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Data manager vs data engineer

The differences between data managers and data engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a data manager, becoming a data engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a data engineer has an average salary of $109,675, which is higher than the $108,359 average annual salary of a data manager.

The top three skills for a data manager include data analysis, visualization and data quality. The most important skills for a data engineer are python, java, and cloud.

Data manager vs data engineer overview

Data ManagerData Engineer
Yearly salary$108,359$109,675
Hourly rate$52.10$52.73
Growth rate16%21%
Number of jobs147,574303,105
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age4739
Years of experience84

What does a data manager do?

A data manager is responsible for monitoring the efficiency of the company's technology systems and network infrastructures. Data managers ensure the safety and security of the databases to avoid unauthorized access that may pose risks for business operations. They assist the technology team in developing data management protocols and smooth navigation of the network systems. A data manager must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, as well as having a strong command on system codes and programming languages, to immediately identify inconsistencies, and perform troubleshooting to fix these discrepancies.

What does a data engineer do?

A data engineer is someone who makes data science possible. This IT job requires the search for data set trends and algorithm development to make raw data more beneficial to the enterprise. Data engineers are responsible for establishing and maintaining an environment that permits other data functions. The necessary skills for the job include in-depth knowledge of multiple programming languages and SQL database design. Among the other skills data engineers should develop include data warehousing and architecture, data mining and modeling, and statistical regression analysis.

Data manager vs data engineer salary

Data managers and data engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Data ManagerData Engineer
Average salary$108,359$109,675
Salary rangeBetween $73,000 And $160,000Between $80,000 And $149,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaThe Citadel
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between data manager and data engineer education

There are a few differences between a data manager and a data engineer in terms of educational background:

Data ManagerData Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorBusinessComputer Science
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityCalifornia State University - Long Beach

Data manager vs data engineer demographics

Here are the differences between data managers' and data engineers' demographics:

Data ManagerData Engineer
Average age4739
Gender ratioMale, 48.0% Female, 52.0%Male, 81.5% Female, 18.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 30.1% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage11%8%

Differences between data manager and data engineer duties and responsibilities

Data manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage all Salesforce customer tech support inquiries.
  • Use of SalesForce and CRM for leads tracking.
  • Manage internal department & team initiatives including QA and documentation work.
  • Manage the profiling and cleansing of legacy data to new data structures.
  • Manage and lead scrum meetings for both reporting and commissioning development teams.
  • Manage CRO trials from selection, statement of work, through database lock.
  • Show more

Data engineer example 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.
  • Used Teradata database management system to manage the warehousing operations and parallel processing.
  • Configure and manage JobScope ERP system for a make-to-order/make-to-stock design and manufacturing environment.
  • Show more

Data manager vs data engineer skills

Common data manager skills
  • Data Analysis, 7%
  • Visualization, 6%
  • Data Quality, 6%
  • Data Collection, 4%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Patients, 4%
Common data engineer skills
  • Python, 12%
  • Java, 9%
  • Cloud, 5%
  • ETL, 5%
  • Scala, 4%
  • Kafka, 4%

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