Big Data Online Courses & Certifications

Big data plays a crucial role in driving digital transformation in organizations. It helps organizations to create new growth opportunities. It enables companies of all sizes to make data-driven decisions that can improve business-related outcomes.

Big Data is one of the most in-demand skills that can help you launch or advance in your career. This write-up covers the fundamental Big Data concepts, skills, tools, and popular Big Data courses to get you started on your Big Data journey.

Definition - Big Data

Big Data is a set of huge data, a collection of huge in size and exponentially growing data, unable to be managed, stored and processed by traditional data management tools and techniques. However, this massive volume of data is important as it can be used to address business problems professionals could not tackle before. 

Organisations across various sectors use Big Data to improve operations, offer better customer service, and create marketing campaigns based on specific customer needs and ultimately increase profits.   

Types of Big Data

Big Data can be found in three different formats:

Structured: Any data that can be stored, accessed and processed in a fixed format is called structured data. In other words, such data is available with a fixed schema. For instance, RDBMS.

Check out the best Databases Courses

Semi-structured: It is a partially organised data, which does not have a fixed format. For instance, XML and JSON.

Unstructured: Any data with unknown form or structure is called unstructured data. For instance, audio and video files.

Explore popular Data Analysis Courses

How to Become a Big Data Engineer?

Follow the below steps to kick-start a successful career in big data - 

Education and Skills

1. Pursue a bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, math, or a related technical field. Many also go on to get a master's degree.
2. Develop a strong foundation in programming languages like Python, Java, Scala, SQL, and database concepts.
3. Build expertise in data modelling, machine learning, statistical analysis, data visualization, and big data tools/platforms.
4. Gain proficiency in big data technologies such as Hadoop, Spark, NoSQL databases, cloud computing platforms, etc.

 

Gain Practical Experience

1. Look for entry-level roles in data analysis, database administration, or other related fields to get your foot in the door.
2. Participate in personal projects, internships, or open-source contributions to build a portfolio of hands-on experience.
3. Consider getting industry certifications like Cloudera Certified Professional (CCP) Data Engineer, Certified Big Data Professional (CBDP), or Google Cloud Certified Professional Data Engineer.

 

You can also consider taking up online big data courses like –

 

1. Big Data Computing by NPTEL
2. Big Data Specialization on Coursera
3. Managing Big Data in Clusters and Cloud Storage on Coursera
4. Big Data Expert on edX
5. Foundations for Big Data Analysis with SQL on Coursera
6. Big Data Course on edX
7. Big Data for Managers on Udemy
8. Taming Big Data with Apache Spark 3 and Python - Hands On! on Udemy
9. Spark and Python for Big Data with PySpark on Udemy
10. Google Cloud Platform Big Data and Machine Learning Fundamentals

Skills Required to Build a Career in Big Data 

1. Knowledge of MapReduce, Hadoop, Cloudera, IBM Big Insights, Hortonworks or MapR; Data mining or machine learning techniques; Statistical analysis software: R, SPSS, SAS, Weka, MATLAB
2. Programming skills: Java, Scala, Ruby, C++
3. Relational databases: MySQL, MS SQL Server, Oracle, DB2
4. NoSQL: HBase, SAP HANA, HDFS, Cassandra, MongoDB, CouchDB, Vertica, Greenplum, Pentaho and Teradata
5. SQL expertise and data modeling
6. ETL Tools: Informatica, DataStage, SSIS, Redpoint
7. Knowledge if operating systems like UNIX, Linux, Solaris or MS Windows Mathematical and analyst profile 
8. Administration of distributed storage systems
9. Design of a reporting system for data visualization, especially in the field of business intelligence
10. Knowledge of machine learning techniques 
11. Ability to manage software tools in data structure systems
12. Data manipulation techniques, such as data wrangling, data munging, or data tidying

Career Growth – Big Data

IDC forecasts the global datasphere will reach 175 zettabytes by 2025. Since cloud infrastructure provides agility, scalability, and ease of use, the demand for big data professionals is bound to increase. The major growth factors to the global Big Data market include increasing demand for mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and higher government investments in different regions for enhancing digital technologies. Moreover, the rapid COVID-driven digitalisation has also led to explosive growth of big data professionals.

Also Read: Top Big Data Interview Questions and Answers

Why Learn Big Data?

 

Some of the reasons why big data courses have been topping the charts of professionals for the past few years include:

 

High Demand

 

With 2.3 trillion gigabytes of data generated daily, the market is geared to grow. Extensive employment opportunities are available in big data. According to a recent study on hiring trends, there are about 97,000 data analytics job openings in India. Professionals with a few years of experience in analytics are in high demand as organizations look for ways to exploit the power of big data.

 

Higher Salaries

 

While the demand for big data professionals is high, there is not enough workforce to meet that demand. Due to this, the salary offered to big data professionals is lucrative.

 

Although the salary offered depends on a candidate's profile, experience, and geographical location, the salary of a Big Data Developer in India with 2 - 7 years of experience ranges from Rs. 3.5 - 15.0 Lakhs, with an average annual salary of Rs. 8.5 Lakhs.

 

Flexibility in Job Roles

 

One of the key advantages of pursuing a career in Big Data is the wide variety of job roles available. Depending on your skills and interests, you can find opportunities in areas such as:

1. Data Engineering: Responsible for designing, building, testing and maintaining the data infrastructure that powers Big Data applications. This includes working with technologies like Hadoop, Spark, and cloud platforms.
2. Business Analytics: Focuses on extracting insights from data to help drive business decisions. Involves data mining, statistical analysis, and data visualisation.
3. Machine Learning: Develops and deploys machine learning models to automate data-driven decision-making. Requires strong programming and math skills.
4. Data Science: Combines statistics, math, programming and domain expertise to extract knowledge and insights from structured and unstructured data. Involves tasks like data cleaning, predictive modelling and communicating findings.
5. Database Administration: Manages and maintains database systems, ensuring optimal performance, security and data integrity. Requires technical skills in SQL and database management.

 

Future Prospects

 

Data analysis will play an increasingly important role in the world, creating endless job opportunities for professionals skilled in big data. Gartner estimates that by 2025, the global datasphere will grow to 175 zettabytes. This explosion of data will only increase the demand for skilled professionals who can extract value from it. Pursuing a career in Big Data today will set you up for long-term success.

Popular Big Data Profiles & Salaries

 

Job Role	Salary Range
Big Data Architect	Rs.  14.5 Lakhs to Rs.  50.5 Lakhs
Big Data developer	Rs.  3.5 Lakhs to Rs.  15.0 Lakhs
Big Data Engineer	Rs.  3.6 Lakhs to Rs.  20.9 Lakhs
Big Data Specialist Solutions Architect	Rs.  14.5 Lakhs to Rs.  41.0 Lakhs
Data Engineer	Rs.  3.5 Lakhs to Rs.  21.0 Lakhs
Principal Architect – Big Data	Rs.  14.0 Lakhs to Rs.  78.0 Lakhs
Senior Data Scientist	Rs.  3.9 Lakhs to Rs.  28.0 Lakhs
Principal Engineer - Big Data	Rs.  18.0 Lakhs to Rs.  60.0 Lakhs
Lead - Data Analytics	Rs.  10.0 Lakhs to Rs.  44.0 Lakhs
Technical Manager - Big Data	Rs.  4.4 Lakhs to Rs.  37.0 Lakhs
Big Data Sales Manager	Rs.  3.0 Lakhs to Rs.  15.5 Lakhs
Technical Architect - Big Data Hadoop/Java	Rs.  14.5 Lakhs to Rs.  50.5 Lakhs
Senior Software Engineer - Big Data	Rs.  7.5 Lakhs to Rs.  36.0 Lakhs

Top Free Big Data Courses  

Course Name & Duration	Platform	Skills to Learn
Google Cloud Platform Big Data and Machine Learning Fundamentals (11 Hours)	Google	Tensorflow Bigquery Google Cloud Platform Cloud Computing
Big Data Landscape (30 minutes)	Great Learning	Big Data Analytics Semantics Big Data Data Processing
Big Data Computing (8 weeks)	NPTEL	Apache Spark Hadoop MapReduce In-memory key/value storage systems NoSQL distributed databases Apache Cassandra HBase  Apache Spark Streaming Apache Kafka Streams
Big Data Analytics: Opportunities, Challenges and the Future (2 weeks)	FutureLearn	Key concepts of big data analytics Evaluate data from different sources Identify implications of big data analytics Describe how big data analytics can solve problems
Big Data Modeling and Management Systems (13 Hours)	Coursera	Data Ingestion Database Management System Virtualbox Data Operations Data Model Big Data Data Modeling Data Management
Big Data Hadoop and Spark Developer (11 Hours)	Simplilearn	Spark SQL Spark RDD optimization techniques Parallel processing Spark applications Functional programming Realtime data processing
Big Data and Hadoop Essentials (43 minutes)	Udemy	Fundamental knowledge of Big Data and Hadoop Difference Between Data Science And Data Engineering

Popular Big Data Course Providers

Coursera	Simplilearn
edX	Microsoft
Great Learning	Udacity
Harvard University	NPTEL
Edureka	Google
OpenClassrooms	Internshala

Top Companies Using Big Data

Company & Industry	Use of Big Data
Apple	Assimilates the enormous volume of locations and maps generated by smartphones; improves its service based on the analysis of the data.
Facebook	Sentiment Analysis to focus on the emotions that users reflect on their walls; Image recognition to observe the details of a user in a particular picture or video.
Amazon	Supply chain optimization, price optimization and fraud detection.
Tesla	Uses data collection and analysis to generate new insights; Applies internal and external sensors to collect information from the driver, the car and the route and help drivers with the best routes, avoiding traffic and crashes.
Starbucks	Uses smart order management system using mobile apps and data warehouses to display preferred orders before customers arrive at the counter.
Spotify	Digitizes users' tastes and develops personalized content to enhance marketing through targeted ads.
Netflix	Assesses viewer's activity and throws them personalized suggestions; Compiles numerous data points to build an accurate profile for its subscribers.
Google	Displays the best-sponsored ads; Identifies the most relevant information for a particular user using its search history, locations, trends, etc. and recommends most suitable ads, products and other related information.

Conclusion

There is a huge demand for Big Data professionals who have the ability to understand data and have strong business acumen. A professional with Big Data skills can be an asset to an organization. Big Data is a rewarding and attractive field for professionals looking for sharp growth.

Learn Data engineering and analytics using Hadoop, Apache Spark, Kafka, Pyspark, Mapreduce, and top big data technologies. Shiksha Online can help you discover the right course from top platforms and universities including Pluralsight, Udemy, Edx, NPTEL, and Coursera. Compare and read reviews to find the best course.