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What is a data engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted Expert
Brian Glas
introduction image

A data engineer designs, develops, and maintains the infrastructure for collecting, storing, processing, and analyzing large volumes of data. They work closely with data scientists, analysts, and business stakeholders to understand their requirements and build scalable and efficient data pipelines. Data engineers use a variety of technologies to extract, transform, and load data into databases. They also ensure the quality, security, and integrity of the data by implementing appropriate validation rules and monitoring processes.

What general advice would you give to a Data Engineer?

Brian GlasBrian Glas LinkedIn Profile

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Union University

Build relationships: Different technologies will interest and challenge you, but throughout your career, you'll find that it's the relationships that are the most important. This is harder to grasp earlier in your career, but much easier to understand after 15-20 years.
Gain different perspectives: Spend time with people in other roles that your job interacts with, and gain a solid understanding of how they view things; this is most valuable for career progression and understanding of how your work fits into the big picture.
ScoreData EngineerUS Average
Salary
7.9

Avg. Salary $109,675

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
4.0

Growth Rate 21%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
4.0
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 30.06%

Black or African American 4.30%

Hispanic or Latino 8.02%

Unknown 4.76%

White 52.71%

Gender

female 18.47%

male 81.53%

Age - 38
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38
Stress Level
4.0

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.2

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
6.6

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Data Engineer?

Pros

  • High demand

  • Competitive salary

  • Opportunities for career advancement

  • Continual learning and professional development

  • Job stability

Cons

  • Can be high-pressure and stressful

  • Long hours and tight deadlines

  • Tedious data cleaning and manipulation tasks

  • Can be difficult to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders

  • May require on-call availability for urgent data issues

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Data Engineer career paths

Key steps to become a data engineer

  1. Explore data engineer education requirements

    Most common data engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    65.0 %

    Master's

    22.3 %

    Associate

    7.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific data engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Python12.19%
    Java9.21%
    Cloud4.84%
    ETL4.69%
    Scala4.42%
  3. Complete relevant data engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New data engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a data engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real data engineer resumes.
  4. Research data engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Used SQOOP to import the data from RDBMS to HDFS to achieve the reliability of data.
    • Develop automation scripts in python to automate the test, analyze, plot and report the results.
    • Used Linux shell scripts to automate the build process, and to perform regular jobs like file transfers between different hosts.
    • Increase audit efficiency by developing SAS programs to automate manual testing procedures.
  5. Prepare your data engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your data engineer resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a data engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Data Engineer Resume templates

    Build a professional Data Engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Data Engineer resume.
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  6. Apply for data engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a data engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Data Engineer Job

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Average data engineer salary

The average Data Engineer salary in the United States is $109,675 per year or $53 per hour. Data engineer salaries range between $80,000 and $149,000 per year.

Average Data Engineer Salary
$109,675 Yearly
$52.73 hourly

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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