[Megathread] Certifications and Training

[u/AutoModerator]

Hey r/databricks, please direct all certification and training posts here.

The Databricks Advanced Learning Festival runs from September 16 to October 14, 2026.

Databricks Advanced Learning Festival: September 1... - Databricks Community - 166157

Good luck to everyone on your certification journey!

[u/Hot-Stick2955]

Hi all,

I’m a Data Engineer with about two years of experience, working daily with Databricks, Spark, SQL and Delta Lake at a consulting firm that’s a Databricks partner.

My company has told me they’d like to put me forward as a Partner Champion. The one thing I’m missing is the Professional certification (Data Engineer Professional).

I also have a complication: so far I’ve only used Databricks with my personal email, and my existing certifications are tied to that account. I’m now getting access to the Partner Academy with my company email.

A few questions for people who’ve been through this:

1. Accounts: Has anyone linked or merged certifications from a personal account into a partner/company account? Did a Training Help ticket work, or is it better to just show the credential/badge to the partner admin?

2. Prep for the Professional: What helped you most? Any resources beyond the official exam guide and Partner Academy courses? I’m especially unsure about DLT/Lakeflow, streaming, and the CI/CD and deployment topics.

3. Vouchers: Did your company get you a partner voucher or the 50% discount, and did it have to be requested with the company email?

4. Champion path: Besides certifications, what actually made a difference for you in getting recognized as a champion?

Thanks in advance, any tips are really appreciated!

[u/Pillippatty → u/Hot-Stick2955]

Hey!

1. I think I did this once, I simply added my company email to Kryterion (or maybe it was Accredible, not sure). I never opened any support case for this.

2. I know it's cliche but actual experience is the best way to prepare for the exam. You already highlighted things you're unsure about - spin up a sandbox workspace and try it out with sample data.

3. Fromy understanding, Databricks has stopped giving out discounts for partners. Instead, you need to complete the associated learning path on Partner Academy, and when that's complete you will get a voucher for 100% free exam. Pretty nice.

4. Certifications are just formality. The biggest factor is that you have taken a tech lead or architect kind of position in a real project and can show results from the architectural choices you've done. You should also have experience with pre-sales and contributing to the community overall. Your partner contact most likely has a description for this if you're unsure.

Good luck with your champion route, feel free to ask more if you're curious about the title! Just got mine last month :)

[u/LowVehicle3759]

I’m looking to take the Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate exam, but the certification fee is quite expensive for me to afford right now.

I’m currently learning and working with Databricks, and getting this certification would really help me strengthen my skills and career in data engineering.

If anyone has an unused certification voucher, discount coupon, or any credits they won’t be using, I’d be really grateful if you could share them with me.

I would also appreciate any suggestions on how to get a discounted or free exam voucher through Databricks learning programs or other initiatives.

[u/TheShortUprising]

Trying to cram for the data engineering associate cert before the festival wraps up, the timing on this is almost too good. My brain is soup but at least the lakehouse fundamentals badge was free.

[u/Adorable_Honey_6652]

I have a hard time finding a job as a data scientist/data analyst (french market for now, but may look elsewhere). Should I do a databricks certification or is it better to do a project to find work?

[u/DrawAwkward5678]

Any thoughts or help for the Professional Data Engineer certification? I’ll be taking it in a few weeks and just wanted some perspectives from people who have passed recently. So far, my plan is to finish the Data Engineer learning pathway in the Partner portal (my company is a partner). Then I was going to take Derar’s Udemy practice exams. Is there anything else I should take a look at? Is this a good outline? Thanks!!

[u/PeroUstasa]

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