Data visualization platform Tableau is one of the most widely used tools in the rapidly growing business intelligence (BI) space, and individuals with skills in Tableau are in high demand.
Market research company SNS Insider forecasts the global data visualization market to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 11.08% between 2024 and 2032, driven by growing demand for data analytics and AI integration. Tableau is consistently listed as a leader in the BI industry, helping business users better access, prepare, and present data insights.
With the market for data visualization rising and Tableau’s position well established, certification for Tableau skills can present a lucrative path to career growth. Here’s a guide to Tableau’s array of certifications.
Why get Tableau certified?
According to Pearson VUE’s latest Value of IT Certification report, individuals pursue certification for a variety of reasons, but the most prominent are to obtain particular skills, knowledge, or competencies (47.3%); enhance their professional profiles (15.4%); and to advance and be promoted (21.6%). And 35% of respondents told Pearson VUE they received a salary or wage increase of 20% or more after earning certification.
Tableau’s certifications, in particular, focus on performance-based testing rather than theory in an effort to verify a candidate’s ability to apply the subject matter in a real work environment.
Benefits of Tableau certification
Individuals who’ve obtained Tableau certification say Tableau skills remain in-demand in the job market, and adding Tableau certification to their CVs has helped them gain the attention of hiring managers. Tableau has become the go-to tool for data visualization in many enterprises. Nothing trumps knowledge and experience when it comes to actually landing a job, but a certification can help you stand out and get an interview in the first place. Even those who use Tableau in their jobs regularly say that preparing for the certification exams has helped them learn new capabilities of the tool, and challenged them to think through design and storytelling in different ways.
Tableau says certification has key benefits such as learning in-demand data skills, gaining confidence and helping your company be more data-driven, growing data literacy, and increasing earning potential.
Career opportunities with Tableau certification
The high demand for data visualization in the enterprise translates into high demand for Tableau professionals. Tableau roles in high demand include:
- Tableau analyst: These professionals use Tableau software to create reports and presentations to communicate complex information.
- Tableau developer: Tableau developers create interactive dashboards and reports.
- Tableau architect: This role designs and maintains the technical infrastructure for effectively using Tableau in the enterprise.
- Tableau consultant: Consultants focus on integrating Tableau’s capabilities within organizations.
- Tableau software trainer: Tableau software trainers enhance data literacy across organizations so employees can make better use of Tableau.
- Tableau visualization expert: These professionals combine analytics and art to make interactive dashboards pop.
- Tableau BI manager: These leaders drive BI strategy, combining technical know-how and strategic vision to give senior management a view of critical business metrics.
How a Tableau certification can enhance your skills Tableau certification can help you gain and enhance numerous skills demanded by data-driven enterprises. These include:
- Data visualization and storytelling: The core capability of a Tableau data analyst is communicating complex data in a clear, engaging manner. They can create visualizations that help stakeholders intuitively grasp insights from data.
- Technical proficiency: Preparing for certification helps data analysts grasp the depth and breadth of Tableau’s capabilities, with understanding of elements like data blending, custom geocoding, and advanced calculations.
- Analytical and critical thinking: Certification requires candidates understand data preparation, cleaning, and transformation, and they must be skilled in SQL, data warehousing processes, and ETL processes.
Tableau certification salaries
Here are some of the most popular job titles related to Tableau certifications and the average salary for each position, according to recent data from PayScale:
- Data analyst: $54,000-$96,000 (median $72,000)
- Data visualization specialist: $68,000-$145,000 (median $96,000)
- Business intelligence analyst: $57,000-$106,000 (median $77,000)
- Senior data analyst: $71,000-$124,000 (median $95,000)
- BI developer: $66,000-$122,000 (median $89,000)
- Data scientist: $67,000-$137,000 (median $94,000)
- Analytics manager: $76,000-$135,000 (median $105,000)
- Analytics consultant: $70,000-$128,000 (median $93,000)
Tableau certification levels
Tableau offers an associate certification — Tableau Desktop Specialist — and four professional certifications: Tableau Certified Data Analyst, Tableau Server Certified Associate, Tableau Certified Consultant, and Tableau Certified Architect. The associate certification is for entry-level candidates and demonstrates basic knowledge. The professional certifications are for candidates with a higher level of expertise. They require advanced skills and a deeper understanding of Tableau’s features.
Differences between Tableau Desktop and Tableau Server certification Certifications for Tableau skills are available both for business professionals who analyze data using the platform’s Tableau Desktop front end, and for IT pros charged with administering Tableau Server, either on prem or self-hosting in a public cloud.
The desktop certification is intended for data analysts, business analysts, and others who primarily create dashboards and reports using Tableau. It focuses on connecting to data sources, building charts, formatting visuals, and calculations. The server certification is intended for IT professionals, system administrators, and others who manage Tableau Server environments. It covers installation, configuration, user management, site administration, and data governance on Tableau Server, focusing on things like security settings, data refreshes, publishing content, and managing user permissions.
Choosing the right Tableau certification level for your career goals
Choosing a Tableau certification to pursue depends on your career goals. As an associate certification, the Tableau Desktop Specialist certification is for entry-level candidates. It demonstrates a foundation with the basic skills required to use Tableau effectively. If you’re just embarking into Tableau, this is likely the certification you should pursue.
From there, it depends on your professional goals. More advanced certifications include:
- Certified Tableau Data Analyst: Choose this certification if you’re a data analyst, business analyst, or other business user using Tableau to analyze data and make business decisions.
- Certified Tableau Server Associate: Choose this certification if you’re an IT professional, systems administrator, or consultant focused on installing, configuring, and administering Tableau Server.
- Certified Tableau Consultant: Choose this certification if you’re a consultant focused on helping customers design an analytics solution within the Tableau platform.
- Certified Tableau Architect: Choose this certification if you’re an experienced professional focused on implementing Tableau, and the best practices and maintenance of the overall Tableau ecosystem.
Tableau Desktop Specialist
The Tableau Desktop Specialist certification validates a foundational knowledge of Tableau Desktop and data analytics to solve problems. It demonstrates understanding of Tableau core concepts and terminology, the ability to connect to, prepare, explore, and analyze data, and share insights. Candidates must have at least three months of experience applying their knowledge in Tableau Desktop. The certification does not expire.
Exam: 60-minute, hands-on, proctored exam consisting of 45 multiple-choice questions and multiple-select items.
Cost: $100
Training and practice tests: There are no prerequisites, but several training resources can help you prepare:
- The Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam Guide lists the skills measured in the exam and provides 10 sample questions and their solutions.
- Tableau recommends its Desktop I: Fundamentals course, which it offers via live virtual classes ($1,400 per participant), or eLearning (offered via the $5/user/month eLearning for Explorer subscription, or $10/user/month eLearning for Creator subscription).
- Udemy offers a number of resources, including Tableau Specialist Certification Prep ($99.99, but currently available for $10.99), Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification Guide ($69.99, but currently available for $9.99), and Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification – Practice Tests 2023 ($49.99, but currently available for $13.99).
Tableau Server Certified Associate
The Tableau Server Certified Associate certification is intended for individuals with a comprehensive understanding of Tableau Server functionality in a single-machine environment and approximately four to six months of experience. Typical roles include system administrators and consultants. Individuals with this title can plan a deployment; install and configure Tableau Server; administer users, groups, projects, and content; and backup, restore, upgrade, and troubleshoot Tableau Server problems. The title is active for two years from the date achieved.
Exam: 90-minute, performance-based, proctored exam that consists of 55 multiple-choice, multiple-response, and true/false questions.
Cost: $250
Training and practice tests: There are no prerequisites, but several training resources can help you prepare:
- The Tableau Server Certified Associate Exam Guide lists the skills measured and provides seven sample questions.
- Tableau recommends its Desktop I: Fundamentals and Server Administration courses, which it offers via live virtual classes ($1,400 per participant for Desktop I and $1,670 per participant for Server Administration). Desktop I is also available via eLearning (offered via the $5/user/month eLearning for Explorer subscription or $10/user/month eLearning for Creator subscription).
Udemy offers a number of resources, including Tableau Server 2019.1 Administration ($64.99, but currently available for $9.99) and Tableau Server & Tableau Online for Business Intelligence ($74.99, but currently available for $9.99).
Tableau Certified Data Analyst
The Tableau Certified Data Analyst certification is part of the analyst learning path. The certification exam measures the candidate’s knowledge of the capabilities of Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep, and either Tableau Server or Tableau Online. Individuals with this certification have proven the ability to connect to data sources, perform data transformations, explore and analyze data, and create meaningful visualizations that answer key business questions. The Tableau Certified Data Analyst title is active for two years from the date achieved.
Exam: A 120-minute proctored exam. The scored items consist of 35 to 40 knowledge-based items and one hands-on lab with 8-10 tasks.
Cost: $250 (reschedule fee $25)
Training and practice tests: There are no prerequisites, but several training options can help you prepare for the exam:
- The Tableau Certified Data Analyst Exam Guide covers the domain objectives in the exam and provides several practice questions.
- Tableau recommends its Tableau Certified Data Analyst Exam Readiness course. It’s $1,000 and provides 90 days’ access to eLearning content for exam prep, biweekly live instructor sessions, more than 120 practice questions, a dedicated community forum, up to two exam vouchers, and Tableau Desktop and Tableau Prep software extended trials.
- Udemy offers the Tableau Certification: Desktop Specialist + Data Analyst guide ($109.99, but currently available for $11.99).
Tableau Certified Consultant
The Tableau Certified Consultant certification is for individuals who engage with customers to lead the design of an analytics solution with the Tableau platform. It validates core Tableau knowledge and development skills of employees, partners, customers, and freelancers who need to work with Tableau products like Tableau Prep, Desktop, Cloud, Server, and Bridge. There are no prerequisites to the exam and the certification is valid for two years.
Exam: 108-minute exam (including three minutes for reviewing the NDA). Consists of 60 multiple-choice and multiple-select items, and up to five non-scored items.
Cost: $250 (reschedule fee $25)
Training and practice tests: There are no prerequisites, but several training resources can help you prepare:
- The curriculum of the Analyst Learning Path training includes getting started with Tableau, connecting to and transforming data, creating views and dashboards, exploring and analyzing data, and publishing and managing content.
- The Designer Learning Path curriculum includes getting started with Tableau Desktop, Tableau fundamentals, Tableau intermediate, visual analytics, and dashboard design.
Tableau Certified Architect
The Tableau Certified Architect certification is intended for experienced professionals who lead the design of a Tableau Server deployment or a Tableau Cloud migration. They have knowledge, skills, and experience in designing, deploying, monitoring, and maintaining a scalable Tableau platform and migrations to Tableau Cloud. They also implement complex deployments of Tableau Server in enterprise-level environments. The certification validates core Tableau knowledge and hands-on development skills. There are no prerequisites to the exam and the certification is valid for two years.
Exam: 120-minute exam (including three minutes for reviewing the NDA and five minutes for tutorial). Consists of 40 to 45 multiple-choice and multiple-select items and six to eight hands-on lab tasks.
Cost: $250 (reschedule fee $25)
Training and practice tests: There are no prerequisites, but several training resources can help you prepare:
- The Site Admin Learning Path training includes getting started with Tableau Server, Tableau Server and Tableau Cloud basics, introduction to site administration, site management, site monitoring and maintenance, and content ownership.
- The Server Admin Learning Path includes getting started with Tableau Server and server administration.
- The Server Architect Learning Path includes getting started with Tableau Server and Tableau Server enterprise deployment guide.
Tips and strategies to pass the Tableau certification exam
Tableau offers free exam prep guides for its certification exams. These guides provide overviews of each exam and its structure, how it’s scored, and a list of recommended training and resources. The guide explains the skills the exam measures along with some sample questions. Use the list of skills measured as a checklist of the subjects you need to study for the exam.
The recommended training and resources include Tableau’s learning paths and videos designed to train candidates for a particular role.
Real-world examples to practice your Tableau skills
Tableau has published a set of five common advanced analytics scenarios and resources to show how Tableau can be used for data analysis. These include the following:
- Segmentation and cohort analysis: Feature resources include clustering and set actions.
- Scenario and what-if analysis: Feature resources include parameters and stories.
- Sophisticated calculations and statistical functions: Feature resources include functions in Tableau and LOD expressions.
- Time-series and predictive analysis: Feature resources include time-series analysis and forecasting.
- External services integration: Feature resources include Tableau + Python (TabPy) and Tableau + MATLAB.
For more detail, Tableau has published a whitepaper on advanced analytics with Tableau.