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Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark Exam

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Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark Exam

The Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark exam validates your foundational skills in using Apache Spark for data manipulation tasks within the Databricks platform. Earning this certification demonstrates your ability to leverage Spark DataFrames and the Spark SQL API to process and analyze big data efficiently.

Who Should Take This Exam?

This Databricks certification is ideal for IT professionals, including:

  • Software Developers: Seeking to expand their skillset into big data processing using Apache Spark on Databricks.
  • Data Analysts: Aspiring to leverage Spark for data manipulation and analysis tasks within their workflow.
  • Data Engineers (Spark Focus): Demonstrating their proficiency in using Spark on Databricks for data wrangling and ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes.
  • Anyone New to Big Data Processing: Gaining a foundational understanding of Apache Spark for data manipulation on a leading cloud platform.

Exam Objectives

  • Architecture of an Apache Spark Application
  • Learn to run Apache Spark on a cluster of computer
  • Learn the Execution Hierarchy of Apache Spark
  • Create DataFrame from files and Scala Collections
  • Spark DataFrame API and SQL functions
  • Different techniques to select the columns of a DataFrame
  • Define the schema of a DataFrame and set the data types of the columns
  • Apply various methods to manipulate the columns of a DataFrame
  • Filter your DataFrame based on specifics rules
  • Sort data in a specific order
  • Sort rows of a DataFrame in a specific order
  • Arrange the rows of DataFrame as groups
  • Handle NULL Values in a DataFrame
  • Use JOIN or UNION to combine two data sets
  • Save the result of complex data transformations to an external storage system
  • Different deployment modes of an Apache Spark Application
  • Working with UDFs and Spark SQL functions
  • Use Databricks Community Edition to write Apache Spark Code

Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark Exam FAQs

No, but you can download and print your certificate from your Databricks Academy account.

All Databricks certifications are public-facing and meant for all individuals learning to use Databricks. If you are a Databricks Partner and you’re interested in Partner Badges as a part of the Databricks Partner Program.

Follow these steps: 

  • Create an account (or login) to academy.databricks.com.
  • Click on the Certifications Tab to see all available certificate exams Click the Register button for the exam you would like to take.
  • Follow on-screen prompts to schedule an exam with our partner proctoring service.

For each exam, you will have 2 hours (120 minutes) to complete 60 multiple choice questions. Our goal is to assess your skills, not your speed.

Your unrounded score must be 70.00% or better. This translates to correctly answering a minimum of 42 of the 60 questions.

Your exam will be graded immediately. You will receive your unofficial score report upon completion of the exam. The exam and proctor records will be sent to Databricks. If awarded, you will receive instructions to access your certificate within one week.

A certificate will be made available via our Learning Management System (LMS). To view those resources, please sign in to the LMS at https://academy.databricks.com/.

If you need to reschedule your exam, and it's more than 24 hours from the start time, please login to your Webassessor account and reschedule. If you need to reschedule your exam, and it's within 24 hours of the start time, please contact Kryterion here.

Exams follow a multiple choice format. You may use any keyboard as-is. This exam is written in English.

Databricks will not issue retake vouchers for this exam. If you already have a voucher, begin the registration process as recommended. On the check out page, you may enter your voucher code. Click Submit. Then, Check Out.

The certificate does not expire but it is tied to a particular Spark version. This naturally obsoletes over time as newer versions of Spark and corresponding exams are released.

Unofficial results are shared immediately at the conclusion of the exam. For passing scores, Databricks will review the proctor record and notify you when your certificate has been posted to your Databricks Academy account within 1 week.

To maintain exam integrity, Databricks cannot release specific information regarding missed questions.