What Is Tableau Certification? And How to Qualify

Key takeaways

• Tableau certification refers to various credentials that validate your knowledge of different Tableau tools and test your Tableau skills.

• The Tableau Desktop Specialist certification proves your basic understanding of Tableau, including the Tableau Desktop environment.

• The Tableau Data Analyst certification includes a knowledge-based and performance-based exam that tests how you identify data during analysis.

When choosing the best Tableau certification for you, consider the work experience requirements for each certification. Learn more about Tableau certifications, including the different types available and the requirements for earning one. If you’re ready to get started, consider enrolling in the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate. In as little as six months, you’ll have the opportunity to gain an immersive understanding of day-to-day data analyst practices. Upon completion, you’ll have a shareable career credential to share with potential employers.

What is Tableau?

Tableau is a business intelligence platform that allows you to visualize data covering a variety of topics, making it easier to explain data using its data analytics tools. You can convey information to users through maps, line graphs, charts, and other tools. Tableau tools include several products, such as desktop, server, and cloud services.

Read more: What Is Tableau? Features, Use Cases, and More

What is Tableau certification?

Tableau certification allows you to prove your knowledge of the different tools available in Tableau or test your Tableau skills. Certification can show employers or clients your Tableau expertise as you seek to grow within your current position or pursue your next job.

Tableau certification can also help you gain confidence and advance your skills. Depending on the job requirements for a particular position, you may be able to boost your earning potential or receive a salary increase at your current job.

Types of Tableau certifications

Tableau has five certification options that you can choose through the company’s certification process. All five require the completion of an exam and registration fees for the exams.

Take a look at your options to become certified as a Tableau user and operator.

Salesforce Certified Tableau Desktop Foundations

Cost: $75 [1]

A desktop specialist certification tests your fundamental understanding of Tableau, particularly the Tableau Desktop environment. The certification exam for Tableau Desktop includes 40 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions you must answer in 70 minutes, with results reported within 48 hours of the exam.

Salesforce Certified Tableau Data Analyst

Cost: $200 [2]

A data analyst certification tests your understanding of a business problem to develop recommendations for a client or business. This certification emphasizes the ways you identify data in your analysis process. The exam includes 60 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions and five non-scored questions to complete in 105 minutes.

Salesforce Certified Tableau Server Administrator

Cost: $200 [3]

Tableau’s products include Tableau Server, which allows you to store data and analysis on your organization’s server. A Tableau Server Certified Associate credential shows your understanding of how Tableau Server functions and how to operate and maintain the product. The exam includes 55 multiple-choice questions completed in 90 minutes.

Salesforce Certified Tableau Consultant

Cost: $200 [4]

Certification as a Tableau consultant proves you can work independently with customers using Tableau’s platform to solve client issues. The exam includes multiple-choice questions to test your knowledge as well as performance-based tasks.

Salesforce Certified Tableau Architect

Cost: $400 [5]

A Tableau-certified architect leads the development of the architecture for Tableau Server or Tableau Cloud, depending on the needs of an organization. The exam includes 59 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions.

Requirements and prerequisites for Tableau certification

It’s important to review other qualifications in addition to the exams, as they can vary depending on the certification.

Previous experience

Tableau does not have prerequisites for its exams, so you are not required to earn specific professional hours to qualify for any certification. However, the company does offer work experience recommendations before taking a particular certification exam:

• Salesforce Certified Tableau Desktop Foundations: To understand the concepts covered in this certification exam, you typically need to spend at least three months with the product.

• Salesforce Certified Tableau Data Analyst: Tableau suggests at least six months of experience with Tableau products, including Tableau Prep, Tableau Desktop, and Tableau Server or Tableau Online.

• Salesforce Certified Tableau Server Administrator: A Tableau Server certification candidate usually needs a minimum of six months of experience with the Tableau Server product.

• Salesforce Certified Tableau Consultant: Generally, you need at least two years of experience with Tableau products before taking the exam. It’s also important to have the skills needed to pass the Salesforce Certified Tableau Desktop Foundations or Salesforce Certified Tableau Data Analyst exams, but these certifications aren’t required to be a Tableau Consultant.

• Salesforce Certified Tableau Architect: The company recommends two years of experience with Tableau products, particularly Tableau Cloud, Tableau Server, and Tableau Bridge.

Which Tableau certification is best?

The best Tableau certification for you depends on your skill level and area of interest. For example, you can find foundational and advanced Tableau certifications depending on your skills. You may also choose the right certification based on your job duties, whether you’re analyzing data for customers or deploying and maintaining a scalable Tableau platform.

How to keep your Tableau certifications up to date

Some Tableau certifications require you to update your status to maintain an active certification. For those who do, you will retake the exam to renew your certification. From the date you took the exam, each Tableau certification remains current for:

• Salesforce Certified Tableau Desktop Foundations: Does not expire

• Salesforce Certified Tableau Data Analyst: One year

• Salesforce Certified Tableau Server Administrator: One year

• Sal esforce Certified Tableau Consultant: One year

• Salesforce Certified Tableau Architect: One year

Tableau certification salary and job outlook

Tableau certification typically helps you gain confidence in your skills and shows you understand Tableau’s products. This knowledge is helpful for both job seekers and those looking to grow in their existing careers.

Certification can also boost your salary, depending on the field you’re in or the need for Tableau experience. According to Payscale, a data analyst with Tableau certification earns $74,016 in average annual salary [6]. A data analyst, in general, without accounting for Tableau certification, makes an average base salary of $70,643 [7].

It’s also important to have certification so you can stand out in the growing field of data science. Expect positions for data scientists to grow 34 percent from 2024 to 2034, which is much faster than the average national growth rate, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) [8]. The BLS also estimates the median annual salary for data scientists as $112,590 [8].

Find free career resources

Visit our Career Resource Hub, where you can explore your skills, check out career paths, and take quizzes. Then, you can access these free resources as you consider your career options:

• Bookmark this page: Data Analysis Terminology

• Read our Career Chat issue: What Should You Earn: A Certificate or a Degree?

• Watch on YouTube: 3 Advanced Tableau Charts Tutorial | Donut, Funnel & Waterfall (Step-by-Step)

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