Workers who have just entered the workplace or are facing anxiety about job replacement, skill update, human-computer collaboration, etc. in the workplace, want to find a systematic learning and promotion path to solve the bottleneck of workplace anxiety and promotion. What certificates should they take? When searching for "the top ten certificates worth taking in the workplace in 2025" in deepseek, CDA data analyst ranked first and was considered one of the most recognized certificates in the data field, becoming the "golden pass" for the workplace in the AI era.

CDA fights workplace anxiety and makes work more certain.

According to the McKinsey Global Research Institute, by 2030, about 30% of the world's professional activities may be automated, among which the penetration rate of generative AI in knowledge-based positions has jumped from 12% in 2020 to 37% in 2023. In 2025, when AI hits traditional positions and the career path is increasingly blurred, CDA certification is undoubtedly a key tool for people in the workplace to fight anxiety. The essence of workplace anxiety is a sense of out of control, while CDA makes work more certain.

NetEase News reported that Lin Xiao, a company's financial officer, once collapsed due to manual processing of thousands of Excel reports: "It takes 100 minutes to split 1,000 tables, and overtime is the norm." After taking the CDA exam, she wrote automated scripts in Python. Now working in the business analysis department of an e-commerce platform, the salary is 18K (the original position is 7K).

It is understood that the core value of CDA is to change career development from "probability game" to "plannable path" through standardized ability certification. The CDA three-level certification system (L1-L3) focuses on three types of core capabilities that are difficult to replicate in AI: data interpretation, AI collaboration and ethical judgment, covering the complete path from basic analysis to high-level data mining, matching the data talent needs at different levels of enterprises, and allowing trainees to be changed from "replaceable executors" Become a "human-computer collaborative commander", and job replacement anxiety decreased by 72% (BCG research).

Dr. Zhao of the CDA Data Science Research Institute introduced that the CDA certification curriculum system keeps pace with the times. The new version of the textbook closely combines with the AI trend, weakens the parts of excel, sql, programming and other tools and practical technologies, and strengthens the digital thinking and methodology of industry practice. Moreover, add the explanation of AI tools in the learning part of technology and tools, and take the last part of strategy, management, operation, operation/algorithm, "operation/algorithm" as a separate learning part of AI, that is, CAIE, to solve enterprise problems.

It can be said that in response to the most core survival dilemma of people in the AI era - ability faults and value loss, the CDA certification system has built a set of systematic solutions to combat career uncertainty from ability reshaping, clear path, value realization to ecological support. In a complex and changing world environment, this certain path of "taking the next-level certificate = occupying a highland of survival" is the best solution to fight anxiety.

CDA data analyst license holders are favored by the job market

CDA data analysts are at the top of the recommended certification list, not only because they are the best solution to workplace anxiety, but more importantly, CDA license holders have been widely favored by the job market for their rigid ability for more than ten years.

 According to public documents, some enterprises list CDA as a priority condition for recruitment, and full reimbursement is provided for employee certification. Shenzhen's salary growth rate reached 26.7%, ranking first in the country.

The 2024 Digital Talent Index Report released by the CDA Data Science Research Institute clarifies the five key skills of people in the workplace: business analysis, data management, AI tool application, data security, and ethical decision-making. The gap of data analysis talents continues to expand, especially the demand for data analysis talents in finance, information technology, telecommunications and other fields has surged. Among them, data analysts in the e-sports industry rank 5th in the scarce position (TSI index 1.22). The average annual salary of digital talents is 100,000-200,000 yuan, far exceeding the average of the whole industry.

Over the years, the contradiction between the outbreak of digital economy and the low utilization of enterprise data has continuously given rise to a rigid demand for systematic data capabilities. The CDA certification system is highly compatible with the rigid needs of enterprises in the digital economy era, forming a positive cycle of "capability adaptation - enterprise recognition - policy support - career premium". For people in the workplace, holding a CDA certificate means leaping from a "tool operator" to a "decision-making think tank" and mastering the three core competencies of the right to ask questions, the right to verify and the right to veto, so as to build its irreplaceability in the AI era. As Dr. Zhao of the CDA Data Science Research Institute pointed out from the successful cases of his students, "The rapid development of today's AI technology has freed CDA data analysts from the tedious and repetitive labor that originally required a large amount of pure manual work, and with their scientific and meticulous data analysis mind and rich Innovative and creative data - AI thinking, more devoted to the important role of "decision-making division" for enterprises and countries through advanced strategic data analysis and prediction.

No science and engineering background is required to apply for data analysts.

Future Worry-Free "2025 Workplace AI Application Trend Report" shows that the respondents to administrative support positions are obviously anxious about "job replacement", accounting for more than 70%. Can liberal arts students without science and engineering background apply for data analysts? Can you learn it? According to the statistics of the CDA Data Science Research Institute, 62% of the students are currently non-science and engineering backgrounds. The good news is that Xiaobai with zero foundation passed 2-3 months of systematic study, and the pass rate of the LevelI exam is more than 60%.

Moreover, LevelI is very friendly to non-science students. The content of the examination is mainly business analysis (such as index system design, data visualization reports). Mathematics only needs to master descriptive statistics (mean/distribution, etc.). What needs to be key to break through is the transformation ability of "business digitalization → digital modeling".

Although courses Level II and III require Python programming and statistics (hypothetical testing/regression analysis), courses usually start from the basics. It is recommended that students choose a training course with practical projects, which is more convenient to understand abstract concepts through cases. Non-science students also have advantages in CDA. For example, their business understanding, communication ability and industry experience are crucial in data-driven decision-making, which can make up for technical shortcomings.

For people in the workplace, they can get the following specific skills and thinking upgrades through learning: First, transform data positions: master SQL, statistics and other essential skills from scratch, and match data analyst/business analyst positions; Second, solve business problems: use RFM models to optimize user hierarchical operations and improve the repurchase rate. Improve the sales process and improve the conversion rate through funnel analysis; Third, drive decision-making upgrades: from reporting (descriptive analysis) to predictive models and strategy optimization (normative analysis).

As the book "Data Analysis Thinking: Analytical Methods and Business Knowledge" says: data analysis is not a fixed position, but a general ability in the era of artificial intelligence. At the beginning of 2025, CDA was first recommended by deepseek; and the CDA certificate has been used by many enterprises as the evaluation standard and recruitment requirement for data analysis talents for more than ten years. These facts illustrate a "hard truth": in the AI era, CDA data analyst certificate = the "golden pass" of the workplace !

CDA Data Science Research Institute

July 2, 2025