Why this guide
- Built from the public dbt Analytics Engineer certification topics — the modern data stack's transformation layer
- Materialization decision tree — view vs table vs incremental vs ephemeral in one flowchart
- Jinja and macro cheat sheet — the syntax that separates ad-hoc SQL from reusable dbt code
- Designed for printing — full guide, two 1-page cheat sheets, and a 1-page pocket card
Who this is for
- Analytics engineers building transformation pipelines in dbt Core or dbt Cloud
- Data analysts moving from ad-hoc SQL to version-controlled, tested dbt models
- BI developers who need to understand materializations, lineage, and data quality
- Data engineers integrating dbt into the modern data stack
- Teams preparing for the dbt Analytics Engineer Certification exam
What you'll learn
- dbt fundamentals: Project structure, models, sources, seeds, snapshots, exposures, packages, and the dbt workflow
- Models and materializations: View, table, incremental, ephemeral, and materialized view — when to use each
- Testing and data quality: Built-in tests (unique, not null, accepted values, relationships), custom generic tests, freshness, source tests
- Documentation and lineage: dbt docs, descriptions, tags, exposures, and automatic DAG generation
- Jinja and macros: Variables, control flow, macros, packages from dbt Hub, reusable SQL patterns
- Snapshots and change data capture: Type 2 slowly changing dimensions, snapshot strategies, and invalidation timestamps
- Deployment and CI/CD: dbt Cloud jobs, scheduling, environments, pull requests, Slim CI, state comparison
- Project governance: dbt Project Evaluator, coding standards, folder conventions, package management
What you're getting
- 6 printable PDFs: cover, course notice, full study guide, two condensed cheat sheets, and an exam-day pocket card.
- Content built from the public syllabus and real test-taker accounts.
- No fake "actual exam" content — honest, source-cited study aids.
"Materializations are the heart of the exam. Know when incremental is the right choice."
— paraphrased from public test-taker accounts