The creator of CertLake
Hi, I'm Alex Cole
- Databricks MVP
- Databricks Solutions Architect Champion
Why I built CertLake
I've spent the last 4+ years helping people get Databricks certified, through my day job and on my public blog. The same questions came up again and again: which topics actually matter, how hard the real exam is, and whether a practice score means you're ready.
CertLake is my answer: everything you need to prepare for 8 Databricks certifications, in one place, pointed at the domains where you're weakest.
What's in CertLake
Everything you need to prepare
Free diagnostic
Find out where you stand, domain by domain, before you plan your study.
Practice and timed exams
Practice mode explains each answer as you go; timed mode holds the feedback until the end, like the real thing.
Explanations and docs links
Every answer says why it's right and why the others are wrong, with a link to the Databricks documentation.
Adaptive flashcards
Spaced repetition brings back the cards you find hard, so study time goes to your weak spots.
Coding koans
Hands-on PySpark and Spark SQL exercises that run in your browser, for 6 certifications. 11 free to try.
Prep checklist
Tracks your prep from setting up to exam day, and ticks items off as you complete them.
Cheat sheets
Rules, defaults and traps on two pages for exam week. Free, for 8 certifications.
Study guides
Every exam domain explained, with snippets and diagrams. Part of Pro, for 8 certifications.
Exam coverage
The Databricks exams CertLake covers
- Databricks Data Engineer AssociateETL pipelines, Delta Lake, Lakeflow, and data governancePractice examsFlashcardsCheat sheetStudy guideCoding koans
- Databricks Data Analyst AssociateSQL queries, dashboards, Unity Catalog, and workspace managementPractice examsFlashcardsCheat sheetStudy guideCoding koans
- Databricks Machine Learning AssociateMLflow, Feature Store, model development, and deploymentPractice examsFlashcardsCheat sheetStudy guideCoding koans
- Databricks Generative AI Engineer AssociateLLMs, RAG applications, Vector Search, and LangChainPractice examsFlashcardsCheat sheetStudy guide
- Databricks Context Engineer AssociateContext engineering for AI agents — retrieval, memory, MCP tools, and governancePractice examsFlashcardsCheat sheetStudy guide
- Databricks Spark Developer AssociateSpark architecture, DataFrame API, SQL, and Structured StreamingPractice examsFlashcardsCheat sheetStudy guideCoding koans
- Databricks Data Engineer ProfessionalAdvanced pipelines, performance tuning, security, and monitoringPractice examsFlashcardsCheat sheetStudy guideCoding koans
- Databricks Machine Learning ProfessionalAdvanced ML pipelines, MLOps, and production deploymentPractice examsFlashcardsCheat sheetStudy guideCoding koans
CertLake is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Databricks, Inc.
How the content is made
- Questions are written to match the real exams' difficulty and format, and each is tagged with the version of the official exam guide it targets.
- Every answer has an explanation of why it's right, why the others are wrong, and a link to the Databricks documentation that backs it up.
- Cheat sheets and study guides show the date they were last checked against the official docs.
- If you think a question is wrong, use the report button on the question. Reports go into a review queue.
Get in touch
Connect on LinkedIn, read more on alexcole.net, or email support@certlake.com.