The PDS™ is a powerfully distinctive international qualification, most coveted among data officers, data architects and data scientists who aspire to demonstrate their potential for influencing evolution of data technologies and how data must be leveraged to drive outcomes across the board. PDS™ is the most highly regarded validation of your promise and readiness for impacting business, governance, security, research, social development and education through innovative deployment of the latest in data science and analytics technologies.
Earning the PDS™ is an exciting, profound journey of shaping and sharpening your capacity to impact business and industry through innovative deployment of data science. While at your fastest, you can complete it in 3 months and not earlier, at your busiest, you have a year to complete the requirements for PDS™.
Your PDS™ credential and designation, once awarded, never expires! Once every three years, you will require to update your professional achievements and learning on your dashboard to continue keeping your PDS™ in great standing and fresh. Your dashboard has all the reminders and action spaces you require for the purpose.
This is a one-time fee covering the PDS™ certification exam, standard exam preparation resources (the Data Science Handbook 1 and the Data Science Handbook 2) the PDS™ digital badge; the PDS™ credential kit, and shipping of all material. Digital access and LMS hosting costs of 3rd party optional study resources are also included in the PDS™ fee package wherever applicable.
Candidates are provided high-quality exam-preparation resources for convenient and effective self-study.
Candidates are given 6 months for exam preparation with recommended self-study of 8-10 hrs/week.
Candidates receive an exclusive Digital Badge to showcase and receive recognition for their achievements.
The PDS™ is a globally recognized 3rd-party vendor-neutral and cross-platform qualification.
PDS™ candidates can conveniently register for and schedule their PDS™ certification exam and assessments, and access policy resources and support on their personal and exclusive myDASCA digital dashboard.
All certification exams can be taken anywhere at any time and are digitally proctored.
You are ready for PDS™ if your mindset, experiences, skillsets and knowledge give you the confidence that you can help drive one whole, large, global, complex organization toward success through big data.
More specifically, the ideal candidates for PDS™ bring to their tables a breadth of knowledge and exposure to business and management functions, strategy, value chain, marketing and finance, besides being technology experts. The knowledge requirements and rigor of the PDS™ necessitate that individuals intending to undergo the program have a prior, strong formal exposure and knowledge of the basic concepts in Statistics, and are hand–on with the tools and techniques of handling problems of calculating central tendencies; dispersions and averages; permutations and combinations; probability; creating graphs, charts, histograms, and scatter plots. Indeed, PDS™ aspirants should be also necessarily comfortable with handling databases and spreadsheets. Advanced knowledge of Statistical Analysis techniques and tools; exposure to analytics platforms like SPSS/ SAS; basic exposure to R; quantitative methods; fundamentals of object oriented programming and RDBMS; good exposure to working on popular/ common Big Data programming and analytics platforms etc.
APPLYThe PDS™ program has 4 levels to it. Level 1 is study and exam based. Levels II, III, and IV are submission-based. While only candidates from Tracks 1 and 3 are exempted from Level I, there are no exemptions for Levels II, III, and IV for any candidate.
Earning the PDS™ takes crossing 4 levels of assessments –I, II, III and IV. PDS™ Level I is the only segment that is exam-dependent. The other 3 Levels include non-exam evaluation of submitted information and documents on professional development, leadership and continuing professional learning. The PDS™ Level 1 is an online/ computer-based exam. All applicants are provided with the full Official DASCA Certification Preparation kit to help them study and prepare for their PDS™ Level I certification exam. This kit is provided to at no extra costs after DASCA has approved their candidacy for PDS™, and their payment of the program registration fee is through.
Though the entire program can be completed in minimum 3 months, the maximum period allowed is 1 calendar year. Further extension can be obtained by making a formal request and paying a nominal fee.
Ideal candidates for the PDS™ credential exhibit a consistent track record of professional contribution and an express potential to push the frontiers of data science, develop business intelligence for organizations, and make data the driver of their business, efficiency, profitability and market share. Applications for PDS™ are accepted along 4 tracks currently throughout the year.
This track is open for invited-only data science professionals and data scientists with impressive career accomplishments and proven track records of influencing development, innovation, propagation and application of new data technologies and approaches to harnessing data in their organizations, industries and countries. Level 1 is exempted for Track 1 applicants.
Invite ProcessInvites for PDS™ are periodically sent to data scientists with glittering career accomplishments in their last 10 years with demonstrated leadership in designing, executing and managing enterprise-wide data and business intelligence system. A team of experts releases quarterly list of professionals who have influenced best practices and driven transformational outcomes for their organizations through their efforts and results in Big Data Architecting, Data Engineering, Data Analytics, Data Products development, Business Analytics Application Development, Business Intelligence Solution Design or Data Science applications in AI or IoT. If you wish to recommend a senior data science professional for this PDS™ track, you can click here to do it. Once your recommendation is accepted, your nominee is informed and sent an PDS™ registration invite with an invite code, which is to be mentioned in the PDS™ application form at the time of registration. Please do remember that a majority of invited professionals hold a Ph.D or a Master’s in Data Sciences/ Machine Learning/ Artificial Intelligence/ Computer Science/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Engineering/ Applied Sciences/ Economics/ Finance/ Management/ Data Warehousing or Enterprise Data Management or related disciplines.
This track is for senior data science professionals and data scientists who can be sponsored by their employer-organizations. Track 2 candidates require to complete all 4 levels of PDS™ assessments and typically exhibit experience and exposure in development, innovation, propagation and application of new data technologies and approaches to harnessing data in their organizations.
Process & CandidacyTo be accepted under this track, applications must be accompanied by information that confirms the details of nomination and the nominating organization. This information is to be shared in the PDS™ application form in the fields associated with Track 2. Applicants for this track must have worked for a minimum 10 years across functions and specializations including data analytics, with exposure, experience and expertise in important enterprise application areas such as Big Data Architecting, Data Engineering, Data application development, Business Analytics Application Development, Business Intelligence Solution Design or Data Science applications in AI or IoT. Candidates for this track should have at least completed a Bachelor's Degree in Data Sciences/ Machine Learning/ Artificial Intelligence/ Computer Science/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Engineering/ Applied Sciences/ Economics/ Finance/ Management/ Data Warehousing or Enterprise Data Management or related disciplines.
This track is ideal for individuals already holding the Senior Data Scientist (SDS™) credential and at least a Bachelor’s Degree along with at least 10 years of experience in the technology space. They are exempt from the PDS™ Level I exam and move directly to the submissions-based assessment stages.
CandidacyTrack 3 applicants should hold an active SDS™ credential at the time of applying, and have completed a Master's Degree in Information Technology/ Computer Science/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Engineering/ Applied Sciences/ Economics/ Finance/ Management/ Data Sciences/ Machine Learning/ Artificial Intelligence/ Predictive Analytics/ Prescriptive Analytics/ Data Visualization/ Data Warehousing/ Enterprise Data Management/ Business Process Modeling or related disciplines
Rapidly growing Data Scientists with Ph.D or Master’s Degrees and 8 or more years of experience in the technology space can choose this track. They have to qualify the PDS™ Levels I, II, III and IV assessments to earn their PDS™ credential.
CandidacyA Master’s/ Ph.D. degree in Data Sciences/ Machine Learning/ Artificial Intelligence/ Computer Science/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Engineering/ Applied Sciences/ Economics/ Finance/ Management/ Data Warehousing or Enterprise Data Management or related disciplines is a must to apply under this track. Master’s degree holders must have worked 10 years (Ph.D – 8 years) across functions and specializations including data analytics, with exposure, experience and expertise in important enterprise application areas such as Big Data Architecting, Data Engineering, Data application development, Business Analytics Application Development, Business Intelligence Solution Design or Data Science applications in AI or IoT.
IMPORTANT! Applicants unable to meet the candidacy for PDS™ along any of these tracks are strongly advised to complete SDS™ and then then apply for PDS™ under Track 3
PDS™ Credential amplifies your odds to grow in higher, more complex roles and job-profiles in the Big Data architectures and science via its digital badge by CredBadge™. Your resume being gifted with the PDS™ Credential, the global employers in the industry can easily recognize and relish your talent as a Data Scientist.
Apply for PDS™Though the DASCA Data Science handbooks function as study and preparation resources for the online/ computer-based PDS™ Level I exam, they also help build longer–lasting sets of skills and a more penetrative perspective of data leadership today. They seek to develop in professionals, a strong and complete generic, as well as platform–based understanding of the concepts, principles, tools, techniques, and technologies of designing, developing, and applying analytics frameworks and utilities required for sharper information management and decision making in organizations.
Indeed, while the Data Science Handbooks have been developed around the DASCA Essential Knowledge Framework (DASCA-EKF™), the core thought underlying their design, coverage, content, and structure is to provide to aspiring Data Scientists, a liberal exposure to all important proprietary analytics platforms currently in vogue today, and concurrently, they can prepare themselves rightly for the PDS™ Level I exam as well. The contents of the DASCA Study kit straddle all essential knowledge areas – divided into 7 sections or modules.
There are six distinct stages of your PDS™ certification journey. Here’s a quick tour of what these stages look like. You may Contact Us for more information.
Start by confirming your fit for PDS™ and choosing one of the four registration tracks that match your profile best. You can Check here if the PDS™ certification meets your career needs and also that you satisfy the minimum candidacy/ eligibility requirements prescribed for PDS™.
Next, you must create your myDASCA account to start the application process and indicate in your application form if you are eligible for QualiFly™ program benefits. Once you have submitted the online PDS™ application and paid the fee, you will receive an acknowledgment response email with instructions for the next steps in the PDS™ registration process.
Please do note, your PDS™ application may be randomly picked for a detailed candidacy check and you may receive a notification for this separately. This is an internal DASCA quality management exercise and has nothing to do with your application. If this happens, then you will be requested to fill out a Candidacy Verification form and share proofs of the qualifications and work experience you may have mentioned in your PDS™ application.
Once your PDS™ application is accepted and you have completed your fee payment, your registration in PDS™ is deemed complete and a registration confirmation message is sent to you. At this point, the full access to your myDASCA account too would be activated.
Within 72 hours of registration confirmation, instructions will be released to ship the DASCA exam-preparation kit containing the two big data engineering handbooks to the address you have registered with us. Standard delivery timeframe is 3-4 weeks. You must verify the shipping address mentioned on your myDASCA dashboard, and change it if you wish to within 72 hours of completing your fee payment.
Once you are ready for the PDS™ certification exam, you can register for it right from your dashboard. There is no big hurry, though. DASCA gives PDS™ candidates a period of 180 days from the date of registration confirmation to pass the PDS™ certification exam.
Once you pass the PDS™ certification exam and meet the other requirements prescribed by the DASCA Professional Certifications Board (DPCB), the award of the PDS™ certification is approved for you. While the PDS™ Digital Badge is released within 96 hours of the award approval, you can expect the physical PDS™ credential kit (containing a printed PDS™ certificate and the PDS™ designation pin) to reach you within 3-4 weeks from the date of award.
A certificate and a lapel pin are o'er bountiful to explicit exhibition of your credential. DASCA, however, enriches it with a booklet for Code of Ethics, along with the former two elements of your credential. Your PDS™ Credential certificate comes enclosed in a royally designed spectacular credential case, in consort with a metal badge and a booklet of ethics. This astounding credential case is yet another incentive for you to appear for and nail the exam with flying colors!
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