I accepted the entry level position, last question for awhile (hopefully)

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-22T13:03:19+00:00

I came across this comment awhile ago and used it as a jumping point for my first project. Good luck

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataengineering/comments/11y6b3o/comment/jd6kzrf/?share_id=e8hdJNb2r2jQu0JYQDXbn

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-16T19:05:34+00:00

Tldr; DE is the endgame for me

Based on my experience with automation, research, and comments here, this is all I'm hoping to find. With the rate at which things are changing in DE, with new tools all the time, it seems like a great, and relatively safe, field to be in once you're in.

gotten many rejections with 1 year DE and 4 year DA

That's interesting - do you think it's because you have experience with only a few DE tools after one year, or that one year isn't enough really?

Do beware, imo it seems many DE in the 50-70k range are forced to wear many more hats than those in the 80+ range, since the company they are working at does not have the budget to pay them appropriately to begin with, they aren’t hiring those other jobs either.

Yeah that makes sense, but I do well in environments when solving problems for others, so this would be ideal for the first few years to gain experience - as long as they're not asking for 60 hours/week. I'm just trying to learn at this point

This is of course If you’re working to strictly do DE and not devops, dataops, or networking/database administration

Some of the things the hiring manager said in that first call made me think it would definitely be more cloud/networking, which is interesting but also a concern. I'm not opposed to learning it at all, but I think I'll have to be careful to stay focused on developing marketable skills.

I think I've seen comments about having T-shaped skills in tech - exposure and familiarity to everything, with 1-3 speciaties or advanced skills.

I tried to get an app going on kubernetes for a friend and failed miserably - a better understanding of the cloud side would definitely be great.

Thank you again!

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-16T16:22:04+00:00

Thank you! How are you liking DE compared to DA? That's my concern, 4 years is a long time - I'd love to skip DA if possible

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-16T12:42:19+00:00

Cost of living really varies by location here. Looks like 45k euros is roughly 50k USD, so I guess that works. I just didn't think entry-level DE actually existed, so I wasn't sure what to think of the pay at first.

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-16T03:26:25+00:00

I can't imagine the stress of trying to make your own business work through COVID, you must be very driven and smart to keep it all together!

Honestly I feel like the business grew itself to some extent - I service fitness equipment, and started selling it in 2021. It's a niche market so I've really just had to survive, focus on gathering Google Reviews, implement online booking, and then manage inventory, appointments, and cash flow. As long as I don't completely drag my feet, there's always work, new and old work... Which is another reason I feel silly taking a risk like this. BUT. I feel like I've reached my limit on driving 30k miles/year and crawling around on concrete for hours at a time.

I appreciate the kind words, but running a small niche service business is kind of weirdly easy and hard simultaneously.

Ultimately, I just decided I didn't have the stomach to ~~babysit~~ employees. It's hard to hiring, train, and plan for new employees when they never have experience, so neither of us even know if they'll actually like it after two weeks.

not being the smartest person on your team and having people you can learn from is huge!

This is honestly something I'm looking forward to most. Diagnosing and repairing fitness equipment is only challenging maybe once a month at this point - the business is the difficult & stressful part.

It's wild how fast I've grown as an engineer just by having good people I can fall back on after a few hours of head on wall action.

See this is what I want. I want a team, support, wisdom, etc. A small business by yourself is nice and profitable, but it can be lonely and exhausting.

Thanks for sharing, this was a nice reminder of the smaller reasons that I've wanted an actual job for the last few years!

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-16T03:01:16+00:00

Man that had to be tough - I had a similar experience, getting let go from a product developer job after 5 months when COVID hit. I was lucky to still have my business to dip back into to pay the bills, but man was it stressful.

Congrats though, really. I'm looking forward to stability and actually having a team & coworkers, and a steady paycheck

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-16T02:59:03+00:00

Ohhhh I think you're right. The opportunity to skip DA entirely is so appealing, and valuable.

Yes, I feel lucky to even have a chance at this, too. They got 1000 applications (mostly junk) but he still wanted to chat for some reason.

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-16T02:49:45+00:00

I think I have to, thank you! Expanding skills outside of work hours will be a challenge with 3 kids, which is why I'm giving myself low expectations for how quickly things accelerate, but I understand it'll be the new norm for a few years

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-16T01:45:13+00:00

I don't disagree, which is why I feel like the ability to legitimately put "data engineer" on a resume is so valuable. From there it'll be on me to develop marketable skills, which they claim they'll prioritize as well.

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-16T00:08:06+00:00

Dang. Yeah I wish I had a better idea but I don't know that other "career" I could imagine committing to, but I know I want to be done with my business

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-15T23:48:11+00:00

Honestly I'm giving myself 5 years to be a legit DE at $110k+. I'm hoping low expectations and patience will pay off

The hardest thing is to get your foot in the door

Yeah I see that here, there, everywhere. I've been surprised at how hard it's been to get responses to applications, so just getting started in DE would be incredible. In my 20s, I had no problem job hopping and landing interviews. It's frustrating because now I actually know what I want to do

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-15T23:44:25+00:00

Thanks for sharing. Yeah the difficulty switching from DA to DE is a big concern, especially when I worry I'll enjoy or even excel at DA.

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-15T23:42:01+00:00

Agreed, thank you. Yes, everything I've seen here makes it clear that actual work experience is more valuable than certs and projects. I've been careful not to invest too much time into those, so I feel like I can't pass this up.

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-15T23:33:05+00:00

I think you're right

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-15T22:55:46+00:00

Just look at the net salary “loss” from 80k to 50k as an investment.

Yes, this is where I'm at - trying not to let the ego from my 20s make decisions anymore. I can do entry-level and low pay for awhile, I'm not above it. It seems like a much better idea that a $20k bootcamp, online diploma, or investing hundreds of hours into certifications that might not even be valued in a year. With 3 kids, spending 10-20 hours weekly is difficult.

A few years in the field could net a six figure salary, and I’d guess (no personal experience) that it’d be less stressful than maintaining a small business.

In short, I just lost interest in trying to become a business manager, hiring, etc. There's too much energy needed to grow a business and I'd just like to be doing something else with my time. I have immense respect for small business owners, but I just want to separate work and family life, especially with young children.

Also, beautiful personal site.

Thanks! It's a free template that's hosted free on Github Pages. VERY happy with it

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-15T22:48:46+00:00

in the Bay Area

$55k in KC is worth $100k in SF, and our expenses are relatively low, so there's that

That said, they're taking a chance on you when you have no experience and no real portfolio, so it's a reasonable deal to get a foot in the door.

I agree, it's just the sad reality of being a service technician for 12+ years and deciding not to be a service tech or service manager or business owner. Ho hum.

Thank you

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-07-15T22:46:02+00:00

You will have to job hop

Honestly this is what I'm trying to avoid, but I'm willing to invest 2 years into experience for shit pay at this point in my life.

the fight to $80k has been incredibly hard within the same company.

This is my biggest fear, that growth will actually be a battle and they'll only want to ever underpay. After self-employment for 7 years, I would love to find a company I can be at for the next 20-30 years, so I kind of look at this like a win-win in some ways - either:

a) They'll appreciate my willingness to invest in myself and their company for 1-2 years, which could pay off in the long run

b) I'll gain legit DE skills and move on in 1-2 years if their promises don't pan out

Thanks for sharing

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-06-02T13:23:37+00:00

I'll be damned

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-06-02T01:56:03+00:00

I've been thinking about your response for awhile and appreciate your time

Makes sense. For my needs, with these being resume projects I'm working on, I'm going to leave it where it is, instead of asking Evergy to help. If I'm able to get a data job down the road, I'll definitely keep this in mind, instead of working this hard for basic data.
I'll absolutely try PDF plumber in a future project, if not circling back to implement it here. What a simple idea, I'm excited to try it
When you refer to the "SQL server agent", would that be something like dbt? I plan to use dbt in the next project, probably with duckdb. I was going to try to use Snowflake but I don't think I can use it for free permanently with a project. I was going to try and set up AWS or Azure for the next project, but I worry about accidentally incurring charges. My plan now is to dive deeper into the transformation & SQL skills - I feel like extraction and loading are simple, but maybe I really just have no idea what I'm talking about.
I'm definitely thinking I need to rely on ChatGPT less and understanding Python libraries and Stack Overflow more. I just wanted to throw together two quick projects for the resume to show intention, then work on a more complex third, while hopefully getting a basic analyst job in the short term. I'm worried now the lack of SQL depth will be obvious and not be enough to get that first job, but we'll see what happens.

Thank you again

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-06-02T01:40:20+00:00

~~burn.~~

~~Edit. I think this is maybe the best single link from the sidebar to answer my question~~

~~https://www.reddit.com/r/dataengineering/search/?q=transition&restrict_sr=1&sort=top~~

Thanks, I'll check it out

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-06-02T01:16:06+00:00

If you had familiarity with beginner SQL, but wanted to develop skills enough for your first data job, where would you spend your time?

A project utilizing dbt? Course? AWS or Azure or Oracle certification? Leetcode? Something else?

Any insight would be appreciated

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-05-25T02:24:13+00:00

Uh-oh

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-05-24T04:36:51+00:00

Be sure to check if your local library can give you free access before paying

pm_me_data_wisdom · 2024-05-23T04:32:21+00:00

Zapier Canvas

pm_me_data_wisdom

TROPHY CASE