Become a Data Engineer in 2025 (Based on 100 jobs data!)
Happy New Year, everyone! Reposting a combination of 3 of my most upvoted posts last year at the start of the year for those looking to set ambitious career goals in 2025 assuming lot of new people are looking for this info now. After all, there’s no better time to plan your next big leap into Data Engineering!
1. Top skills in demand -
I analyzed 100 data engineering job descriptions from Fortune 500 companies to find the most frequently mentioned skills. Here are the top skills in demand:
| Skill Group | Frequency | Constituents with Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Programming Languages | 196 | SQL (85), Python (76), Scala (21), Java (14) |
| ETL and Data Pipeline | 136 | ETL (65), Pipeline (46), Integration (25) |
| Cloud Platforms | 85 | AWS (45), Azure (26), GCP (14) |
| Data Modeling and Warehousing | 83 | Data Modeling (40), Warehousing (22), Architecture (21) |
| Big Data Tools | 67 | Spark (40), Big Data Tools (19), Hadoop (8) |
| DevOps, Version Control and CI/CD | 52 | Git (14), CI/CD (13), Jenkins (7), Version Control (7), Terraform (6) |
| Data Quality and Governance | 42 | Data Quality (20), Data Governance (13), Data Validation (9) |
| Data Visualization | 23 | Data Visualization (11), Tableau (6), Power BI (6) |
| Collaboration and Communication | 18 | Communication (10), Collaboration (8) |
| API and Microservices | 11 | API (8), Microservices (3) |
| Machine Learning | 10 | Machine Learning (7), MLOps (2), AI/ML Model Development (1) |
2. 4 Month Study Plan -
Month 1: Foundations
- DBMS & SQL: Basics of database concepts, querying, and design.
- Python: Focus on Python essentials, including libraries like Pandas and NumPy.
- Linux: Basic commands and navigation.
- DSA: Data structures and algorithms, especially for big tech roles.
Month 2: Key Concepts & Tools
- Data Concepts: Topics such as Data Lake, Data Mart, Fabric, and Mesh.
- Data Governance: Management, security, and ethics in data.
- Spark: Introductory concepts with Apache Spark.
- Distributed Systems: Overview of Hadoop, Hive, and MPP systems.
- Cloud Services: Options such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.
Month 3: Advanced Topics
- Orchestration: Basics of workflow orchestration with tools like Apache Airflow.
- Compute: Databricks, Snowflake, or equivalents like AWS EMR.
- Containers: Introduction to Docker and Kubernetes.
- CI/CD: Tools such as Jenkins and SonarQube.
- Streaming: Fundamentals of Kafka.
- ETL/ELT: Tools like dbt and Talend, along with architecture basics.
- Terraform: Code-based infrastructure setup.
Month 4: Projects & Portfolio
- Build a project portfolio to showcase skills. Examples include:
- Bank Data Warehouse
- Fraud Detection ETL
- Reddit Review Tracker
- Retail Analytics
- Trip Data Transformation
- YouTube Clone
3. Certifications
Note - You don't have do all of these, do 1/2 of AWS or Azure, 1 of Datarbricks or Snowflake, and 1/2 of optional certifications based on your interests. Also I have mentioned resources only for the ones I know - for the ones I haven't attempted/know have left it empty - please add the same in the comments.
| Certification | Coverage | Cost (USD) | Resource |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner | Basics of AWS Cloud concepts, services, and support. | $100 | Stephane Maarek's Udemy courses |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate ⭐ | Designing and deploying scalable systems on AWS. | $150 | Stephane Maarek's Udemy courses |
| AWS Certified Data Engineer – Associate ⭐ | Managing data pipelines, analytics, and ETL workflows on AWS. | $150 | Stephane Maarek's Udemy courses, AWS Builder Labs |
| Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900) | Core data concepts and implementation using Azure. | $99 | Eshant Garg/Scott Duffy Udemy courses, Coursera prep courses |
| Microsoft Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203) ⭐ | Integrating and transforming data for analytics on Azure. | $165 | Eshant Garg/Scott Duffy Udemy courses, Coursera prep courses |
| Databricks Lakehouse Fundamentals | Basics of Databricks Lakehouse architecture and workflows. | Free | |
| Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate ⭐ | Building ETL pipelines and managing data workflows. | $200 | Ankit Mistry's Udemy courses |
| Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional | Advanced data engineering skills on Databricks platform. | $200 | |
| SnowPro Core Certification ⭐ | Foundational knowledge of Snowflake architecture and operations. | $175 | |
| SnowPro Advanced Certification | Advanced expertise in complex Snowflake solutions and optimizations. | $375 | |
| SnowPro Advanced: Data Engineer | Data modeling, ETL, and tuning on Snowflake. | $375 | |
| Astronomer Certification for Apache Airflow Fundamentals | Core Apache Airflow concepts, including DAG authoring and scheduling. | $150 | Mark Lamberti's Udemy course |
| Confluent Certified Developer for Apache Kafka | Developing applications with Kafka, architecture, and APIs. | $150 | |
| dbt Analytics Engineering Certification | Building and maintaining data workflows with dbt. | $200 | |
| HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate | Managing cloud resources using Terraform. | $70 | |
| Data Management Fundamentals Exam | Core principles: data architecture, governance, and quality. | $311 | |
| Data Governance Specialty | Best practices for governance, compliance, and data quality. | $311 |
Tips to save money on these:
- AWS offers 50% discount on next exam: So after you give your first certification you can use a coupon code for the next ones.
- Azure - Coursera prep courses for Azure certifications offer 50% exam discount upon completion.
- For Airflow Fundamentals - Astronomer sometimes runs a promotion to get the certification for free. Follow them/Marc on LinkedIn to know the dates - I got mine in Jan last year.
➡️Dive deeper! - Checkout my playlist "Data Engineering Career" with details of all of the above - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b4CIon_1pY&list=PLYAUClNVzmDN5D9IW-COX0xy_8fz8r51k&ab_channel=AnalyticsVector
Thanks, hope it added some value! All the best!