should also place emphasis on Serverless and the Query Insights that it provides?

Would love to hear your thoughts. 

All the best,
BS

[Advika]

Hello @BS_THE_ANALYST!

You're absolutely right, hands-on labs are essential for truly understanding and applying what you learn. For the Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark certification, Databricks Academy provides practical lab environments that can be accessed in two ways:

• By subscribing to Databricks Academy Labs, which offers one-year access to labs across multiple courses (with labs), or
• By enrolling in an Instructor-Led Training (ILT) course, which includes 7-day access to course-specific labs.

That’s a valuable suggestion, it would help if more learning content focused on what Free Edition users can do. That said, each learning path serves a different purpose. The Free Edition is meant to support learners in building their foundation and gaining exposure to the platform. While it does have limitations and isn’t intended to replicate the full lab experience, it still provides a valuable learning experience.

Ultimately, the Free Edition is a great platform to explore Databricks as a learner, while lab-enabled options are best suited for those ready to explore concepts in more depth and apply them hands-on.

[pras4322]

I recently took the exam and found it quite difficult. While online resources like Udemy mention that a reference book can be used during the exam, the new format clearly does not support this. Although the official course covers a broad range of topics with single examples, I don’t believe it alone is sufficient to pass — the exam questions are far broader and more challenging.

Many of us also lack access to a working PySpark environment to practice, which makes preparation even harder. This is why I believe Databricks should provide more targeted learning resources and realistic mock exams that closely reflect the actual questions asked

[BS_THE_ANALYST]

@pras4322 thanks for providing an update 👍.

I've reached out on DM. Feel free to respond in here, as it'd be useful for the community. What would you recommend for study materials, given the new specifications? Did you find that the learning path mimicked the exam?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm looking to sit the exam within the next couple of weeks. Just got done with the learning path. Now looking for exam revision 👍

@pras4322 you did mention that we don't have a working PySpark environment to practice. I guess this depends on your situation but I used the combination of the Databricks Free Edition & the labs that are provided. 

Since the free edition uses Serverless compute, you won't be able to access the Spark UI as this is only available through classic compute. This is worth noting as you won't be able to follow along on that section of the learning path.

All the best,
BS