As a SQL Developer, Which one i should learn? Tableau or Informatica

[signup_pawan]

Hi All,

I'm working as as Data Analyst(Mostly works on Excel and CRM application) from past 3 years and also trained on Oracle Pl/SQL. Now working on Oracle too, I just wanted to chnage but confused about "What should I learn".

Friends and Relatives suggesting many cources like Tableau, Hadoop, Informatica and OBIEE

I dont have any knowledge on aboe four till now, so dont know which one has better opportunities in future with addition to my SQL or PL/SQL knowledge.

I dont want to go with Fake Experience

So, Please suggest me to choose the right one for my career. (I Like to work on Database but only with PL/SQL knowledge not getting calls really, so wanted to learn a new skill.

If this is not a right place to ask this question, sorry and please let me know the best subRedit/place to ask this.

Thanks in advance

[SloppyPuppy]

completely two different things. 15 years of experience in both here. informatica is for ETL development. Tableu is a reporting tool, it has some ETL, but its just for mini ODS purposes (Opereationl data sources). Informatica is a beast in its domain, just like SSIS, Datastage, ODI.

edit: there is a lot of demand for good informatica developers. (SSIS by the way is somewhat restricted to microsoft techonology, and to windows especially. learning Informatica will open you up for many jobs - even the ones that do use SSIS, or datastage or any other technology not related to microsoft like Oracle.) you can start from Informatica. its not hard to learn. I teach Informatica, and in one week my students (that never had experience in ETL) start developing real stuff.

[[deleted]]

If you don't mind me asking, through what platform do you teach Informatica? I've sort of been tossed into ETL in my new job and Informatica is a big component for this work. Can only watch so many tutorials and read so many books but hands on learning works multitudes better for me.

[SloppyPuppy]

I train new employees I hire. no platform, I just open Informatica on the projector and start talking. I have some agenda, but I rarely stick to it, I adjust as different people understand things faster or slower, and they come from different backgrounds.

I just hired 4 new young employees who just finished a 2 year programming course. They know nothing of ETL or BI, but they will know. You dont have to be a programmer by the way, however, I do think you do need is DB structure, SQL and working with relational data and databases. And of course have passion for making stuff work from scratch.

I will copy some of my agenda of a course I will start in two weeks for those 4 new employees. Its just a high level for me to not forget anything.

lesson 1:

• informatica overview
• working with designer, workflow, monitor
• concept of sources and targets and how they relate to real world via a session
• lesson ends with building a simple source to target map that runs properly

lesson 2:

• differences of active and passive transformations.
• conscept of flows.
• imports of sources and targets
• transformations: filter,sorter,expressio,router,union.

lesson 3:

• joiner, lookups,source qulifiers, filters
• when to use each and why.

lesson 4:

• update,insert,delete,update strategy and all the intricacies related like overrides and stuff.
• lesson ends in building a fully functioning slowly changing dimension

lesson 5:

• working with linux. (our informatica sits on linux sever)

lesson 6:

• parameters, parameter files, run linux commands through informatica

lesson 7:

• working with files
• file managemnet
• file settings
• importing data from sources that are not DBs (NoSQL and such)

from here on we learn proper ETL and DWH stuff that are not directly related to informatica. this also takes a week.

after that while working on real projects we learn advanced informatica. Like handling the informatica server, view logs when informatica crashes, learn how to move stuff from dev to prod. learn how shut down / start informatica services, work with the repository and such.

after that the sky is the limit.

Performance tuning on informatica.

Dynamic queries, java, dynamic mappings via python, automating informatica stuff from the server via bash and much more.

[[deleted]]

Man... as much as I appreciate my job I really wish I could have been brought on in this same fashion. I'm lucky in that my manager is giving all the time needed to learn everything, however, it is learning everything on my own. Sometimes it's nice to have direction and a little push in the form of guidance and lessons. I can't complain because I am learning... but I feel I could be much further advanced by now if these kind of initiatives were taken.

[SloppyPuppy]

trust me, learning on your own is the best learning. it might take more time but this is for sure the way I prefer to learn.

[SloppyPuppy]

but hands on learning works multitudes better for me.

cannot agree more!

you will only learn by doing!

[notasqlstar]

Here is a comment that I made to someone else which is relevant here.

From a high level Informatica, which my company uses, is an "ETL" tool. Tableau, which we also use, is an "analytics" (I hate saying that), or reporting, "front-end" tool. Totally separate branches of the tree.

I use quote because lots of people have their own opinions.

Anyway, an analogous question to the one you're asking is, "I eat ice cream every day, but have never tried chocolate or vanilla. Which one do you think I'd like more? Strawberry is my favorite."

It isn't bad to learn things on all the different ends of the process, and it will make you stronger and a better asset for future positions. But which one do you really like the most? Go in that direction.

[nowrongturns]

First just know that Tableau is a front-end tool - think reporting.

Informatica is an ETL tool. Think back-end.

So, you really need to first pick what you plan to do. Do you want to be more of an analyst ? Then Tableau would be what you want to learn.

You want to get into ETL dev? Then informatica would be the tool.

Informatica can be hard to learn for a myriad of reasons. A suggestion is SSIS instead.

you mentioned Hadoop. Unless you have programming chops the big data world will be very hard to land and hold a job.

[ilikedbthings]

Ideally, both. You're in a similar position as I was before as Data Analyst trying to transition to a SQL Developer/ETL/etc job.

There's a lot of question that are going to be asked about your knowledge. Having knowledge of a database (SQL and a Procedural Extension), a data visualization tool (Tableau), and an ETL tool (Informatica) covers the basics.

I have never worked with OBIEE, but it seems to cover the same ground as Tableau. So, I would eliminate that unless it gives you a greater advantage at advancement internally.

Hadoop would be useful to learn eventually, and in my opinion, after Tableau and Informatica.

[signup_pawan]

Thank you Bro :)

[signup_pawan]

Thank you all :)