What is Data Engineering and why would it be a good career choice for you?
Big Data has recently turned the business world upside down and has created a need for professionals who can create order out of chaos, i.e. who can create and operate data management systems that allow the organization, cleansing, transformation and analysis of millions of data points.
It is estimated that the world will create and store 200 zettabytes of data by 2025. Although the storage of this data itself is an enormous task, the biggest challenge for companies is to extract value from this huge amount of data. As a result of digitalization, nowadays almost all organizations collect huge amounts of data, and they need the right people and technologies to arrange the data into a usable format before it reaches Data Scientists and Analysts. This is where the Data Engineer comes in, playing a crucial role in this process.
What does a Data Engineer do?
A Data Engineer is an IT professional whose primary responsibility is to prepare data for analytical or operational use. They are responsible for setting up the entire data management system and ensure that the necessary data is available in a usable and structured form. Their aim is to make data easily accessible and to optimize the organization's Big Data Ecosystem, enabling companies to use data for the assessment and optimization of performance.
To put it short, Data Engineers create significant value by automating and optimizing complex systems, transforming data into an accessible and usable business asset.
Where is a Data Engineer located within an organization?
A Data Engineer works in the Data Science team, alongside professionals from many other areas. The team usually consists of a Data Analyst, a BI engineer, a Database Administrator, a Data Architect, a Data Scientist and a Data Quality Engineer. Although work is basically done in teams, this job might be a good choice for introverts as well, because you may get through a working day with just a few words of consultation with your team. However, within Data Engineering you can choose career paths where more emphasis is put on communication, whether through customer relations or managing a team.
Why should you choose this career path?
As long as there is data to be processed, Data Engineers are needed.
In 2019, Dice Insights reported that Data Engineer is one of the most popular jobs in the tech industry, ahead of IT Technician, Web Designer and Database Architect.
A career as a Data Engineer is remunerative and challenging at the same time. If you choose this path, you will play an important role in the success of your organization by making the data needed by Data Scientists, Analysts and decision-makers more accessible. And last but not least, salaries are higher than the average in the field of IT and most of the companies offer very flexible working conditions.
What skills do you need to be successful in this field?
If you choose this career, problem-solving skills are indispensable, and you will need to learn programming (Python, Java), as well. What is an advantage is also a disadvantage: There is a high demand for this knowledge, so there is plenty to do. You need good time management skills and you have to be able to prioritize between tasks. Moreover, it is important to have strong logical and analytical skills, in order to have a good grasp and understanding of how different systems work, and it helps if you love working with numbers and data. :)
Would you like special IT skills that remain valuable in the job market? If you are interested in data and have a good sense of logic, Data Engineering might be the career for you. Apply to our junior programming course and learn new skills quickly.
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