Data, from zero to hero¶
Data engineering, analytics and databases from absolute zero: plain-English concepts, hands-on builds, architecture patterns, and study guides for every major data certification - free, no signup, nothing gated.
Never written a SQL query, or chasing your next data cert - both start here. Press / to search all 0.6M words.
Start from zero Browse 24 certifications Look up a concept
- 24 certifications
- 7 providers
- 0.6M words
- 2,000+ vendor doc links
- 10 concept pages
- 3 architecture patterns
The path
Data from Scratch¶
Data from Scratch is the plain-English route from "what is a table?" to a data job. Eight phases - SQL, modeling for analytics, pipelines, streaming, quality and governance, data in the cloud, then a fork into data engineer, analytics engineer or DBA, and finally interview prep. Each phase says what you can do once it is done, and links the concept pages, labs and certs that go with it.
The four pillars
Four ways in¶
-
Learn
Plain English, no exam scaffolding. 10 bite-size concept pages - ETL vs ELT, batch vs streaming, lakehouses, modeling - and the Data from Scratch path.
-
Build
A guided end-to-end pipeline build and 3 architecture patterns: data pipeline and ETL, lakehouse, data mesh.
-
Certify
24 cert guides across 7 providers, each with a fact sheet, practice plan, scenarios, practice questions and exam-day strategy.
-
Reference
2 cross-cloud service comparisons, 2 career roadmaps, plus database migration and data engineer interview prep.
Quick links
Jump to what you need¶
- Data from Scratch - zero to data engineer, analytics engineer or DBA
- Concepts - 10 five-minute explainers, one idea each
- Topic indexes - 2 subjects tied across all four pillars
- Build a data pipeline - ingest, transform, load, on a schedule
- Lakehouse architecture - the pattern most data platforms now follow
- Database services compared - AWS, Azure and GCP side by side
- Labs by certification - which build backs which exam
- Practice questions - scenario banks with explained answers
- Data engineer interview prep - pipeline design, modeling and SQL questions
- Freshness ledger - what was last verified, and when
The library
Certifications by provider¶
What's new¶
See the CHANGELOG for the rolling history. Recent batches:
- 2026-10-21 - Data Zero to Hero is now its own site at data.noblerworks.com, split by subject from the original combined cloud, data, AI and security repo. New: Data from Scratch, an eight-phase path to data engineer, analytics engineer or DBA. Cloud, security and AI material moved to the sibling sites: Cloud, Security and AI.
- 2026-09-18 - Every dead vendor link repaired, each replacement fetched and matched to the page the citation meant. The sweep also catches soft 404s and deep links that silently redirect to a homepage.
- 2026-09-17 - Seven new data-engineering concept pages (batch vs streaming, ETL vs ELT, warehouses vs lakes vs lakehouses, file formats and partitioning, modeling for analytics, pipelines and orchestration, quality and lineage) and a data engineering topic index.
The family
More Zero to Hero¶
-
Cloud Zero to Hero
AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, DevOps and FinOps - from your first terminal command to architect-level certs.
-
Security Zero to Hero
Cloud and application security, identity, compliance, and the security certifications that prove it.
-
AI Zero to Hero
LLMs, machine learning, agents and AI at work - learn it, build with it, govern it, get hired for it.
All four are free, by Nobler Works.
Who made this¶
Built by Patrick Wiloak - ex-AWS Solutions Architect, 10 years in tech, multi-cloud certified. YouTube · LinkedIn · Website · Source on GitHub
We build custom software and products at Nobler Works. Open-source training like this is how we give back - we are nothing without the community that supports us. If you need software built, get in touch.
Want the reps as well as the material?
This site gives you the material. gitGood gives you the reps, and tells you whether you actually know it. Built for every kind of technologist across 21 role-targeted learning paths - engineering, SRE and DevOps, cloud architecture, security, ML and AI, data science, analytics and engineering, QA, product and TPM, and new grads breaking in.
1,950+ practice questions across 34 categories · certification practice exams for AWS CLF-C02, SAA-C03 and DVA-C02, Azure AZ-900, AZ-104, AZ-305 and AI-900, Google Cloud Digital Leader and Associate Cloud Engineer, Kubernetes CKA and CKAD, CompTIA Security+ and HashiCorp Terraform Associate - original scenario questions, never brain dumps, with per-domain scoring and a timed simulator · coding challenges · SQL playground · system design walkthroughs · AI mock interviews · AI resume reviews · salary coaching · live job-market pulse.
A 7-day free trial, then $8/month or $64/year. The free tier needs no card.
Fine print¶
Free for educational use with attribution. Every technical claim links to the vendor's own documentation - 2,000+ links across the site.
This is an independent educational resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by AWS, Microsoft, Google, Oracle, IBM, or any other vendor referenced. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Found something wrong or out of date? Contributions welcome.