Google has launched two new professional certificates for data analysts, data scientists, and business intelligence (B.I.) specialists.
The Advanced Data Analytics Certificate is meant for those tech professionals pursuing a data analyst, data scientist, or data science analyst track; Google has partnered with Coursera on the coursework. The Business Intelligence Certificate, with coursework also available via Coursera, is aimed at business intelligence analysts, engineers, and developers. (Enrollment is free.)
Google’s entry-level Data Analytics Certificate, which drills into data analysis and storytelling, is reportedly the most popular certificate on Coursera. The Advanced Data Analytics Certificate and Business Intelligence Certificate are considered the next step in a specialist’s analytics journey, with deep dives into critical skills such as BigQuery and SQL.
“The need to understand data to make business decisions is only growing in importance for businesses large and small, which is why we’ve made it easy and affordable for people to reskill or upskill to advance in their careers in data analytics,” Lisa Gevelber, Founder & Head of Grow with Google, wrote in a statement. “We’re proud that our new certificates in Advanced Data Analytics and Business Intelligence will help businesses grow their businesses and provide exciting new opportunities for data analytics professionals.”
Google has been in the career certificates game for quite some time. Since 2018, it’s launched certificates in data analytics, digital marketing and ecommerce, IT support, project management, user experience (UX) design, and more. Some 150,000 people have obtained those certificates over that period. Google has traditionally positioned the certificates as a good way to bring in talent from groups traditionally underrepresented in tech.
Hiring managers and recruiters generally like certifications because they demonstrate a job candidate has experience in a particular specialization such as data science or a certain programming language. That being said, you don’t necessarily need certifications to land a job if you can demonstrate that you’ve successfully used a given skill in the past to help organizations achieve their goals. In any case, you’ll surely face technical tests as part of most interview processes.
