Data science certifications worth it in 2026: ten AI and BI exams, compared.

Are data science certifications worth it?

Yes, when three things line up: the exam matches the jobs you’re applying for, you can do what it tests rather than just pass it, and you have projects that show the same skill. A certification is a credential issued and verified by the company that makes the platform: proof that you passed its proctored exam on its tools.

That proof helps most early on, when a recruiter has little else to go on. NASSCOM and Indeed’s 2026 report on India’s AI talent found that 40% of employers preferred demonstrable AI skills or certifications over degrees, and another 32% gave skills, certifications and degrees equal weight.8

It helps least on its own. An exam proves you know a platform’s services; an interview asks you to write SQL live, walk through a model you built and say what you’d do differently. Plan for both.

The ten exams side by side

Every figure here is from the provider’s own certification page, read on 22 October 2026.

Sources: Microsoft Learn,12 NVIDIA,3 Databricks,4 AWS56 and Google Cloud,7 read 22 Oct 2026. Microsoft shows the price for the country where you sit the exam, before taxes; AWS notes that exchange-rate costs may apply.

Two exams are changing as this is written. AWS is updating its machine learning engineer exam: the last day to take MLA-C01 in English was 28 September 2026, and the updated MLA-C02 is in beta.6 Google Cloud updated its ML engineer exam for the move from Vertex AI to Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform.7 Check the provider’s page in the week you book.

Which one for which role

Start from the jobs you want, not from the exam list. Here is where each exam fits.

For analysts: PL-300

PL-300 makes you a Microsoft Certified Power BI Data Analyst Associate. It tests four areas (preparing data, modelling it, visualising and analysing it, and managing and securing Power BI), and Microsoft expects you to be proficient in Power Query and DAX.1 It’s the one exam here written for analysts, and Power BI is among the top skills AmbitionBox lists for Data Analysts.9 On our program, Module 3 covers Excel, Power Query, DAX and Power BI in about 30 hours, on every plan; our Data Analyst roadmap shows where it fits in a six-month plan.

For AI engineers: AI-103, NVIDIA and Databricks

AI-103, the Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate, is for building with Python and Microsoft Foundry: generative AI and agentic solutions, computer vision, text analysis and information extraction.1 NVIDIA’s Generative AI LLMs exam weights core machine learning and AI knowledge at 30%, software development at 24%, experimentation at 22%, data analysis at 14% and trustworthy AI at 10%.3 Databricks’ Generative AI Engineer Associate puts 30% on application development and 22% on assembling and deploying apps, and recommends six months of hands-on work with what it tests.4 Our AI Engineer roadmap builds the skills these exams check, in order.

For ML and MLOps engineers: AI-300, AWS, Google Cloud and Databricks

AI-300, the Machine Learning Operations Engineer Associate, covers MLOps and GenAIOps on Azure Machine Learning and Microsoft Foundry, and expects a data science background, Python and some DevOps, such as GitHub Actions.1 AWS recommends at least a year with SageMaker before its Machine Learning Engineer exam.6 Google Cloud sets no prerequisite for its Professional Machine Learning Engineer, but recommends three or more years of industry experience, including a year designing and managing solutions on Google Cloud.7 Databricks’ Machine Learning Associate is narrower: 38% of it covers Databricks’ own machine learning tools.4

To begin: AI-901 and AWS AI Practitioner

AI-901, Azure AI Fundamentals, tests AI concepts (40–45%) and building AI solutions with Microsoft Foundry (55–60%), and expects some Python.1 AWS AI Practitioner is AWS’s foundational AI exam, for people who use AI and machine learning on AWS but don’t necessarily build it.5 Either is a sensible first exam; neither, on its own, is enough for an engineering job.

What Indian employers say

Employers say they count certifications, with proof beside them. In NASSCOM and Indeed’s 2026 report, 40% of employers preferred demonstrable AI skills or certifications over degrees, and 32% gave the three equal weight. Its list of the top certifications required across tech roles begins with AWS and Azure, followed by Salesforce and Certified Scrum Master.8

What employers pay for is the skill. Naukri found median salaries 53% higher for AI-skilled roles (July 2025),10 and Indeed found AI mentioned in 39% of data and analytics job postings in India (September 2025).11 A certification is one way to show that skill; a project you can walk an interviewer through is another, and the strongest resumes have both.

We found no public count of Indian job postings that name a particular exam, so read twenty postings for your target role yourself. If they ask for Power BI, PL-300 fits; if they name AWS, Azure, Google Cloud or Databricks, take that provider’s exam for your role.

Certificates vs projects

They prove different things, and interviews test the second.

So build first, certify second. Two or three projects on real data, then the exam that matches your target jobs, will do more than three certificates and no projects. Our 15 data analyst projects on Indian public data are a good place to start.

Put each credential’s verification link on your resume: Microsoft verifies its certifications on Microsoft Learn; AWS, Google Cloud and NVIDIA on Credly; Databricks on its own credentials site.

And be clear about what a course certificate is, ours included. In the words of our FAQ:

Fees, validity and renewal

If you pay yourself, budget for one attempt and a possible retake, and note how long each certification lasts.

• Microsoft showed ₹4,865 for PL-300, AI-103 and AI-300 and ₹3,691 for AI-901 in India, before taxes. You can retake a failed exam 24 hours after the first attempt; the wait before later retakes varies.1 Associate certifications are renewed every year with a free, unproctored, open-book online assessment; fundamentals certifications don’t expire.2
• NVIDIA charges US$125. The certification lasts two years, and you renew it by retaking the exam.3
• Databricks charges US$200 an exam. Its certifications last two years, and you recertify on the current exam.4
• AWS charges US$100 for AI Practitioner and US$150 for MLA-C01, or US$75 during the MLA-C02 beta. Its certifications last three years.56
• Google Cloud charges US$200, plus tax where applicable. Renewal opens 60 days before the certification lapses and adds two years.7

Before you book, take the provider’s free practice test where there is one; Microsoft offers practice assessments and an exam sandbox on its certification pages.1 Book when you pass the practice comfortably, not before.

On our Data Science & AI Job Guarantee Program, one attempt at each exam in your plan is paid for. In the words of our FAQ:

Questions

Sources

1. Microsoft Learn, Power BI Data Analyst Associate (PL-300), Exam AI-901, Azure AI Apps and Agents Developer Associate (AI-103) and Machine Learning Operations Engineer Associate (AI-300), India prices read with India selected, 22 Oct 2026.
2. Microsoft Learn, Exam duration and exam experience, Exam scoring and score reports and Certification renewal, read 22 Oct 2026.
3. NVIDIA, NVIDIA-Certified Associate: Generative AI LLMs, read 22 Oct 2026.
4. Databricks, Generative AI Engineer Associate and Machine Learning Associate, read 22 Oct 2026.
5. AWS, AWS Certified AI Practitioner, read 22 Oct 2026.
6. AWS, AWS Certified Machine Learning Engineer – Associate, read 22 Oct 2026.
7. Google Cloud, Professional Machine Learning Engineer and its renewal FAQs, read 22 Oct 2026.
8. NASSCOM and Indeed, India’s AI Talent Inflection Point, reported in CXOToday, 21 May 2026.
9. AmbitionBox, Data Analyst salary in India (top skills), updated 19 Oct 2026, read 22 Oct 2026.
10. Naukri, AI Jobs Report, July 2025.
11. Indeed Hiring Lab, September 2025 labour market update, 25 Oct 2025.