You build data pipelines on AWS that run from collection through storage, transformation and analysis. After building a base, verify your practical ability with the certification dedicated to data engineering (DEA).
In a data role, the key is which services connect each stage of the pipeline. DEA asks about collection, transformation, storage and governance as one flow, so you need to be able to explain “why this service for this stage” rather than just know individual services. If you sort out the basic choices in storage, compute and networking in CLF, the combination questions in DEA become much simpler. Of the paths here, this one has the fewest steps.
Intermediate · 1-2 years of relevant hands-on experience recommended
How to study for the Data Engineer certifications
DEA asks about one connected flow: collecting data (Kinesis, DMS), storing it (S3, Redshift), transforming it (Glue, EMR) and querying it (Athena). Organize by pipeline stage rather than by individual service.
Many questions ask about cost and performance together. If you understand how partitioning, file formats (Parquet) and compression affect query cost, you can solve several questions at once.
Questions about controlling data access with Lake Formation and IAM also come up steadily. Organize the permission model around “who can see which columns of which table.”
Frequently asked questions
Is one AWS certification enough for a data engineer?
The certification aimed directly at the data engineer role is DEA (Data Engineer – Associate). If the cloud is new to you, we recommend learning the basic services and billing structure with CLF first, then preparing for DEA.
Do I need to know SQL or Python?
There are no questions where you write code, but you need to know what SQL queries and data transformation jobs do in order to answer the service-selection questions. Having done ETL in practice is an advantage.
What should I study after DEA?
If you want to connect analysis results to machine learning, continue with the machine learning roadmap (MLA); if you want to broaden into data platform design, continue with the solutions architect roadmap (SAA). Their scopes overlap naturally.
How long does it take to finish the Data Engineer roadmap?
In the order CLF-C02 → DEA-C01, that comes to 16 weeks (80 days in total) of the CertNote curriculum. We based this on reading one day's lesson per day; if you have hands-on experience, you can move quickly through the weeks you already know. The exam fees add up to $250 in total.
The notes for every certification are free in every week. Prepare in order to fit your target role. Exam fees are based on the official AWS exam guides; exchange rates and taxes at the time of payment are extra.