AWS Training and Certification Blog

Registration open for AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate beta exam

Registration is now open for the AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate beta exam. This exam is available to take between November 27, 2023 and January 12, 2024, at the discounted price of USD 75. This new certification validates skills and knowledge for the data engineer job role. Be sure to check out the exam guide that provides key details on the content domains tested so you can focus your study accordingly. Candidates who take the beta exam will receive their exam results approximately 90 days from the close of the beta. Registration for the standard version of this exam opens March 2024, and the standard version will be available to take starting April 2024.

Upcoming retirement of AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty certification

Along with the launch of this new Associate-level certification, we will be retiring AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty on April 9, 2024. This retirement is part of a broader effort to focus on certifications that align more closely to key cloud job roles, such as data engineer. If you’re currently preparing for this specialty certification, or need to re-certify to maintain your certification, be sure to take and pass this exam before April 9, 2024.

Key differences between AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate and AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty

There are two key differences between the new AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate and the retiring AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty certifications. One key difference is in their alignment to job roles. AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate aligns closely to the data engineer job role and focuses on the ingestion, transformation, storage, and management of data. AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty covers a broader set of domains and includes topics that are relevant to both data engineers as well as data analysts. AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate includes application of programming concepts, which AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty does not. AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate also has a heavier emphasis on data operations, support, and security than AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty.

Another key difference is the level of skills and knowledge validation. The new AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate certification is at the associate level and does not go into as much depth and complexity as AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty. The target candidate for AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate has 2-3 years of data engineering experience and 1-2 years of experience working with AWS services. The target candidate for AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty has at least five years of experience with data analytics technologies and at least two years of experience working with AWS services.

AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate exam content outline

This certification validates skills and knowledge in core data-related AWS services, implementing data pipelines, monitoring and troubleshooting issues, and optimizing cost and performance in accordance with best practices. Below is a listing of the content domains and how they are weighted:

 

How to prepare for the AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate beta exam

Access exam preparation resources here:

Additional exam prep resources will become available when registration opens for the standard version of the exam in March 2024.

What does a day in the life of a cloud data engineer look like?

Data engineers are versatile generalists who use computer science and cloud technology to help process large datasets. They typically focus on coding, cleaning up data sets, and implementing requests that come from data consumers. Data engineers need skills in programming, mathematics, and big data, as well as technical know-how on automating pipelines programmatically.

If this interests you, learn more and schedule your exam today so you can be among the first to earn this new certification. The last date to take the AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate beta exam is January 12, 2023.

If you are interested in taking the AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty that is retiring, be sure to take it on or before April 8, 2024. Once earned, this certification will still be valid for 3 years from the date you earn the certification.

Want to know how other fellow learners prepared for AWS Certification and get tips from experts? Check out the following blogs: