Plumbers of Data Science
#129 Don't Become a Data Engineer Without Knowing These 9 Things
SQL, Python, and one cloud platform. That's what a post I saw claimed makes a good engineer. I don't fully agree, so in this episode I break down what actually makes you a good data engineer or platform architect.It starts with understanding how a data platform actually works: data sources, processing, storage, visualization, and the goals sitting on top of all of it.Once you understand that, the tools make sense, because you can see which category each tool belongs to and how they fit together (I cover this in my Skills and Tools Guide, linked below).Beyond that, I go through the technical fundamentals that actually separate good engineers from the rest:- Infrastructure (servers, SaaS, containers)- CI/CD- Orchestration- Observability and monitoring- Documentation- Problem-solving (finding the actual root cause, not just patching symptoms)- Identity and access management- Cost managementAnd then there's the part most engineers underestimate: communication. I break down the 5 types of people you'll talk to as an engineer, project management, analysts, customers, related teams, and internal management, and why you need to talk to each of them completely differently.Download the free Skills and Tools Guide!Go to https://learndataengineering.com/ and scroll down to the free learning content section.Let me know in the comments what you think makes a good engineer, and what you'd add to this list.
