The Certified Big Data Professional (CBDP) is an intermediate, vendor-neutral certification for the people who work with large-scale data. It validates that you understand big data foundations, can work with distributed storage and data lakes, can process data in batch and in real time, can build and orchestrate pipelines, and can govern data for quality, security and cost. The exam is computer adaptive and performance-based, runs for two hours, and the credential is kept current through continuing education.
| Level | Intermediate. It assumes some hands-on data or programming experience and validates working with big data end to end. |
|---|---|
| Delivery model | Computer adaptive, three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so no two candidates sit the same paper. |
| Format | 80 questions. A performance-based exam that includes performance-based questions and multiple-choice questions. Concepts transfer across every big-data platform. |
| Time | 120 minutes for the whole exam, timed. Autosaves every answer. |
| Scoring | You need a score of 700 out of 900 to pass. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly. Harder questions carry more weight, so a score means the same thing on any route. Multiple-response items and PBQs are all or nothing. |
| Retakes | No waiting period after a failed first attempt. Every attempt is paid for at the exam price. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy. |
| Voucher validity | 12 months from purchase, for one sitting. |
| Certification validity | 3 years. Renew with 50 CEUs per cycle and the $35 annual CE fee, or pass the current exam. Renewal details. |
| Language | English. |
| Credential | PDF certificate with QR code, public verification page, LinkedIn-ready credential ID. Issuer: CertLabz Certification Board. |
| Free resources | The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. |
| Workforce mapping | NICE Framework work roles: Database Administration (IO-WRL-002), Data Analysis (IO-WRL-001). O*NET occupations: Database Architects (15-1243.00), Data Scientists (15-2051.00). Self-declared by CertLabz, not reviewed by NIST or CISA. See the full mapping. |
A signed, verifiable:
The CBDP is a performance-based exam: it includes performance-based questions alongside multiple-choice questions. Instead of only picking A, B, C or D, you match tools to their use, order the steps of a pipeline, fix a processing or storage problem, and choose the right approach. It is computer adaptive, is proctored and timed at two hours, needs no mandatory course, and tests working with big data rather than reciting one product's menus.
What big data is, the five Vs, distributed computing, data lakes, object storage and file formats.
Distributed processing engines, transformations, joins, message queues, windowing and latency.
Pipeline design, ETL and ELT, dependencies, monitoring and reliability.
Data quality, cataloging and lineage, access control, privacy, cost management and compliance.
Organizations run on large-scale data, and skilled big data professionals are in demand across engineering and analytics. Every route is shown here at once, so nothing is hidden behind a control you have to find.
United States pay reported by Glassdoor, checked September 2026. Pay varies by location, employer and experience. No certification guarantees a salary or a job.
| CertLabz CBDP | Cloudera CCP Data Engineer | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Certification exam | Certification exam |
| Computer adaptive | Yes | No |
| Hands-on PBQs | Yes | Yes |
| Scope | Big data, vendor neutral | One vendor's platform |
| Vendor neutral | Yes | Platform based |
| Proctored | Yes | Yes |
| Questions | 80 | Not published |
| Time | 120 min | Not published |
| Pass mark | 700 of 900 | Not published |
| Course required | No | No |
| Exam voucher | $149 | Not published |
Compiled September 2026. Vendor data-engineering certifications are tied to one platform, while the CBDP teaches big-data concepts vendor-neutrally so they transfer across Spark, Hadoop, Kafka and cloud tools. Product names and trademarks belong to their owners; CertLabz is not affiliated. Confirm current details with each provider.
Six reasons this credential is worth your time, and worth an employer's attention.
One price for the exam, set by its level. Bundles add the study guide and hands-on practice at a saving.
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Every form is drawn from a bank of more than 90 items to these exact weights, whichever adaptive route you take. Filter by the area you want to study.
The exam runs in three stages. Your score on each stage selects the difficulty of the next, so a strong candidate is stretched and a struggling one is measured fairly rather than swamped. No two candidates sit the same paper. Harder questions carry more weight, so a scaled score means the same thing whichever route you took.
Each exam can have up to 5 to 12 performance-based questions, drawn fresh on every attempt, alongside the multiple-choice questions. A PBQ is a task rather than a list: you match tools to their use, order the steps of a pipeline, fix a processing or storage problem, or choose the right approach. They are scored all or nothing, so partial guesses do not pass.
The CBDP is vendor neutral and describes big-data platforms generically, naming products only as examples. It tests the judgement that transfers across Spark, Hadoop, Kafka and cloud tools.
Yes. Where a capability such as a processing engine or a message queue is involved, it is described by what it does, not tied to one product.
700 out of 900. Results are reported on a scale of 100 to 900, and 700 corresponds to answering 72% of the exam correctly.
There is no waiting period between a failed first attempt and a second attempt. Buy another voucher and sit the exam again when you are ready, and it will draw a fresh adaptive form from the bank. See the CertLabz Certification Retake Policy.
Yes, after three years. Keep it current by logging 50 CEUs during the cycle and paying the $35 annual CE fee before expiry, or by passing the current exam again.
The exam objectives PDF and the ten sample questions PDF. The CBDP Official Study Guide is a $50 ebook, included in two of the bundles. Hands-on practice comes with the All Access plan, included in the Complete bundle.
A laptop or desktop with a webcam and microphone, Chrome, Edge or Firefox, a stable connection, and a quiet private room for two hours. Phones and tablets are not supported.
CBDP is a continuing-education certification, like the CE credentials from CompTIA and ISC2. It is valid for three years from the day you pass. To keep it, log 50 continuing-education units during the cycle and pay the $35 annual CE fee before your expiry date. Or pass the current version of the exam again. Earning a higher-level CertLabz certification renews it too, the way CompTIA certifications stack.
CEUs are logged from your CertLabz dashboard with supporting evidence. A certification that lapses can be reinstated only by passing the current exam.
Buy a voucher, study the objectives, sit the exam when you are ready. Your credential is issued the moment you pass.