If you're hoping to become a business analyst, you're definitely aware of how in-demand Power BI expertise is. The business intelligence (BI) platform Microsoft Power BI gives non-technical business users the means to gather, examine, visualize, and distribute data. Power BI's user interface is simple for Excel users, and its strong connectivity with other Microsoft applications makes it a flexible self-service tool that requires little initial training.

The primary application of Microsoft Power BI, a data visualization tool, is business intelligence, made for business people with different degrees of data knowledge. The dashboard in Power BI has a way to display and visualize data in various ways, such as charts, graphs, maps, scatter plots, and more. Meanwhile, Power BI's "AI Insights" feature uses artificial intelligence to help users discover insights within data sets.

The best Power BI certifications improve your resume's visibility in the eyes of high-tech industry employers. Let us discover the best ones of 2024!

Importance of Learning Power BI

Let's say you have a ton of information about your customers' spending patterns. In order to schedule releases, you must first analyze the data to identify any relevant patterns and then compile the information into a report that the product department can read and understand. That is exactly the sort of work that would be done with Microsoft Power BI, which is why having Power BI expertise is crucial for those who want to work as data analysts. Other than that, there are many other benefits to learning Power BI:

Packed With Power

Power BI is made up of three technologies, which makes it a personal favorite for data analysis tasks:

Power Query

Microsoft's solution for data preparation and communication is called Power Query. It enables you to retrieve and modify data from hundreds of sources, including SQL databases and CSV files, to suit your requirements.

Power Pivot

Power Pivot is said to be "a data modeling technology that lets one create data models, establish relationships, and create calculations." Power Pivot allows you to perform calculations, establish relationships, and work with big datasets all from one location. 

Power View

You can visualize and manipulate your data with Power View. With the help of this highly effective visualization tool, you can generate dynamic reports and dashboards with charts, graphs, maps, and many other forms of data visualization.

Easy to Use

Power BI's simplicity is one of its main advantages. With little effort, users can create BI reports from a wide variety of data sources because of its easy, user-friendly interface. The simplicity of use lets anyone in the company take advantage of Power BI and data analytics—not just data specialists.

Ability to Manage Large-Scale Data

Power BI is a great tool for working with big datasets. Up to 10 GB of datasets can be uploaded with it, and with the correct settings, it can even handle datasets greater than that. Power BI may be the best solution available if you want to work with big data but would rather use a graphical user interface (GUI) than write code.

Frequent Updates

Microsoft usually releases monthly software upgrades for the platform. Microsoft also actively welcomes user feedback and considers it, with feature requests frequently serving as a basis for new features. The features and usability of the Power BI desktop are kept up to date with the help of these updates. 

Career with Power BI Certification Course

Professionals with experience in Power BI are in high demand across nearly all industries, including software, retail, healthcare, etc. Power BI professionals can find a variety of jobs in this industry, all of which are essential to the data-driven industry. 

Power BI Developer

A Power BI Developer is a specialist who has extensive knowledge of the Power BI platform and its related tools. The creation and management of BI tools are entirely the responsibility of a Power BI Developer. They work together with data sources to create data models, debug performance problems, implement intricate DAX expressions, and guarantee data quality. The tasks and responsibilities of Power BI developers include turning raw data into meaningful and useful information presented in visually appealing dashboards and reports. 

Power BI Architect

To solve business problems and meet organizational goals, Power BI Architects supervise and help with the designing, development, and implementation of data warehousing, reporting, and analytics solutions that represent information effectively. Using Power BI, they also design and create data models, ETL packages, OLAP cubes, and various reports while incorporating best practices into the development process.

Power BI Data Analyst

Power BI Data Analysts are in charge of designing, creating, and delivering business analytics dashboards using Microsoft BI technologies such as SQL, Power BI, and others. They perform data exploration, collect, clean, and prepare data for analysis; they also work in sync with business teams to produce powerful visualizations. Power BI Data Analysts use Power BI to analyze large amounts of data in-depth and find patterns and insights. 

Power BI Consultant

The duties of a BI consultant include testing new systems, evaluating existing ones, and interpreting data gathered. They evaluate requirements, suggest appropriate BI tools (such as Power BI), put ideas into practice, and offer assistance and training. Thus, it helps companies with their BI strategy. In addition to having outstanding communication skills and staying current with BI developments, they excel in consulting and project management.

BI Report Developer

The responsibility of the Report Developer is designing, creating, implementing, and maintaining essential enterprise Business Intelligence (BI) reports. They collaborate closely with analysts and data engineers to guarantee that data is properly extracted, converted, and loaded (ETL) into Power BI for efficient visualization. Strong skills in data modeling, DAX (Data Analysis Expressions), and a comprehensive knowledge of data sources are requirements for Power BI developers.

Best Power BI Certifications of 2024

This year, the best Power BI certification courses for Data Analysis, Data Analytics, and Data Visualization are listed here to save you time. These excellent, expert-created online courses have advantages for both beginner and experienced programmers.  

Power BI Certification Training Course by Simplilearn

This course will teach you how to construct useful solutions for your different operations with Microsoft Power BI, gain more insight from the data, and create dashboards from published reports. With Power BI certification training, your ability to handle company issues and enhance operations will increase. With a 100% money-back guarantee, this course provides over thirty hours of blended learning, experience-based learning, and a curriculum linked to PL-300: Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst certification. 

Professional Certificate Program In Business Analytics & Generative AI 

The Business Analytics program by IIT Roorkee, in partnership with Simplilearn, combines important academic excellence with innovative insights to let rookies or professionals develop a deep understanding of business analytics to advance their careers. Power BI, Data ethics, Tableau, Python, SQL, ETL, and Generative AI are all covered in the extensive curriculum of the Business Analytics program. These principles are applied in analytics to provide data-driven insights and well-informed decision-making. It lets you work on three industry-focused capstone projects, more than 25 practical, industry-relevant assignments, and "ask-me-anything" workshops and exclusive hackathons hosted by IBM.  

Data Analyst Master's Program by Simplilearn

With different certificates for each technology, this preparation course prepares students for success in a data analysis job. The most recent analytics tools and methodologies, as well as how to work with SQL, R, and Python, create data visualizations, and use statistics and predictive modeling in a business context, are all covered in this course on data analysis, which is being offered in partnership with IBM. Additionally, students will also study Python, Excel, Tableau, Power BI reporting and analysis, analytics, and programming in this course.   

Choosing the Right Power BI Certification

Excel, Teams, and Azure are just a few of Microsoft's many business products that work with Power BI. You may sometimes come across Power BI if you work in any capacity with analytics and your organization uses Microsoft products. Thus, choosing the right Power BI certification is very important.

  • Knowing the importance: Being well aware of Power BI's significance in your organization and field is crucial to making an informed decision.
  • Level of your Skillset: Depending on your skill set, whether you are a beginner or an experienced professional, it is recommended that you opt for the course that validates your skills. 
  • Type of Exam: Choose the certification courses to help you crack the certification exams. The Microsoft PL-300 Exam also called the Microsoft Power Platform Solution Architect exam, is for those who want to prove they are skilled in using the Microsoft Power Platform for designing solutions. If you want to learn more about advanced analytics, row-level security, data cleansing, and star-schema data modeling—aspects beyond the Power BI platform—take the DA-100 test. 
  • Type of Training Format: You also need to consider the training format for Power BI. Multiple in-person and online learning opportunities are available, whether you want to study the basic principles of Power BI or learn more advanced features. Many leading educational organizations provide Power BI classes, bootcamps, and certifications using self-paced learning tools such as blogs, community forums, YouTube videos, textual instructions, and pre-recorded webinars.      
  • Cost-effectivity: Whether you are a beginner or a pro, try looking for a certification that is pocket-friendly but includes most of the features.

Power BI Certification Requirements

Power BI classes are the best choice for anyone interested in business intelligence, data analytics, and data visualization. 

  • To become a data analyst, candidates must have completed a bachelor's or master's degree in computer science or data analytics. 
  • Some basic skills help in better decision-making:
    • Critical reasoning and problem-solving
    • Skills in communication and analytical skills
    • Understanding BI tools 
  • A minimum of one to two years of experience working with Microsoft Windows and related technologies is required.
  • Before starting any BI course, you should be able to install Windows programs on a computer and have an internet connection.
  • To install Power BI Desktop, you must have Windows 8.1, 10, 11 or Windows Server 2012 R2 or later.
  • If you own a Mac, you will need to be able to use Parallel Desktop to boot into Windows or dual-boot into Windows. 

Is Power BI Certification Hard to Get?

Getting certified in Power BI depends on a number of factors, including past performance, study habits, learning preferences, official study resources, practice, and planning and preparation.  But overall, the Microsoft Power BI certification exams range from moderate to hard. 

Although the degree of difficulty varies from person to person, a lot of people find that with preparation and study, they can pass the certification examinations. Although the degree of difficulty varies from person to person, many people find that they can pass the certification examinations with preparation and study. 

While those who are new to the industry might need to put in more time and effort, many people have earned their Power BI certifications by beginning with basic knowledge and improving their abilities through practice and study. 

Candidates are tested on their understanding, manipulation, and visualization of data. The exam covers various topics, such as data modeling, DAX formulae, Power Query, and Power BI Desktop.  It could be challenging to understand and get ready for every topic on the certification exam, thus choosing the most appropriate online learning portal that partners with the world's leading universities and companies.

How to Prepare for the Power BI Certification?

Depending on your level of experience with Microsoft Power BI, the preparation phase may take two to four weeks. You must concentrate on certain aspects while preparing for the Power BI Certification. 

  • Exam Objectives: Learning about the official PL-300 exam or DA-100 exam objectives, as provided by Microsoft, will help you determine which topics to aim for.
  • Online Resources: Study online courses, learning routes, and official Microsoft documentation as your second set of study materials. For more information, you can also refer to the Power Platform and Power BI documentation.
  • Practical Use: Participating in significant Power Bl practice will help you create reports, dashboards, and datasets while working on real-world scenarios. Microsoft offers a Power BI service for your due practice. 
  • Safety and Regulations: Learning more about row-level security, compliance rules, and Power Bl security features will help you recognize how to apply security measures in various contexts. 
  • Merging with Other Services: Knowing about the integrations that Power Bl has with Office 365, Azure, and Dynamics 365, among other Microsoft services, will also help you understand how to include Power BI reports into programs. 
  • Incorporating the other aspects of Power BI: Exploring how to automate the data processes and workflows by integrating Power BI with Power Automate will help you gain deeper insights. 
  • Knowing DAX: Understanding Data Analysis Expressions or DAX  is essential for generating custom calculations and recognizing functions, summaries, and functions related to time intelligence. 
  • Distribution and Deployment: Recognizing Power BI's deployment options, like Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, and Power BI Report Server, helps in cooperation and the distribution of content. 
  • Building a community: Interact with experts in the BI community by joining discussion groups, forums, and communities, which helps exchange knowledge and receive solutions.
  • Revision and Time Management: Revise the studied material on a regular basis and manage time well both in preparation and on test day.
  • Being Aware of the Security Features: Finding out more about row-level security, compliance rules, and Power Bl security features helps recognize how to apply security measures in various contexts.

Conclusion

In today's highly evolving and demanding world, how can I stand out from the crowd? Many professionals go through this question, and your answer lies in including a Power BI certification on your CV that establishes your competence with Power BI. With the Power BI best certifications at Simplilearn, you can learn about the power of data visualization and analysis. With proper tutorials and courses, you can gain practical experience using the newest tools and engage in real-world project work.

FAQs

1. What is the salary for a Power BI Expert?

According to Glassdoor, a Power BI Developer in India makes, on average, ₹16,79,519 annually. On average, they can expect to receive an additional ₹10,89,519, with a range of ₹7,39,037 to ₹14,40,000 depending on expertise level.

2. Is it worth doing a Power BI Certification?

Without certification, you can work as a business analyst with Power BI. Nonetheless, it's worth considering because the certification is very useful in this situation. It can help you land a position at a development or consultancy company. It can be an important distinction for those fresh to the business intelligence area looking for their first career. The Power BI certification contributes to higher pay and increased exposure to many fields for experienced hires and people.      

3. Can I get a job with Power BI certification?

Yes, after finishing your Power BI training, you will have many job opportunities, such as Power BI Consultant, Power BI Developer / Analyst, Business Intelligence Developer / Analyst, and many more. Although it's not required, having a certification will increase your chances of landing the right job. 

4. Is it necessary to have technical knowledge to take this course?

Before studying Power BI, it can be very helpful to have a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel, data analytics, and the fundamentals of business analytics. Power BI's drag-and-drop interface allows users to generate reports and dashboards without knowing any coding. Most users don't need to know how to code to complete activities like data loading, transformation, and simple visualizations.

5. How long does the Power BI Certification take?

In general, it takes approximately 1 to 1.5 months of intensive learning and dedicated practice to fully understand Power BI. If you opt for online courses, then, depending on your course, learning Power BI usually takes four to six weeks. There are seven steps: installing, integrating data sources, managing data, generating basic visuals, utilizing DAX functions, producing dashboards and reports, and publishing data results.

Data Science & Business Analytics Courses Duration and Fees

Data Science & Business Analytics programs typically range from a few weeks to several months, with fees varying based on program and institution.

Program NameDurationFees
Post Graduate Program in Data Analytics

Cohort Starts: 6 May, 2024

8 Months$ 3,749
Data Analytics Bootcamp

Cohort Starts: 7 May, 2024

6 Months$ 8,500
Caltech Post Graduate Program in Data Science

Cohort Starts: 9 May, 2024

11 Months$ 4,500
Applied AI & Data Science

Cohort Starts: 14 May, 2024

3 Months$ 2,624
Post Graduate Program in Data Science

Cohort Starts: 28 May, 2024

11 Months$ 4,199
Data Scientist11 Months$ 1,449
Data Analyst11 Months$ 1,449