There have been many changes to the Microsoft certification program lately. Among these changes have been brand new MCSA and MCSE certifications, including MANY new exams. Among these changes is the recent addition of the MCSA: Big Data Engineering certification.
This exam is retired June 30, 2019.
What exams qualify?
The MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solution Associate) certification in Big Data Engineering requires 2 exams to be passed in order to earn the full MCSA: Big Data Engineering certification.
Here are the 2 exams required to earn this certification:
- 70-775: Perform Data Engineering on Microsoft HD Insight
- 70-776: Engineering Data with Microsoft Cloud Services
The MCSA: Big Data Engineering certification doesn’t have a large list of exams to choose from, however, it is very specialized for professionals who are working with Big Data solutions.
From MCSA to MCSE Certification
Just like all the other MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solution Associate) certifications, the MCSA: Big Data Engineering certification also provides a foundational path to earning the bigger MCSE (Microsoft Certified Solution Expert) certification. There are multiple MCSE’s to choose from, each in a different specialization area. The MCSA: Big Data Engineering certification is a foundation on the path to earning the MCSE: Data Management & Analytics certification.
The way the path from MCSA to MCSE works is that you first earn an MCSA certification by passing the required exams. Then after earning the MCSA of your choice, you need to pick and pass an elective exam from the list of electives that count towards the eligible MCSE for that MCSA certification.
To simplify this, here’s the steps necessary to earn this MCSA and then upgrade to the bigger MCSE certification:
- Pass both the above mentioned certification exams to earn the MCSA: Big Data Engineering certification
- Choose one of the MCSE: Data Management & Analytics elective exams, and pass it.
As you can see, if you take the MCSA: Big Data Engineering path to MCSE, you will be required to take and pass a total of 3 Microsoft certification exams. And, there are a number of elective exams for the MCSE: Data Management & Analytics certification.
Happy studying!
Update Apr 13, 2017: This certification was just announced at the time or writing this, and full details may change once the certification becomes available.
Update May 27, 2017: Microsoft announced that they’ve renamed the MCSA: Big Data Engineering certification to MCSA: Data Engineering with Azure.
About the Author
Chris Pietschmann
Chris Pietschmann is a Microsoft MVP, HashiCorp Ambassador, and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) with 20+ years of experience designing and building Cloud & Enterprise systems. He has worked with companies of all sizes from startups to large enterprises. He has a passion for technology and sharing what he learns with others to help enable them to learn faster and be more productive.
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How can we prepare for this two courses . is there any course on Opsgility or edx .
What books do you recommend to study for these exams?
Any official Exam Guides from Microsoft if they are available for the exam you’re studying for. Otherwise, you can get a Free trial of the video service from Opsgility.com or access it through a free benefit from Visual Studio Dev Essentials.
Hi Chris
I have seen that exam 70-775: Perform Data Engineering on Microsoft HD Insight is mandatory for MCSA certification whereas this is included in the list of elective exams for MCSE as well. i am not sure which exam I need to pick exam other than exam 70-775
i am not sure which exam I need to pick for MCSE other than exam 70-775
I recommend looking for the MCSE path that best matches your experience and background.
You’ll need to satisfy the MCSA requirements, and then take an additional elective exam to upgrade to the MCSE. It’s possible 1 exam can count towards multiple certifications, but if you pass 2 exams to earn an MCSA, then you’ll still need to pass another to satisfy the requirements for the MCSE.
Is below exam, objective type questions, Or exam is to writes queries?
70-775: Perform Data Engineering on Microsoft HD Insight
The exams are multiple choice questions primarily, and some ordering items. There are no practical questions that require you to write queries yourself.