Question 1

What is a data science certification?

Accepted Answer

Though they sound similar, data science certificates and certifications are actually different from one another.

Data science Professional Certificates are awarded to individuals who have completed a specific course of study. For example, once you complete the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate, you’ll be awarded a certificate that you can put on your resume to highlight your training and skills to potential employers.

Data science professional certifications, meanwhile, are awarded to individuals who have passed a specific exam like Microsoft’s Azure Data Scientist Associate certification. Usually, certifications are pursued by individuals with prior work experience and some may even require that test-takers have worked a certain number of years in the field to qualify.

Question 2

Is a data science certificate worth it?

Accepted Answer

Obtaining a data science Professional Certificate can help you stand out to potential employers by highlighting your training and relevant job skills. As a holder of the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate, for example, you’d possess a certificate that shows you’ve completed a 10-course curriculum that covers such foundational concepts as Python, SQL, data analysis, data analytics, and machine learning models.

Question 3

Which certificate is best for data science?

Accepted Answer

Coursera offers a variety of data science courses, specializations, and Professional Certificates that each award a certificate upon completion.

The IBM Data Science Professional Certificate offers a beginner-friendly crash course in foundational data science topics like Python, SQL, data visualization, data analysis, and even machine learning. The University of Michigan’s Applied Data Science with Python Specialization, meanwhile, teaches intermediate-level learners how to use Python toolkits to apply statistical, machine learning, information visualization, text analysis, and social network analysis to their datasets. In the University of Colorado’s Data Science Graduate Certificate, finally, you’ll develop skills in data science and gain knowledge of statistical analysis, data mining, and machine learning from one of the nation’s top-ranked Tier 1 research institutions.

Question 4

What skills do I need to have already to learn data science?

Accepted Answer

None!

Coursera has numerous beginner-friendly data science courses, specializations, and Professional Certificates that don’t require you to have any special knowledge to start them. While math and programming skills could certainly help, programs like the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate and the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate assume that you don’t possess such knowledge before starting them and will introduce you to relevant topics as you work through each module.

Read more: 7 Skills Every Data Scientist Should Have

Question 5

What jobs can I get with a data science certificate?

Accepted Answer

A data science certificate could prepare you for entry-level data analytics roles like data analyst, marketing analyst, and business intelligence analyst. Depending on your prior work experience, you may also qualify for more advanced positions like data scientist, data architect, and data engineer.

Read more: Data Science Jobs Guide: Resources for a Career in Tech

Master of Applied Data Science

Master of Data Science

Master of Science in Data Analytics Engineering

Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies

Bachelor of Science in General Business

Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences

Master of Computer Science in Data Science

Master of Public Health

Master of Science in Management (iMSM)

MSc Management

Master of Science in Accountancy (iMSA)

Master of Engineering in Engineering Management

IBM AI Developer

IBM Generative AI Engineering

IBM AI Product Manager

Google Data Analytics

IBM Data Analyst

AI Foundations for Everyone

Introduction to Generative AI Learning Path

IBM & Darden Digital Strategy

Google Project Management:

IBM Data Science

IBM DevOps and Software Engineering

IBM Full Stack Software Developer

In summary, here are 0 of our most popular data science certificate courses

Frequently Asked Questions about Data Science Certificate

What is a data science certification?‎

Is a data science certificate worth it?‎

Which certificate is best for data science?‎

What skills do I need to have already to learn data science? ‎

What jobs can I get with a data science certificate?‎

Other topics to explore