Is a Power BI Certification Worth It (in 2023)?
Microsoft Power BI is the application of choice when it comes to business analysis. So, do you need a certification to work in this field?
Microsoft Power BI is one of the top business intelligence and data analytics platforms in the world. If you’re an aspiring business analyst, you will almost certainly cross paths with this tool sooner rather than later. For that reason, organizations don’t mind compensating well-qualified Power BI experts competitively.
If you’re planning on getting a job as a business analyst, or you’re interested in other data science careers, you’re probably asking yourself How can I stand out from the crowd? Do I need a certification to add value to my resume and get noticed by employers?
In this article, we’ll share why we think a Power BI certification is worth it — and how you can prepare for the exam.
The Power BI Microsoft Certification
Power BI is a Microsoft data visualization application that transforms unrelated data from various sources into coherent, interactive insights that help businesses make data-driven decisions. Microsoft has the expertise to provide knowledgeable certification in this market.
The Microsoft Power BI certification is called “Exam PL-300: Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst,” formerly known as “Exam DA-100: Analyzing Data with Microsoft Power BI.” The exam lasts 90 mins, and it costs $165 — it’s available in several languages, such as English, Japanese, German, and Arabic.
This certification measures your ability to accomplish the following technical tasks:
- Preparing data
- Modeling data
- Visualizing and analyzing data
- Deploying and maintaining assets
Why a Power BI Certification Is Useful
So why would you need the PL-300 Microsoft certification for Power BI? This certification is important because it confirms that you know how to use Power BI to manage reports and dashboards. It also proves that you know how to share and distribute content, create paginated reports, and publish reports to a Power BI workspace. Finally, the Microsoft certified stamp gives you credibility in the market because you’ve been approved by the company that built Power BI itself!
Getting the PL-300 Power BI certification helps you in several ways:
- Proof of competency and job readiness
- Demonstrated value in a competitive job market
- Increased career opportunities
What You Need to Learn to Pass the Exam
In order to pass the PL-300 exam, you need to be able to pull all of the following skills into an end-to-end workflow:
1. Preparing Data in Power BI
- Use the Power BI interface and building blocks
- Import data from various data sources
- Clean, transform, and load data
2. Model Data in Power BI
- Design a data model
- Create measures using Data Analysis Expressions-DAX
- Optimize the data model
3. Visualize Data in Power BI
- Create Power BI Data Visualizations
- Build a data-driven story with reports
- Create interactive dashboards
4. Data Analysis in Power BI
- Perform data analysis
- Work with AI visuals
5. Manage Workspace and Datasets in Power BI
- Create workspaces
- Manage datasets
- Implement row-level security
Preparing for the Exam
There are many online resources that can help you prepare for this certification exam for free, but they don’t necessarily prepare you to acquire the skills. You might learn how to answer questions, but you won’t be able to deliver a Power BI project from start to end.
If you want to stand out from the crowd when it comes to landing a job, you’ll need to prepare for the exam and build a project portfolio to demonstrate your ability to perform data analysis.
Our interactive Analyzing Data with Microsoft Power BI Skill Path, designed in partnership with Microsoft, helps you learn how to analyze and visualize data using Microsoft Power BI in a short time — and begin building a project portfolio you need to impress employers. By completing all of the Power BI training courses in this path, you’ll get a 50% discount on your PL-300 certification.
Ready to change careers — or start a new one? Check out this user-friendly path, and get ready for a new world of career opportunities.
