Recommended certifications for Power BI enthusiasts

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I want to cover some recommended certifications for Power BI enthusiasts in this post. To make people aware of some of the options that are available.

In a previous post I provided some advice if Microsoft certifications are your New Year’s resolution. Since I covered Azure Databricks and Azure Synapse Analytics certifications in previous posts I thought it was ideal time to cover Microsoft certifications for Power BI.

Plus, Power BI certifications are very relevant right now due to an increase in demand for them. From both individuals and enterprises.

For example, ABN AMRO announced a while ago that employees had to gain a Power BI certification to keep using Power BI Pro. Which was shared twenty-seven minutes into a Kasper on BI video about Power BI at ABN AMRO.

In this post I also share some recommended certification routes as well as plenty of links.

Main certification I recommend for Power BI enthusiasts

Main certification that I recommend for Power BI enthusiasts is the Power BI Data Analyst certification. Which is the replacement for the old Data Analyst Associate certification. You must pass the newer PL-300 exam in order to gain this certification.

It is worth noting that the old DA-100 Power BI exam for the old Data Analyst Associate certification has now retired. However, some of the material is still relevant in the PL-300 exam.

Even the most experienced Power BI enthusiast can discover something new going for this exam. So it is worth looking at.

Note that the skills measured for the PL-300 exam are changing on January 31st 2023. If you intend to do the exam after that date please make sure you read the current skills measured document so that you know what is changing.

Power BI fundamental certifications for Power BI enthusiasts

Now, you can just go and do the PL-300 exam to gain this certification. Which is fine. However, I do recommend one of the below routes and doing either the DP-900 or the PL-900 exam beforehand.

If you are interested in Data Platform services such as Azure Databricks and Azure Synapse Analytics I recommend at the very least studying the material for the DP-900 exam first. Which is the exam you need to pass to gain the Azure Data Fundamentals certification.

However, if you are more interested in Power Platform services such as Power Apps and Power Automate then I recommend at the very least studying the material for the PL-900 exam first instead. Which is the exam you need to pass to gain the Power Platform Fundamentals certification.

You can read about my own journey of looking at the Microsoft Learn material for the PL-900 exam in a previous post. Where I covered taking part in an MVP challenge.

Azure Enterprise Data Analyst certification

I covered the Azure Enterprise Data Analyst certification in my last post. Where I shared recommended Azure Synapse Analytics certifications.

Plus, I covered my route to passing the DP-500 exam in a previous post. Which is the exam you need to pass to gain this certification. So, I will only cover some key points here.

Note that since this post was first published Microsoft have announced that they are going to retire the DP-500 exam on the exam page. It will be replaced by the DP-600 exam which focuses on Microsoft Fabric.

You can read more about the retirement announcement in the Microsoft post about in-demand news for in-demand skills.

This certification focuses mostly on Microsoft Purview, Azure Synapse Analytics and Power BI. However, when you read the DP-500 study guide you can see that Power BI is mostly mentioned.

If you are going to intend to do one of the fundamental exams before this one I recommend the DP-900 one instead of the PL-900. Because I think it gives you a better appreciation of the knowledge required for the DP-500 exam.

Be aware that the skills measured for the DP-500 exam are being updated on February 6.

Since I mentioned it at the Data Toboggan conference, I must add another point to this post. If you are looking to do customized training for the DP-500 exam make sure you select one from a reputable person.

For example, the ‘Mastering DP-500 Exam – Azure Enterprise Data Analyst‘ course offered by Nikola Ilic.

Architect certification for Power BI enthusiasts

Finally, I want to cover the Power Platform Solution Architect Expert certification. To show that there is an expert certification you can aim for and to raise more awareness about it.

To manage expectations, you need more than Power BI knowledge to gain this certification. You need knowledge about all of the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365.

In order to gain this certification you must pass either the PL-200 exam or the PL-400 exam before doing the PL-600 exam. I recommend also doing the PL-900 exam first as well.

Other Power BI exam advice

Within this post I contain a lot of links relating to Microsoft Learn material. However, I do want to make it clear that an instructor led training course can be great with the right teacher.

Because you get provided with the relevant material and you can ask them questions during the course.

In reality, there are two types of instructor led training courses available.

First are the official Microsoft training courses. Like the PL-300T00 training course for the PL-300 exam.

Second are the custom courses that are offered online. Now there are a vast amount of these available. I strongly recommend you choose one based on the vendors reputation within the Power BI community. If in doubt ask online using your social media site of choice.

For more general Microsoft certification advice read my post that covers advice if Microsoft certifications are your New Year’s resolution.

Final words about recommended certifications for Power BI enthusiasts

I hope my recommended certifications for Power BI enthusiasts has given some of you food for thought. Especially since some of you have new certifications in mind as part of your New Year’s resolutions.

Of course, if you have any comments or queries about this post feel free to reach out to me.