Data Engineer Jobs

Yes! Data engineer jobs are a great choice of career provided you are highly analytical and technology oriented. According to research sourced from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for database administrator and architect roles is rising at a rate of 9%, which is faster than most other careers. The median salary recorded is also quite comfortable, at just over six figures annually. Since the demand for data engineers is itself data-driven, career progression is typically stable and manageable.

Data engineering work helps organizations unlock the value of the data sets they in many cases already possess. In your career as a data scientist, you might get the chance to leverage data against all kinds of outcomes, from improving an eCommerce store’s ability to predict future demand to targeting various buyer persons, contributing to machine learning systems, and more. Here are some examples of early and mid-career data engineering roles you might want to explore further:

• Junior Data Engineer: This early career position gives professionals with some data engineering experience a little more room to spread their wings. Projects they’re assigned are larger and more complex than at entry level — and more interesting, too!
• Lead Data Engineer: An advanced role requiring lots of data engineering experience, the lead typically oversees a larger team of data specialists. Along with their team, they design and deploy data solutions wherever assigned.
• Data Architect: These experts are charged with creating the entirety of the organization’s data architecture. Working closely with a cross-functional team drawn from the business and from IT, they make sure everything is reliable, scalable, and stable.

The way humans work with data has changed dramatically, just as the amount of data we generate on a daily basis has risen exponentially. That means that even in junior data engineering jobs, there’s going to be a lot on your plate. Don’t get overwhelmed, though; while it’s not practical to try to list out everything you may be asked to do (since organizations all operate slightly differently from one another), below are a few generalized data engineer job duties to familiarize yourself with:

• Create and maintain the company’s data architecture to identified specifications
• Obtain and store data for later analysis
• Create automations that speed up the data intake and storage process
• Upskill in relevant technologies (e.g., AI/ML, creating data visualizations, etc.)
• Devise predictive models for future data and discern prior patterns from past data

When you look for a job as a software data engineer, you’ll see some similarities among the job listings. While no two companies have the exact same data storage and management requirements, the skill sets that candidates need will often overlap. Below is a list of some of the experience and qualifications you’re likely to see in the job description of a junior data engineer:

• A bachelor’s degree in a STEM subject, or a quantitative discipline.
• Relevant professional certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Big Data – Specialty or Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate).
• Proven experience working on data engineering projects.
• Database management abilities.
• Strong communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities.

Many years ago, only very technology-oriented companies had a real need for a data systems engineer. Not so today; as more and more companies embark on digital transformations, and refine their existing ways of doing business online, the need for specialist roles to address Big Data grows more acute every day. Here are just a few of the industries where you’re likely to find data engineer consultant jobs aplenty:

• Information Technology
• Software
• Telecommunications
• Banking and Finance
• Healthcare