Want to Break into Data Engineering? Here’s Where to Start!

One of the most common questions I get is:

“How do I start learning data engineering?”

With so many tools, frameworks, and cloud platforms, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But don’t worry — I’ve got you covered!

If I were starting today, here’s exactly what I’d focus on to break into data engineering and land a job in this exciting field.

1️⃣ Master the Fundamentals of SQL

✅ Learn how to write efficient queries
✅ Understand joins, indexes, and window functions
✅ Practice with PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQL Server

💡 Why? SQL is the backbone of data engineering. You’ll use it daily to extract, transform, and analyze data. Strong SQL skills will make every other part of your learning journey easier.

👨‍💻 How to learn:

• Start with SQLZoo or Mode Analytics SQL Tutorial.
• Work on real datasets from Kaggle and write queries to clean and analyze data.

2️⃣ Learn a Programming Language (Python or Scala)

✅ Python — Essential for data processing (Pandas, PySpark) and automation
✅ Scala — Great for…