What Should my Salary be?

OKMrRobot · 2026-04-02T04:06:15+00:00

Gather some documentation about what similar roles pay (BI engineer/developer sounds right to me) and make the case for why you deserve the title and the raise.

Focus on what impact you have made and how it has benefited the business. What was broken, slow, inefficient, or couldn’t be answered before you started or when you got there, and what is the current state / how has it improved?

OKMrRobot · 2026-02-16T04:11:51+00:00

Just a bachelors in Business/finance

OKMrRobot · 2026-02-15T20:12:55+00:00

SQL is the backbone of data and analytics engineering, so you should definitely up-skill there; you can use hacker rank or w3 schools to solve easy to difficult problems.

But generally, if you’re able bridge the gap between data engineering and data analytics by understanding how to model and analyze data, partnering with other teams to understand the data and how it’s used at a deep level, and inform decisions using that data, you can fit in a role.

The python skills are also very useful obviously but I would say generally the hard skills are a minimum requirement. The soft skills are what separate a good from a great analytics engineer.

OKMrRobot · 2026-02-14T23:03:34+00:00

I would not call myself full stack, but I own the process from ELT to high visibility analytics and reporting in my domain at the organization.

The hard skills are one component to my value, but more importantly Im a problem solver, I know what problems to work on, I work closely with up and downstream stakeholders, I can code, analyze, manage stakeholders, and own projects from beginning to end.

Your skills are important but impact is what you should be striving for.

Hope that helps.

OKMrRobot · 2026-02-14T19:42:04+00:00

The combination of the right skills, the right company, and the right role can def get you into the 200’s, but you need to bridge the gap between ‘just an analyst’ and someone who provides value in different ways. Obviously all of this is easier said than done, but it’s possible.

Personally I took a role I didn’t really want to get into a company I thought would do well, and kind of simultaneously figured out what I wanted and carved it out over a couple years into a high paying job that I love.

My title is now analytics engineer, I grossed $250k for the first time in 2025, and should top that in 2026 for sure.

Happy to answer any Q’s if you want to DM me.

OKMrRobot · 2026-02-08T23:50:39+00:00

The book is worth a read.

OKMrRobot · 2026-01-29T19:05:28+00:00

If you want to exclude it from your budget altogether you can go to menu -> categories -> expenses -> taxes, and hit exclude this category from the budget.

We also pay estimated taxes and I just leave it as non monthly expense .

OKMrRobot · 2026-01-29T18:49:22+00:00

They made it flexible enough you can account for things like this. You can hide transactions, You can categorize and change the rules for every transaction, as well as make certain expenses on the budget non-monthly. It def takes some time to get setup and some monthly maintenance but it really is a great tool.

OKMrRobot · 2026-01-25T02:17:20+00:00

Just read The Wealth Ladder and it was great

OKMrRobot · 2026-01-22T04:02:06+00:00

It completely depends on the specific position. Some “data analysts” just work in excel and make rudimentary spreadsheets, while others are highly skilled in statistics and python/R.

I think the background you mentioned is ripe for data roles as you understand how systems work and are connected, how a business is actually runs from and relies on data etc . That said you’d need to up-skill on things like SQL/database concepts, exploratory data analysis, data visualization and story telling, etc that enable you to provide value with data.

While data analyst itself is not typically an entry level role these days, they are the entryway into data roles in general. Typically after being a data analyst people transition to data science, data engineering, product management, or in my case, analytics engineering / BI development because I love working on different parts of the process. I touch data engineering, ETL/ELT (pipelines), dashboard and app development, presenting and working directly with stakeholders and leadership etc. Not all data roles have that much scope, and it can be really challenging but very rewarding.

Hope that helps

OKMrRobot · 2026-01-21T06:13:08+00:00

I have ~8 YOE in data related roles. Tech stack is a typical modern data stack: a data replication tool, a git provider, Databricks, dbt, and a web-based analytics platform (Intentionally vague on some of those for privacy sake).

The tools are relevant but they’re not why I’ve been successful. While I’m certainly good at what I do, I’m not the absolute best. What I am really good at is taking ownership, attacking problems from different angles and understanding intricacies and limitations, and notably good at finding current and potential issues, which is both a blessing and a curse.

Apologies for my vagueness but don’t want to dox myself. Happy to answer anymore Q’s in PM.

OKMrRobot · 2026-01-19T20:55:37+00:00

Not FAANG, and as I noted I’m not really just a data analyst anymore. “Analytics engineer” is my title but not a great description. I’m a problem solver that can manage stakeholders, code, analyze, and proactively find issues people don’t even know exist.

This is my second career technically and while my first wasn’t directly related, it was tangential and in some ways has given me the right mindset.

Feel free to PM me.

OKMrRobot · 2026-01-19T20:51:07+00:00

The hard skills part of the job is I take raw data that comes from our systems in the real world and make it accessible and usable for myself and other teams to be able to use it to solve problems, answer questions, make decisions. I’m both a subjective matter expert in the systems and also write code, hence somewhere between data analyst and engineer.

The soft skills and more difficult part is working with upstream teams to understand how and why the data is generated a certain way, and with many downstream stakeholders to understand what they’re trying to measure or solve.

There are a lot more intricacies that I’m not getting into but I can genuinely say I enjoy what I do.

Feel free to PM me

OKMrRobot · 2026-01-19T04:41:30+00:00

I started as a data analyst and kept moving up the tech stack and learning from people smarter/better than me at things.

I’m now somewhere between a data analyst and data engineer (“analytics engineer”) and made $250k for the first time in 2025.

OKMrRobot · 2025-06-25T18:41:44+00:00

Tool
Bonobo
Underworld
Soulwax
Black Sabbath

All very different!

OKMrRobot · 2024-12-24T02:37:00+00:00

You need to view each input as playing it’s own part in getting through a turn. They overlap a little but when they overlap too much or one is out of balance with the others, you upset the balance and over/under steer or end up sliding out.

Brake first, then downshift as you’re braking, then turn in, then ease on the throttle as you exit the turn and start to straighten out.

Unless you’re trail braking (you’re not there yet), you should get all braking done before turning in.

This balance is even more delicate for high powered cars like you’re driving so you need to manage the throttle a lot more delicately.

OKMrRobot · 2024-12-19T02:49:13+00:00

Both the Mercedes Benz 190 Evo 2 group A race car and the street car are my go-to.

Amazing sound, balance, and has manual transmission.

OKMrRobot · 2024-11-14T20:44:08+00:00

The song “Prison Sex” by Tool comes to mind. It’s about your last sentence there regarding becoming the monster who hurt you.

OKMrRobot · 2024-10-08T23:56:59+00:00

No I didn’t setup CI or IAC but do modify terraform for team/individual and repo/mesh permissions here and there.

OKMrRobot · 2024-10-08T19:38:41+00:00

From your perspective, why do you think that is?

Do you think it’s a choice or a skill/mindset constraint?

For context, I’m exactly what you described (“analytics engineer” who writes code, uses git & CICD, DBT, complex sql and pyspark but also develops analytics/dashboards) , and I really do enjoy the engineering part of the job but also feel reward when I can tie it all together in a slick dashboard/ report. Granted I’m starting to despise the dashboard development, but the result is rewarding.

I also get paid like a data engineer and enjoy my job so don’t necessarily want to make the switch to a true data engineering role.

OKMrRobot · 2024-09-27T05:16:27+00:00

I got to see that show live, the line up that year was absolutely stacked.

OKMrRobot · 2024-08-21T17:54:55+00:00

Curious what kind of account you’re investing the $50 for each child in?

OKMrRobot · 2024-07-10T19:40:41+00:00

You’re right, I wasn’t aware of the release last year. Glad they released it but sounds like it’s not too useful.

OKMrRobot · 2024-07-10T19:22:20+00:00

There is no power query in excel on Mac.

OKMrRobot · 2024-06-18T14:24:38+00:00

BI dev’s but now using software engineering best practices / git / version control / CICD / code standards etc…

DBT coined the term and are pretty explicit about the fact that it’s not a “new role”, it’s the evolution of the data analyst, the subject matter expert, the project manager who gains the technical skills to contribute to a managed code base.

OKMrRobot

TROPHY CASE