Looking for a change in your career track? Already working in data analytics but want to update your skills for working with new technologies? Whether you want to upgrade your qualifications or acquire some new skills, there are many options in big data courses.

Are you willing to go back to school, full-time or part-time? Many of the top universities offer Masters degrees in advanced data analytics and related fields.

Carnegie Mellon University
CMU offers a Masters degree in Computational Data Science. With a focus on hands-on experience and opportunities for internships in companies like Google, Amazon, Apple etc., this course can really prepare you for a big data career. This is a 16-month on-campus course offered at the school of Computer Science in Pittsburgh, PA.

John Hopkins University
You can get an MS in Data Science, either delivered on campus or online. The online option might be ideal for working professionals. The course subjects include computer programming, mathematics, statistics, data visualization, and simulation.

University of California Berkeley
The School of Information Science in Berkeley offers a Masters degree course in Information and Data Science. This course is offered both on campus and online. The program covers fields like statistical analysis, communication, storage and retrieval, research design, ethics and privacy issues, data mining and data visualization.

Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech offers a Master of Science in Analytics through three schools – College of Computing, Scheller College of Business, and College of Engineering. This one year fully on-campus program allows students to specialize in one of three different fields – Business Analytics, Computational Data Analytics, or Analytic Tools.

Illinois Institute of Technology
The Master of Science program, offered through the College of Science, can be done part-time or full-time, or online. The course covers areas pertinent to big data and also focuses on other subjects like project management, communication, and professional ethics.

Certification courses
Many reputed training institutions offer focused high-value courses in big data technologies. If you don’t want to get a Masters degree at this time, but just want to make your data analytics skills up-to-date, you can choose from many free and paid big data courses.

Training institutes like Cloudera, Simplilearn, Coursera, Hortonworks, and Big Data University offer training on big data with an emphasis on Hadoop and related technologies. These are some of the best big data courses, as they quickly teach you how to use the tools and technologies to get the best results from big data.