Author
Utkarsh Sahu
Director, Category Management @ Interview Kickstart || IIM Bangalore || NITW.
Nowadays, one of the most popular subjects in the tech industry is big data. Data engineering might be a fantastic option for developers seeking a demanding career shift. Although data engineering is hardly a “new” discipline in and of itself, it has grown significantly over the last ten years. It is becoming increasingly important to businesses of all kinds. Therefore, as a result of the increased need, individuals with a wide range of technical and mathematical expertise are being attracted to the profession.
Organizations, small or large, have recently evolved into data-driven systems. As a result, the role of Data Engineer or Data Scientist is now growing in importance. Many who are employed in such sectors have shifted careers and succeeded significantly in doing so.
Making a career change can often feel like boarding a ship that has already sailed. It may leave you feeling disoriented and scared. Do you want to know how these individuals were able to change their career path and develop an effective new profession in Data Engineering? Are you also considering a mid-career transition to data engineering?Â
Here is what we are going to learn!
Every organization has different types of engineering professionals at different levels and product demands:
Software Engineers: Software engineers, often known as software developers, build software for systems and apps. If you happen to be a logical thinker who appreciates problem-solving and making electronic goods easier to use, a job as a software engineer could be enjoyable.
Data Engineers: Data engineers create systems that collect, organize, and modify unprocessed data into facts that can be interpreted by business analysts and data scientists in several different circumstances. Their primary objective is to ensure that data is accessible so that businesses may assess and adjust their effectiveness.
Machine Learning Engineers: ML engineers look into, create, and construct the AI frameworks and algorithms that are responsible for upgrading current AI systems. Since machine learning is a subset of AI, they are mainly focused on the component of the technology that teaches intelligent machines how to function like humans.
Systems Engineers: Systems engineers design and supervise every step of a comprehensive system’s development to address a challenge, from the system’s original conception to its administration and creation to the final product or solution.
The primary objectives of software engineers are broad concepts and a “macro” perspective on data. They are in charge of developing infrastructures such as large-scale applications, systems, and platforms. Additionally, they put program codes into practice to improve the efficiency of these scalable systems. They would rather have everything up front for a significantly simpler procedure and are less bothered with cloud-based data warehouses or data querying.
On the other hand, data engineers create systems to hold and manage massive databases. A data engineer gathers, organizes, and retrieves data to make sure that end users, such as software developers creating systems and apps, have access to reliable information that helps them make important decisions. Data engineers are essential to the digital revolution brought about by AI and machine learning projects because they create data infrastructures.
Having a complete skillset for any job role is important. The skills of a data engineer and a software engineer are a little similar.
The skillset of a software engineer includes:
The skillset of a data engineer includes:
The career shift from software engineer to data engineer can better be understood by understanding the difference between the job roles and responsibilities.
The job roles and responsibilities of a software engineer include:
The job roles and responsibilities of a data engineer include:
A major part of understanding the difference between data engineering and software engineering is knowing the salary of the different roles.
| Job Role | Average Base Salary |
|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $122,553 |
| Data Engineer | $108,310 per year |
It is not unusual for developers to transition to data engineering, particularly given they have experience with programming languages. But in order to be a successful data engineer, you must learn how to gather, search, and store data from databases.
Effective communication of ideas without excessive reliance on technical language is essential for data engineers, as they often work with colleagues who lack technical skills. Having great communication skills implies that you develop and execute solutions that are understandable to others.
You will be supplying the consumers with data; thus, it is essential that you have a good grasp of their requirements. It involves going through statistics. Luckily, there are a plethora of online courses available that will help with statistical studies.
Since the field of data science is evolving, data engineers need to continuously improve their skills to collaborate effectively with analysts, architects, and data scientists.
They should be proficient in emerging ideas and technologies in AI/ML for process automation, tools that make managing data inexpensively, and data privacy requirements.
The jobs of data engineers and software engineers frequently overlap, especially in small businesses. There are, nevertheless, substantial differences between the two. If you wish to change your software engineering job path, you must consider specializing in data engineering. It will enable you to delve into the details of data while also exercising your logical thinking skills. However, it can be overwhelming to understand how to work as a data engineer or to learn the skills needed to be successful. Starting a new career also brings about a series of interviews and preparing to successfully crack those and land a job in your desired company. Interview Kickstart has taken the responsibility of being a great guide for your smooth transition from being a software engineer to a data engineer. Sign up for our free webinar today!
Large-scale data collection, maintenance, analysis, and evaluation are the primary responsibilities of a software engineer. Big Data provides the engineering team with the accuracy and speed required to keep up with rapid advancement.
By studying necessary skills like statistics, machine learning, and data handling and getting hands-on expertise through side projects and competitions, a software engineer can advance into a data scientist position.
The companies that pay the most to data engineers in the US are Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Every industry is in need of data engineers. With organizations having large amounts of data, they need professionals to handle, arrange, and evaluate the data to get useful insights. This has brought a significant increase in demand for data engineers. As a result of the high degree of technical competence required and the requirement for advanced training, it is a well-paying profession.
The average base salary of a cloud engineer in the US is $105,802 per year. Whereas the average base salary of a data engineer in the US is $118,055 per year.
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