ETL & Data Pipeline Test

The ETL & Data Pipeline Test is a free intermediate-level, 20-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests ETL and data pipelines — ETL versus ELT, batch and streaming ingestion, change data capture, transformation and data quality checks, orchestration with DAGs, idempotency, backfills and error handling, and monitoring, lineage and pipeline reliability. Score 70% or more on its 20 questions to earn a verifiable ETL & Data Pipeline certificate (SOA-EDP). Every question is based on published standards and research — including dbt documentation (dbt Labs), Apache Airflow documentation (Apache Software Foundation), Designing Data-Intensive Applications (Martin Kleppmann (O'Reilly)) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Read the four skill areas on this page, then take the 20-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a ETL & Data Pipeline certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: dbt documentation (dbt Labs); Apache Airflow documentation (Apache Software Foundation); Designing Data-Intensive Applications (Martin Kleppmann (O'Reilly)); Site Reliability Engineering (Google); Databricks documentation (Databricks); Dimensional modeling techniques (Kimball Group). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Four skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: ETL Fundamentals (ETL versus ELT, Batch and streaming and Ingestion patterns); Transformation and Data Quality (Cleaning and conforming, Deduplication and Quality checks); Orchestration and Reliability (DAGs and scheduling, Retries and backfills and Error handling); Monitoring, Lineage and Operations (Observability, Lineage and metadata and Cost and scaling). Every question is an original scenario based on a published standard, official documentation or research, named under the question.

Data engineer, ETL developer, Analytics engineer, BI developer and Data platform engineer. It suits anyone who wants a quick, verifiable way to show ETL & Data Pipeline skills, from students and career switchers to experienced professionals.

Yes. The ETL & Data Pipeline Test is free and covers all of these: 20 scenario questions in 20 minutes, each answer explained with the source it comes from, so it works as interview and exam practice. It isn't a full course, so use the areas you miss as your study list. Scoring 70% or more earns a verifiable certificate.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

20 questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — with a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Intermediate: assumes hands-on experience in the role. It has 20 scenario questions — 5 from each of 4 skill areas — and a 20-minute limit. You need 70% (14 of 20) to pass and 90% for distinction.

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.