How To Become A Senior ETL Developer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior etl developer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A senior ETL (extract transform load) developer is responsible for designing and filling advanced data storage systems according to client specifications. They load business data into a data warehouse, and in doing so, help maintain and grow large data warehouses.

To help you understand the role of a senior ETL developer better, let's take a look at specific examples of their duties. Usually, a senior ETL developer is in charge of creating UNIX scripts, developing custom interfaces, improving XML file creation, extracting data from various relational databases, and so much more.

While this job may not require a college education, having a degree greatly helps with job placement and income potential. If you want to enter this profession in the best way possible, the best background to have is a degree in a computer-related field such as information technology, specializing in ETL.

Like many other developers, the salary of an ETL developer is highly competitive at an average of $95,000 per year or about $46 an hour.

ScoreSenior ETL DeveloperUS Average

Salary

7.7

Avg. Salary $104,281

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 34.96%

Black or African American 4.30%

Hispanic or Latino 8.02%

Unknown 4.76%

White 47.80%

Gender

female 31.08%

male 68.92%

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

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior etl developer

Explore senior etl developer education requirements

Most common senior etl developer degrees

Bachelor's

73.6 %

Master's

23.8 %

Diploma

1.6 %

Start to develop specific senior etl developer skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Warehouse	5.98%
Unix	5.95%
SQL Server	4.84%
Informatica Powercenter	4.65%
PL/SQL	4.62%

Complete relevant senior etl developer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior etl developers 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 senior etl developer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior etl developer resumes.

Research senior etl developer duties and responsibilities

Develop custom interface for executing and managing SSIS packages.
Create UNIX scripts to create data files and FTP it to windows/ TM1/ Linux servers for reporting.
Extract data from various relational databases, application systems, flat files, XML documents, and load into data warehouse.
Develop PL/SQL store procedures to incorporate complex business rules.

Get senior etl developer experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior etl developer. The most common roles before becoming a senior etl developer include etl developer, informatica developer team lead and informatica etl developer.

Prepare your senior etl developer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior etl developer 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 senior etl developer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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