Course Review – Big data and Hadoop Developer Certification Course by Simplilearn

Kunal Jain 25 Mar, 2016 • 5 min read

Introduction

There is no question that the Big Data revolution sweeping through the world of business has made its impact on companies big and small. Multinational giants and startups alike are going out of their way to incorporate Big Data capabilities, including the likes of Google, Amazon, Airbnb, Uber, Facebook, Tesla, and more.

The Big Data boom has resulted in a surge in the demand for skilled Big Data professionals not just in India – but around the world. In particular, the insurance, FMCG, online marketing, and e-commerce sectors -which deal with huge volumes of data on a regular basis – are facing a shortage of data specialists.

And according to a report by McKinsey Global, the demand-supply gap is acute, with an estimated 1.5 million Big Data managers needed by 2018!

Simplilearn’s Big Data and Hadoop Developer Certification Training offers you an opportunity to start your dream career in big data from scratch.

Not too long ago, I had a chance to chat with Indranil Banerjee, Associate Director, Simplilearn. I learned about their motives for launching this course and how they are trying to transform big data industry in India. I met their course instructors and learned about their methodology of teaching this course.

Recently I came to know that many students are contemplating taking this course and looking for further information on the same. To help them make a more informed choice, I’ve reviewed the course and offered my input.

Read on to find out more about this popular course and why it’s been the starting point for thousands of successful Big Data professionals the world over.

simplilearn analytics vidhya

 

 

What is the objective of this course ?

The main objective of this course is to develop skilled professionals in various big data technologies like Hadoop, Apache Spark, Mapreduce, Cassandra and many more. The course aims to provide comprehensive knowledge of Big Data tools to enable professionals at any level tackle data assignments with ease. The mandatory real-life industry projects that are included with the course ensure participants get adequate hands-on experience.

Needless to say, all this will contribute to one’s chances of employability in big data industry.

 

What is the Course Structure ?

This course is available in two formats: Self-paced, and Instructor-led \ Online Classroom. The online classroom instructor led program is offered via Flexipass. This feature allows access to multiple batches of training, across timezones for a period of 90 days. Both formats provide high quality e-learning content for 180 days to enable self paced training.

In both cases, the self-contained pedagogy used in this course primarily benefits students with no prior knowledge of big data. For instance, big data requires knowledge of Java. But even if you have no formal training in Java, the course offers a module in Java to get you started.

This course follows a basic to advanced level teaching structure. In addition to other big data tools, this course offers a dedicated module on Apache Spark (widely considered to be the future of Big Data). This course is thus up-to-date and is in-line with the latest industry trends and developments. The course offers training in Hadoop 2.7, MapReduce, Pig, Hive, HBase, Zookeeper, Sqoop, Flume and predictive modeling in R (additional course). Check out the complete course listing here.

For an enhanced learning experience, it offers a unique CloudLab feature. This feature gives the user the experience of working on a state of the art hadoop cluster with no maintenance issues. Also, the inclusion of industry projects across retail, insurance, social media, offers the much-needed practical experience of working on Big Data. A candidate will receive a 3 months experience certificate after the successful completion of this course.

However, amidst such exemplary offerings, moving with the currents trends, I understand that they are adding Python/R in the course as well. Use of these analytic tools with Big Data will further strengthen their course, which is already among the best available today.

 

What’s the Faculty like ?

The training faculty that host the sessions are fairly experienced and aware of the latest industry developments. I found no instances where the course instructor struggled to answer questions adequately

I noticed that the instructors laid more emphasis on explaining technical topics with illustrations from real-world scenarios. This helps participants relate theory with practice and absorb dense technical details easily.

Needles to say, if you opt for self paced classes, you’d miss out on this experience. However, the choice of course is completely left to your discretion.

 

How good is the content ?

The pre-recorded video tutorials have nice and clear video & voice clarity. The instructor’s accent is easy to understand and interpret. Difficult topics are explained using interesting real life examples.

The upcoming version of the course will provide upgraded content based on the new Cloudera certification. They will also feature motion graphics and an on-screen instructor. I think that will be an exciting change as I always feel that on-screen instructor provides higher engagement.

This will help increase concentration and make learning more visualized compared to voice explaining slide mode.

 

Who should take this course ?

This course is broadly suited for candidates of all domains who are keen to pursue big data as a career. The inclusion of Java module has made it even more appealing for non-technical candidates as well.

However, as per my understanding, prior knowledge of java in this course should be a major advantage. The additional java module can be used as a refresher (if required). Candidates from IT background would find this course easier to relate and understand. On the other hand, a newbie with some diligence and enough practice should be able to discern the terminologies used in different stages of this course.

Hence, I would thus suggest that this course is best suited for experienced (<2 years) IT professionals. But that doesn’t mean a newbie cannot benefit from the training. You might need to work harder than others, but if you truly aspire to become a big data scientist, I don’t see it being impossible.

 

Past Students Experience

Professionals who have taken the Big Data certification training in the past seem quite satisfied. Many have landed their first big gig in Big Data as a direct result of the course. Here are a few reviews I have picked from their website.

Deepak Priyadarshi (Founder and CEO at Filament Factory) – a student of this course : It was an amazing experience to train on BIG DATA with Simplilearn. This course is very feasible to the beginners and the course contents are downloadable on the go.

Devendra Sahu (Project Manager at Wipro) – This program is very well structured and planned to help anyone who want to understand Big Data & Hadoop concepts. I recommend it to everyone who wants to get into the Hadoop ecosystem.

 

Overall Recommendation

My final verdict is: I recommend this course to all aspiring big data candidates. This is a good starting point for your journey. Apart from the quality of the offerings, which is exceptional, the price point of the course also makes it value-for-money material.

The self paced module is available for just Rs.10,999. The instructor led / online classroom module can be availed at Rs. 21,999. After looking around a bit, I’ve come to realize that it’s difficult to find a course in this price range, considering the immense array of offerings being provided.

Also, the CloudLab feature offered saves a lot of time spent in installation and configuration. This virtual hadoop environment provides an accelerated learning experience. The inclusion of industry projects across sectors make for an much needed practical experience on your resume.

 

End Notes

I hope this review would help you in deciding on your first or next big data course. I understand there are many courses available on big data and each has its own “value proposition”, Simplilearn’s course is a great place to begin.

If you have any questions about the program, I’ll be happy to share my views & perspective. If I don’t have the answer myself, I’ll reach out to people who do.

You can test your skills and knowledge. Check out Live Competitions and compete with best Data Scientists from all over the world.

Kunal Jain 25 Mar 2016

Kunal is a post graduate from IIT Bombay in Aerospace Engineering. He has spent more than 10 years in field of Data Science. His work experience ranges from mature markets like UK to a developing market like India. During this period he has lead teams of various sizes and has worked on various tools like SAS, SPSS, Qlikview, R, Python and Matlab.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit,

Responses From Readers

Clear

mahesh
mahesh 23 Mar, 2016

Sir I have registered for simplilearn hadoop developer course. But as of now I have freezed my course. When is the course going to be updated . What is the best learning path for an data scientist job.

ankush
ankush 23 Mar, 2016

This is very helpful, was planning to do Big data training.

Sandeep
Sandeep 25 Mar, 2016

Hi Kunal, I am a Analytics professional with exposure to SAS/R. Now I want to learn Big Data as well, can you please let me know, which course among the below two is better 1) SimpliLearn 2) Course offered by Jigsaw Academy. Request you to please provide your recommendation Regards Sandeep

kirandugad
kirandugad 29 Mar, 2016

HI Kunal, I am MBA finance professional with 7 years experience in Capital market domain & aspiring to enter into Big data industry. I have done Business Analytics course from OrangeTree Global with knowledge on SAS & R. But still find it difficult to get an entry in to Analytics industry, as most of the companies required people who have organisational experience. Pls guide me how can a professional like me will get an entry into Analytics industry? Will this course from Simplilearn provide me the platform which I am looking for? Is there any placement assurance from Simplilearn? Regards, Kiran

kirandugad
kirandugad 29 Mar, 2016

HI Kunal, I am MBA finance professional with 7 years experience in Capital market domain & aspiring to enter into Big data industry. I have done Business Analytics course from OrangeTree Global with knowledge on SAS & R, also done 'The Analytics Edge' course on EDX. But still find it difficult to get an entry in to Analytics industry, as most of the companies required people who have organisational experience. Pls guide me how can a professional like me will get an entry into Analytics industry? Will this course from Simplilearn provide me the platform which I am looking for? Is there any placement assurance from Simplilearn? Regards, Kiran

cseaspirant
cseaspirant 30 Mar, 2016

I've the same question , which course is better among SimpliLearn or Course offered by Jigsaw Academy. and How is the placement support ??

Sriram RV
Sriram RV 01 Apr, 2016

Hi I am in MIS department using excel and aged more than 40. Can I be recommended for this course

Mrinmoy Laha
Mrinmoy Laha 04 Apr, 2016

Hi Kunal,, I am an Oracle certified Professional with 10+ years of development experience in IT. Now I want to switch to Big Data, can you please let me know, which course among the below two is better 1) Course offered by Jigsaw Academy (Jigsaw-Willy certification course). 2) SimpliLearn How is the placement support of Jigsaw? They are telling they have around 100+ partner through which they will try to place if we can do Bigdata + Data Analyst course. You also reviewed their Bigdata course in other blog. Request you to please provide your recommendation for best options out of two. Thanks and Regards Mrinmoy Laha

Yogesh
Yogesh 06 Apr, 2016

Nice Info. I m also above 40 and currently doing online course at intellipat.Hadoop .

Amitabh Sinha
Amitabh Sinha 07 Apr, 2016

Hi Kunal Big Data is the new trend added to academic discipline. Its gud that simplilearn is offering related courses.

Sundar
Sundar 03 Aug, 2016

Hi everybody, Pls give a one advise I completed M.Sc, Computer science in 2006. I am working in Pharma company. So, can I change my profession to Big data. If it is possible please inform to me. How to learn this course and how to get job in future. Regards Sundar

Mrs Kavita R Shimpi
Mrs Kavita R Shimpi 07 Aug, 2016

I want to update myself with the certificate course in hardware and networking

nithinbhatt
nithinbhatt 15 Sep, 2016

I have taken Big data and Hadoop Training from it skills training services and they are good and it was Very helpfull....www

Amit
Amit 12 Jul, 2017

I have 4 years of experience in Audio visual field but want to change my field to big data, is this a good move. Please advise.

Prerit
Prerit 04 Feb, 2018

Hi, In one your replies you mentioned that none of the online course providers in India can assure you placement, but my question is do they really arrange interviews for us and prepare us for the same? As they say they provide complete assistance, I know that's a bit overwhelming but I need to look on the facts which are true, so can you please throw some light on this. Thanks

Prerit
Prerit 04 Feb, 2018

Hi, As you mentioned in one of your replies that none of the online course providers can assure you placements, do they really help us in preparing for the interviews, rephrase, do they really help in arranging interviews? They say they provide full support through JobAssist portals, I know that sounds a bit overwhelming, so can you please throw some light on this. Thanks

Julie Thomas
Julie Thomas 19 Jan, 2022

Hey Kunal Amazing Article, Valuable content Do You Think Learning Big Data is a Smart Decision? And what about Free resources? Thanks

Julie Thomas
Julie Thomas 19 Jan, 2022

Amazing Article, Valuable content Do You Think Learning Big Data is a Smart Decision. And what about Free resources? Thanks

Related Courses