It's very difficult to say, but considering your position I'd go for Hive. This is the closest tool to what you already know. And it seems that many people go this way because of their background in SQL. I'd discourage you to try hadoop in its Java form if you're not a serious developper. Yet, architecture is very accessible and interesting, and would fit your interest. I advise you a book : Hadoop Operation (http://www.amazon.com/Hadoop-Operations-Eric-Sammer/dp/1449327052/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406273054&sr=8-1&keywords=hadoop+operation) I should not say that here, but Hortonworks provides certification in Hive and Pig (no offense Cloudera !) : http://hortonworks.com/training/hadoop-2-0-developer-certification/ . If you want to reach the highest level go for http://cloudera.com/content/cloudera/en/training/certification/ccp-ds.html Even If you don't take the exam, consider its items as mandatory for a good learning path. Have a nice day. ... View more