The individuals eager to earn the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate certification should be proficient in working with data from both structured and unstructured data systems and use them to build solutions used for analytics.

About Certification

This certification tests the candidate's understanding of data and its integration, consolidation, and transformation from various data systems. What is more, an Azure Data Engineer is expected to have expertise in helping stockholders understand data, developing and maintaining secure data pipelines for processing by using various tools, working with Azure services for data, and using various tools and techniques to generate clean as well as improved datasets. Moreover, an Azure Data Engineer should be capable of creating high-performance, efficient, structured, and reliable data stores as per the business requirements, which will ensure swift troubleshooting with minimal data loss.

About Affiliated Exams

To acquire the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate designation, the candidate needs to earn a passing score in 2 exams namely, DP-200 and DP-201. Each of the tests cost USD 165 and is available in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Korean. The DP-200 certification exam, in particular, covers 3 domains – data storage solutions, data processing, and data solutions optimization. Thus, the candidates are required to know about developing batch processing solutions, Azure Databricks, and PolyBase. Then, applicants need also to be capable of creating pipelines, activities, triggers, linked services, and datasets. Moreover, the entrant needs to be able to use Stream Analytics to develop streaming solutions as well as monitor data storage using Data Lake Storage Gen2, Cosmos DB, and more. Finally, they should be able to monitor Data Factor pipelines and set up Azure Monitor alerts. The DP-201 certification test also covers 3 topics – data storage for Azure, solutions for data processing, and data security as well as compliance. To pass this exam, the entrant needs to be proficient in outlining non-relational data stores for the cloud, selecting suitable Cosmos DB API, sketching a disaster recovery strategy, and creating high-availability data stores. Furthermore, the candidates should be capable of defining batch processing solutions that use Azure Databricks and Data Factory. Understanding data encryption, data retention, archiving tactics, and data masking are also crucial for the actual evaluation.

Books to Read for Exam Mastery

If you’re looking to prepare for the DP-200 and DP-201 exams in one go, you need to find only high-quality and efficient materials. Thus, there are a couple of books you can read to get confident with the forthcoming tests:

• DP-200: Implementing an Azure Data Solution: 170+ Exam Practice Questions by Analytiq Tech and Daniel Scott

  If you want to pass the DP-200 certification exam on a single try, then practicing the questions included in this material is definitely a wise choice. All the questions here have detailed explanations to help you prepare for the final test better. Thus, you will not only know the answers but also understand them properly. And if you’re interested, this book costs $7.99 for the Kindle edition and $16.99 for the paperback and is available on Amazon.

• DP-200: Implementing an Azure Data Solution Practice Dumps by Skillcert Pro

  If you’re going for the DP-200 test, this study guide is a good resource to refer to. It comes with more than 165 questions with accurate answers as well as explanations. More so, these practice questions were taken from the previous real tests and compiled by the experts in Azure technology. In case this offer seems nice to you, you can get such a book from Amazon at a price of $11.99 as the Kindle edition.

• DP-201 Practice Questions with Answers and Explanations by Jee Utrecht

  With more than 140 practice test questions that cover all the exam domains, this book is the perfect companion for individuals going for the DP-201 certification test. Such a manual will make you familiar with the types of questions you will face during the actual exam and reduce your anxiety by building confidence. The book can be yours for $4.79 as the Kindle version that is found on Amazon.

• DP-201: Designing an Azure Data Solution: 150+ Exam Practice Questions by Analytiq Tech & Daniell Scott

  This guide comes with more than 150 unique practice questions with detailed explanations to help you study for the DP-201 certification test. Overall, there are 3 sets of practice exams included in the material to help you get used to the exam pattern and prepare accordingly. The book costs $8.99 for the Kindle edition on Amazon. However, if you’re eager to purchase the paperback variant, it’s also available and costs $17.99.

• Azure Storage, Streaming, and Batch Analytics: Guide for Data Engineers by Richard L. Nuckolls

  This resource will not only help you study for the actual exams but also will act as a reference book throughout your data engineer career. In more detail, it is ideal for learning about Azure Storage accounts, Azure Data Lake Analytics, U-SQL used for complex analytics, Azure Data Factory, and the like. This manual is available on Amazon for $36.99 as the Kindle version and for $48.49 as the paperback one.

Training Courses

Still, quite often, study guides alone are not enough to pass the certification exams so you will also need to enroll in good training courses that are offered by the official vendor. When it comes to the DP-200 & DP-201 exams, the options below will help you prepare much efficiently:

• Free Microsoft Learning Path

  The online learning path from Microsoft for DP-200 and DP-201 is divided into 10 different parts that comprise various modules to help you study better. All in all, here, you’ll encounter such free-of-charge courses as Azure for the Data Engineer, storing data in Azure, accomplishing data engineering, data processing, Hybrid Transactional as well as Analytical Processing Solutions, etc.

• Paid Instructor-Led Training

  The DP-203T00: Data Engineering on Microsoft Azure training is one more way to prepare for the exams leading to the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate designation. This class, in particular, will last for 4 days and will equip you with the intermediate knowledge of patterns for data engineering, compute as well as storage solutions, serving the layer, Data Warehouse, Azure Synapse Analytics, Power BI integration, etc.

Conclusion

Becoming a certified Azure Data Engineer isn’t an easy feat as it requires a good command of multiple domains related to two exams known as DP-200 and DP-201. Nevertheless, if you find proper preparatory materials, acing these tests becomes an achievable task. So, opt for the study guides from Amazon and the vendor's official training courses we’ve shed light on, and as a result, you may become the next candidate who easily earns the Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate certificate.