In this post I cover some recommended certifications for Microsoft Fabric enthusiasts as 2026 begins. To make people aware of some of the options that are currently available.
In a post I shared some updated advice if Microsoft certifications are your New Year’s resolution for 2026. Since that post mentions my older post about certifications for Microsoft Fabric enthusiasts I decided to do an updated version.
To manage expectations, the certifications mentioned in this post are in the below order:
- Azure Data Fundamentals.
- Relevant Power BI certification.
- Microsoft Fabric certifications.
- Other certifications.
Azure Data Fundamentals certification
If you are reasonably new to working with data or Microsoft exams it might be worth looking to gain a fundamental certification first.
I recommend taking the DP-900 exam to gain the Azure Data Fundamentals certification. Which will give you a good foundation to work with concepts you will encounter in Microsoft Fabric.
Plus, the exam has been updated to include Microsoft Fabric as well.
Power BI certification
In reality, the foundation of Microsoft Fabric is based on the Power BI infrastructure. With this in mind, I recommend the Power BI Data Analyst certification. Which is the replacement for the old Data Analyst Associate certification.
You must pass the newer PL-300 exam in order to gain this certification.
I especially recommend studying for this certification if you have been working more with other Data Platform services over the years.
So that you can get a good idea about working within the Microsoft Fabric environment and some of the existing Power BI features. For example, the exam material covers deployment pipelines.
Another reason is because a significant level of Power BI knowledge is required to pass the DP-600 exam.
In reality, even the most experienced Power BI enthusiast can discover new things when going for this exam. So, it is worth looking at.
Going through the logical route of the DP-900 exam and then this one will give you a better appreciation of the knowledge required for the DP-600 exam. Which I cover next.
Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate certification
Now it is time to cover the ‘Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate‘ certification. Which was the first ever certification announced for Microsoft Fabric. In order to gain this certification you must pass the DP-600 exam.
When the DP-600 exam was first made available a lot of people commented about the fact that it had a lot of breadth. Something that is visible in an older breakdown of the original skills measured for the DP-600 exam by Andy Cutler (l/b).
However, over time the exam has matured and has become more focused on Microsoft’s definition of a Fabric Analytics Engineer. Which includes a stronger focus on semantic models. Below is a diagram to help visualize this.
You can see this for yourself in the DP-600 study guide. Because it strongly focuses on the Power BI workload I tend to recommend looking to do this exam after the PL-300 exam.
Fabric Data Engineer Associate certification
Microsoft introduced the Fabric Data Engineer Associate certification in 2024. Which focuses more on the Fabric Data Engineer role. You can think of the new certification as a Microsoft Fabric variant of the previous Azure Data Engineer Associate certification.
One thing I must stress is that it does not replace the DP-600 exam. Due to the fact that is for a different role. As you can see in the updated role guidance diagram for the Data engineer role towards the bottom of the Fabric Career Hub page.
In order to gain this certification you must pass the DP-700 exam. As you can see in the DP-700 study guide the skills measured are very different from the DP-600 exam. Below is a diagram to help visualize this.
For those interested in taking this exam, a while back I published an updated checklist for the exam. Of course, other community-based resources are available. Including CertiAce and the F-Files Podcast series.
Other certifications
Gaining the Microsoft Fabric certifications is great for multiple reasons. However, you can also look at other certifications to expand your repertoire as well.
For example, studying to gain the Azure Administrator Associate certification can help you improve your knowledge about Microsoft Entra. Similar thing applies for the Azure Solutions Architect expert certification.
Those looking to improve their DevOps skills in order to deliver CI/CD effectively can look to gain DevOps Engineer Expert certification.
However, if working more with GitHub I highly recommend looking at the GitHub certifications instead. I strongly recommend studying for the GitHub Copilot certification if looking to improve your development experience with AI.
Those who want to work with the AI ecosystem around Microsoft Fabric more can also look at other AI certifications. Lucia Harceková wrote a fantastic post on LinkedIn recently about a potential AI learning path. Which I strongly recommend looking at.
Final words
Hopefully by sharing my recommended certifications for Microsoft Fabric enthusiasts as 2026 begins inspires those who aim to get new certifications this year.
Personally, I am curious to see if any new certifications are announced this year. However, at the same time I feel there is enough when you take the certifications for the surrounding ecosystem into consideration. Unless a Fabric Architect certification is announced.
Anyway, good luck to those looking to gain new certifications this year.
2 thoughts on “Recommended certifications for Microsoft Fabric enthusiasts as 2026 begins”