Key Skills for a high-growth career as a Data Engineer
There is an increased demand for data engineers in the current job market. According to the World Economic Forum, Data engineers or data warehouse specialists are among the fastest-growing jobs from 2025 to 2030.
As the demand for data engineers is on the rise, it would be highly beneficial for aspiring data engineers to learn in-demand skills that can boost their career opportunities. This article discusses some of the fundamental skills needed for a data engineer to excel in the field of data.
Who Is A Data Engineer?
The data within an organisation can be stored in various formats, such as SQL databases, AWS S3 buckets or plain old CSV files. The raw data is then cleaned and transformed into a more usable format, enabling analysis and extraction of meaningful insights. Finally, predictive analysis is performed on the processed data sets.
Data engineers are responsible for the first step in this process, where they build and optimise systems for data analysts and scientists. The key role of a data engineer is to build data pipelines to transform raw data into a desirable format, which can be used by data scientists and analysts to make BI dashboards and machine learning models, respectively. This requires strong data engineer skill in designing and managing efficient data workflows.
Key responsibilities of a data engineer include,
Designing and building data pipelines
Ensure the quality of data
Preparing data for data analysis
Data integration
Coordinating with data scientists and data analysts
Key Data Engineer Skills
Some common data engineer skills determine the expertise and proficiency of a data engineer. Below, we discuss some of the primary skills needed for a data engineer to build a successful career.
1. SQL and Database Management
SQL, or Structured Query Language, is a domain-specific language that is used to communicate with relational databases. It is a widely used language in various industries. For instance, an e-commerce company like Amazon might apply SQL to analyse sales data and trends to make informed decisions that boost its growth. Gaining proficiency in SQL is one of the most important data engineer skills required.
2. ETL and Data Pipelines
Data engineers perform ETL(extract, transform, and load) on raw datasets
to transfer them into a data warehouse. This process involves data pipelines that convert available data into a usable and applicable format.
In a nutshell, ETL can be defined as a process of combining data from different sources into a single, large data warehouse. This ability to design ETL pipelines efficiently is considered one of the top skills data engineer should have.
3. Programming
A deep understanding of Programming languages is part of the basic data engineering skills required for data engineering jobs. Knowledge of programming languages is an important element in the field of data engineering, enabling optimal manipulation and analysis of data.
A strong grasp of popular and widely used programming languages like Python is among the top skills for data engineers. Aspiring data engineers can benefit from an online Best Online Python Courses to gain experience and enhance their coding skills. Other programming languages include R, which is used for statistical analysis, data visualisation and machine learning and SAS, which is used to perform complex statistical analysis. Also, completing Machine Learning Courses can be highly beneficial.
4. Cloud Computing
As a data engineer, cloud computing refers to the use of platforms like Azure, AWS or Google Cloud to store and manage large sets of data. This combination of data engineer skills with cloud computing is highly beneficial, and completing Cloud Computing Courses can further enhance your knowledge, as in recent years, companies are migrating their big data projects to the cloud.
Conclusion
If you are interested in pursuing data engineer jobs in 2025, gaining familiarity with above mentioned data engineer skills required can lead you to a career of success. Understanding how the top skills for data engineers align with your abilities and interests will help you determine whether data engineering is the right career option for you. It is highly recommended to develop these in-demand data engineer skills, guaranteeing you a high-paying career with extensive future scope and growth.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Achieving a job as a data engineer is based on various subjective elements. If you are someone with a great experience level and knowledge of programming languages, coding, ETL, SQL and other skills needed for data engineer, the process of getting a job in this field can be comparatively easier. However, this process can be challenging to some candidates.
Yes, data engineering is a profession that is highly in demand today. This growing profession is offering numerous opportunities with attractive pay scales making it a feasible career choice for many.
Yes, a data engineer does coding. They should gain familiarity with various coding languages like Python, Java, R, SQL, NoSQL, and Scala to build and manage data pipelines and structure. It is among the important skills required to become a data engineer.
As a data engineer in India, with one to seven years of experience in the field, you can expect an annual salary around Rs. Rs.3.6 lakhs - Rs. 20 lakhs.
(Salary source: Ambitionbox)
The first step towards building a career in data engineering is to enrol in a bachelors degree in computer science, data science, IT or engineering. Gain necessary data engineer skills, along with relevant experience and certifications to land in a higher paying position in the field of data engineering.