A data engineer plays an active role in handling the data that is churned out by digital activities. They effectively build, develop, test, and handle data storage architecture that includes databases and huge-scale data processing systems.
To develop these they require certain skills, which can be developed with the help of big data engineer certification. If a person is seeking the best route to get an edge, then certification is the best option.
What is data engineering?
Data engineering is the method of developing and building systems for collecting, storing, and analyzing data. It is a vast area with several applications in numerous industries. Many organizations have collected huge amounts of data, and they require data infrastructure and personnel to sort and analyze the information.
This gave rise to the demand for a senior big data engineer who works to design systems, which collect, manage, and convert raw data into usable information for data scientists and business analysts to interpret. The main goal is to make data accessible so that the companies can take care of it for evaluating and optimizing the business’s overall performance.
In this article, let’s dive deeper and understand the crucial aspects, which a person needs to be a data engineer.
Earn an undergraduate degree
The most vital aspect to start a career in the field of data engineering is to have a bachelor’s degree, as the job demands a sound knowledge of several basic concepts. One can do a degree in any of the following:
- Computer Science
- Software Engineering
- Information Technology
Have a better understanding of programming
The area of data engineering requires good coding skills. A data engineer should possess a good programming background. They must have a keen interest in data and seeking patterns in data. One can enhance their knowledge of the programming languages by doing a big data engineering certification. The essential programming languages one possesses knowledge are as follows:
- Python
- R
- Java
- Scala
Learn latest technologies
One must have a sound knowledge of the latest technologies, which are essential to perform the day-to-day tasks. Following are the essential tools that big data engineers use:
- Apache Hadoop
- Apache Spark
- Apache Hive
- Apache Beam
- Apache Cassandra
- Apache Oozie
- Apache NiFi
- Apache Flink
- Apache HBase
- Apache Impala
- Apache Kafka
- Apache Crunch
- Apache Apex
- Apache Storm
- Heron
- Hue
One can also start with the three giants in the market: Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Learning these latest technologies will be helpful as they offer the best inputs that can be helpful for developing scalable data pipelines.
Develop communication skills
It is very crucial to build one’s communication skills to be part of this growing field. A good data engineer must have the following qualities:
- Communication skills: This job role demands interacting with people like stakeholders to know their demands before development.
Ability to design:
In their job role a data engineer creates simple creative designs where the architecture is not overly done.
- Detail Oriented: Data quality plays a key role in developing data pipelines. The quality and integrity of the data in the pipeline will determine the quality of the rest of the task.
Get professional certifications
There are several industry-recognized big data engineering certifications that one can do to improve their skills before starting their career in this field. Certification gives excellent knowledge and guidance by giving exposure to real-time projects.
Gain entry-level job experience
One of the best aspects to get entry into the field of data engineering is, getting an entry-level job. There are many firms mainly start-ups that are providing great job opportunities for qualified graduates. After a person gains good experience, try problem-solving is highly recommended on public data sets and for building a system so they can be a senior big data engineer with their expertise.
Wrapping Up
Data engineering is among the rapidly growing technology sectors. Data engineers get to work with ever-evolving technologies, several creative challenges, and also enjoy greater job satisfaction. Certifications measures a person’s knowledge and skills about the industry and vendor-specific benchmarks to prove to the employers that a person possesses the right kind of skillset and is the best fit for the job.
Also Read: Big Data is Forcing Big Changes on Database Software