Top 5 Big Data and Apache Spark Courses for Java Developers to Learn Online - Best of Lot [2024]

A slowing economy and the recent trend of job cuts in India and elsewhere have made many programmers anxious about their job security. I receive a lot of emails and Facebook chats about suggestions to improve IT skills to remain competitive and marketable. So, if you are in the same boat, you can learn Big Data and IT Automation to remain marketable. These two skills are in great demand and will generate a lot of jobs in the future. I have suggested many Java developers around the world learn Big Data Technologies like Apache Spark to give their CV a new boost. Since it's not easy to learn new technology and at a certain age, you feel a lot of restriction and resistance from both your body and mind. In order to overcome that I found a combination of books and online courses works great.

When it comes to Big Data there are many options available as it's a broad topic but we'll focus only on the Apache Spark framework.

The Apache Spark is the hottest Big Data skill today. More and more organizations are adopting Apache Spark for building their big data processing and analytics applications and the demand for Apache Spark professionals is skyrocketing.

Apache Spark has taken the world by storm by boasting speeds 10-100x faster than Hadoop and setting the world record in large scale sorting.

Apache Spark's general abstraction means it can also be expanded beyond simple batch processing, making it capable of such things as blazing-fast, iterative algorithms and exactly once streaming semantics

In short, learning Apache Spark will help you to get good jobs, a better quality of work, and the best remuneration packages.

7 Best Big Data Online Courses for Java Developers in 2024

Here are some of the best courses to learn the Apache Spark framework and Big Data in general for Java developers. These courses are ideal for Software Professionals e.g. Java and Scala developers, Big Data Architects, and Data Engineers. In fact, QA and Business Analyst people can also benefit from these courses.

1. Apache Spark for Java Developers

This is the another awesome Udemy course from the same platform but this time you will learn to solve Big Data problems using Apache Spark and Java programming language. This course covers all the fundamentals of Apache Spark with Java  and teaches you everything you need to know about developing Spark applications with Scala.

At the end of this course, you will gain in-depth knowledge about Apache Spark and general big data analysis and manipulations skills to help your company to adopt Apache Spark for building big data processing pipelines and data analytics applications.

You will learn how to write complex data processing pipelines using functional style Java, learn how to write SQL style syntax to produce reports against Big Data sets and how to use Machine Learning Algorithms with Big Data and Spark. You also also Connect Spark to Apache Kafka to process Streams of Big Data

This 21.5 hour long course covers 10+ hands-on big data examples. You will learn valuable knowledge about how to frame data analysis problems as Spark problems. Talking about social proof, more than 18,000 students have joined this course and it has impressive 4.5 rating. 

Here is the link to join this course - Apache Spark for Java Developers

2. The Ultimate Hands-On Hadoop: Tame your Big Data!

If you want to learn Hadoop along with Apache Spark and looking for online courses then this Ultimate Hands-on Hadoop course by Frank Kane is one of the best course available online. Along with Apache Spark, Hadoop is another popular Big Data Framework and learning Hadoop can not only boost your profile but also increase the job opportunity for you as a Big Data expert. 

In this 14.5 hour long Big Data course, you will learn about Data Engineering and Hadoop with MapReduce, HDFS, Spark, Flink, Hive, HBase, MongoDB, Cassandra, Kafka + more! Along the way, you will also learn Pig and Spark to create scripts to process data on a Hadoop cluster in more complex ways.

The course also cover things like how to Analyze relational data using Hive and MySQL and how Analyze non-relational data using HBase, Cassandra, and MongoDB, Query data interactively with Drill, Phoenix, and Presto and how to choose an appropriate data storage technology for your application.

After going through this course, you will also understand how Hadoop clusters are managed by YARN, Tez, Mesos, Zookeeper, Zeppelin, Hue, and Oozie and how Publish data to your Hadoop cluster using Kafka, Sqoop, and Flume.

Talking about social proof, more than 176K people have already joined this course to learn Big Data and Hadoop and it has impressive 4.5 rating which is amazing after so many reviews. If you want to learn Big Data with Hadoop I highly recommend you to join this course. 

3. Apache Spark 2.0 with Java -Learn Spark from a Big Data Guru

Learn Apache Spark and Scala by 12+ hands-on examples of analyzing big data

This course covers all the fundamentals of Apache Spark with Java and teaches you everything you need to know about developing Spark applications with Java.

At the end of this course, you will gain in-depth knowledge about Apache Spark and general big data analysis and manipulations skills to help your company to adopt Apache Spark for building big data processing pipelines and data analytics applications.

The course also has some good real-world examples of big data and Apache Spark e.g. you will write Spark applications to find out the median salary of developers in different countries through the Stack Overflow survey data; you will also develop a system to analyze how maker spaces are distributed across different regions in the United Kingdom etc.

These examples will give you the knowledge and experience required to crack any Big Data interview.

4.  Apache Spark Fundamentals [Pluralsight Best Course]

This is one of the best courses to getting started with the Apache Spark framework. The author, Justin Pihony has done a fabulous job in explaining both theory and real-world usage of Apache Spark in this online course.

Here, you'll learn Spark from the ground up, starting with its history before creating a Wikipedia analysis application as one of the means for learning a wide scope of its core API.

That core knowledge will make it easier to look into Spark's other libraries, such as the streaming and SQL APIs. Finally, you'll learn how to avoid a few commonly encountered rough edges of Spark.

You will leave this course with a tool belt capable of creating your own performance-maximized Spark application.

In short, this online course will teach you how to use Apache Spark to analyze your big data at lightning-fast speeds; leaving Hadoop in the dust!

For a deep dive on SQL and Streaming, you can also check out the sequel, Handle Fast Data with Apache Spark SQL and Streaming on Pluralsight.

5. Big Data: The Big Picture By Pluralsight

This is one of the first courses you should take to get familiar with Big Data before getting started with Apache Spark.

The author, Andrew Brust has done a wonderful job to bring all moving pieces together to present a very informative picture of Big Data from both Developers' and Business Analysts points of view.

This course will get you up and running with the definitions and technologies you need to know, and the vendors you need to know about.

By the end of the course, you’ll know what Big Data is, how it can integrate with conventional database and Business Intelligence (BI) technologies, and how to devise a strategy for adopting Big Data in your organization.

No Big Data or NoSQL knowledge is required, but a lot will be imparted. This course is aimed at executives and business decision-makers and is actionable for technologists as well.

6. Taming Big Data with MapReduce and Hadoop - Hands On! 

This is one of the best online courses to learn Big Data for Java developers or anyone who wants to learn Big Data. This Project-Based, Hands-on Practices, Spark SQL, Spark Streaming, Java Setup and building real-world applications

If you are looking to learn Apache Spark 2.0, practice end-to-end projects, and take it to a job interview then this is the perfect course for you.

This course teaches you Apache Spark 2.0 with Java, trains you in building Spark Analytics and machine learning programs, and helps you practice hands-on (2K LOC code samples !) with an end-to-end real-life application project.

7. Big Data Specialization on Coursera

If you are looking for a Big Data course with certificate then you will find this Big Data Specialization from UC San Diego one of the best Big Data course for 2024.  The Big Data Specialization offers a comprehensive learning experience focused on unlocking value in massive datasets through fundamental big data methods. 

The program consists of six courses, taught in English by instructors Amarnath Gupta, Mai Nguyen, and Ilkay Altintas. While some content may not be translated, the specialization provides a solid foundation in big data concepts.

The instructors, Amarnath Gupta from the University of California San Diego, guide learners through a series of courses. The skills gained include proficiency in Big Data, Neo4j, MongoDB, and Apache Spark. 

The specialization, a six-course series, aims to equip you with the knowledge to drive better business decisions by understanding how big data is organized, analyzed, and interpreted. Learners apply their insights to real-world problems and questions, preparing them to effectively communicate with data scientists and explore large, complex datasets.

The specialization also caters to anyone seeking to comprehend the impact of big data on business, even without prior programming experience. Participants are introduced to Hadoop with MapReduce, Spark, Pig, and Hive, gaining hands-on experience with tools and systems used by big data scientists and engineers. The curriculum includes predictive modeling, graph analytics, and basic exploration of datasets.

The course breakdown is as follows:

1. Introduction to Big Data (Course 1, 17 hours, 4.6 rating)
2. Big Data Modeling and Management Systems (Course 2, 13 hours, 4.4 rating)
3. Big Data Integration and Processing (Course 3, 17 hours, 4.4 rating)
4. Machine Learning With Big Data (Course 4, 21 hours, 4.6 rating)
5. Graph Analytics for Big Data (Course 5, 13 hours, 4.3 rating)
6. Big Data - Capstone Project (Course 6, 20 hours, 4.4 rating)

In the Capstone Project, developed in collaboration with data software company Splunk, participants apply their acquired skills to conduct basic analyses of big data, rounding out their understanding and practical application of the concepts learned throughout the specialization.

Overall one of the best Big Data certification you can join in 2024. You can also combine this with the Google's famous Data Analytics certification to take your skill next level. I highly recommend both of these program. 

By the way, If you are planning to join multiple specializations, then consider taking a Coursera Plus subscription which provides you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects. 

It costs around $399 per year but is worth it because you get access to more than 7000+ courses and projects, and you can also get access to unlimited professional certificates like Google's Data analytics Certification, Microsoft Cyber Security Certification, and Meta's Frontend Development Certificate.

That's all about some of the best courses to learn both Big Data and Apache Spark framework for Java developers. These courses are enough to get started with Apache Spark. Even if you are not looking for a job change, you can learn this valuable skill in your free time. I am sure this skill will pay off in a big way in the coming future.

Other Useful resources for Java developers

• Top 5 Spring and Hibernate Courses for Java Developers?
• 5 Free Apache Spark Courses for Beginners
• 5 Spring Security Online Courses for Java Web Developers
• My Favorite Apache Spark Courses for Developers
• 5 Free Java Courses for Beginners
• My Favorite Hadoop Courses for Java developers
• Top 5 Free Data Structure and Algorithm Books
• 5 Websites to learn Java Coding for Free
• Top 5 places to learn JavaScript for FREE
• 5 Best Apache Kafka Courses for Java Developers
• 10 Advanced Spring Framework Courses
• 5 Best Microservice Courses for Java developers
• 5 Best Courses to learn Spring Cloud Framework
• Top 10 Courses to learn Full Stack Web Development

Thanks a lot for reading this article so far. If you like these best Big Data and Apache Spark courses then please share this article and if you have any questions or feedback then please drop a comment. 

P. S. - If you are keen to learn Big Data but looking for a free Big Data course to start your Big Data career then you can also check out this Big Data and Hadoop Essentials [FREE] course on Udemy to start with. It's completely free and you just need a free Udemy account to join this course online.