Beginner here. Which exam to do first?

[mipayof346]

I am new to Databricks and would like to learn and become certified. I have SQL knowledge.

To get started, which exam should I do first so that I have a very good understanding of Databricks fundamentals and concepts?

I was thinking of “Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate” or “Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark” certifications. Which one should I write first?

Thank you

[Cert-Team · Accepted solution]

Hi @mipayof346 

The Data Engineer Associate certification exam assesses an individual’s ability to use the Databricks Lakehouse Platform to complete introductory data engineering tasks. This includes an understanding of the Lakehouse Platform and its workspace, its architecture, and its capabilities. 

The Spark certification, on the other hand, assesses the understanding of the Spark DataFrame API and the ability to apply the Spark DataFrame API to complete basic data manipulation tasks within a Spark session. 

You do not have to pass the Spark exam to take the Data Engineering exam.