[ETR Vol. 10] Ready For School (Or Your Next Cert)?


Extract. Transform. Read.

A newsletter from Pipeline: Your Data Engineering Resource

Hi past, present or future data professional!

For many, perhaps even yourself, it’s the most dreaded time of the year: Back to school.

While data engineering doesn’t require “supplies”, it can be helpful to pick up a book or two. Aside from getting industry context, your latest data read can provide a helpful talking point in interviews or even impress in casual discussion.

Though not quite a textbook, I highly recommend the book that opened my mind to the power and influence of data: Mindf*ck Cambridge Analytica And The Plot To Break America by fashion designer-turned data scientist Christopher Wiley.

One of the most valuable lessons you can learn as a student is identifying what you won’t be taught. Despite its universality in data-driven orgs, SQL is under-taught in institutionalized data science curricula. Determining which skills you’ll have to learn on your own can help you prioritize your upskilling and even get you through the class from hell.

And if you aren’t currently in school, picking the right certification can advance your career, while the wrong choice can lead to a cluttered LinkedIn profile—and mind.

For those compiling a digital supply list, here are this week’s links as plain text:

Thanks for ingesting,

-Zach

Extract. Transform. Read.

Reaching 20k+ readers on Medium and nearly 3k learners by email, I draw on my 4 years of experience as a Senior Data Engineer and time as a former journalist to demystify data science/programming concepts while sharing career strategies so you can target, land and excel in data-driven roles.

Read more from Extract. Transform. Read.

Extract. Transform. Read. A newsletter from Pipeline Hi past, present or future data professional! For years, a start-up cliche was being the “Uber” of (product, service, etc.). Now, it seems like any content platform wants to be the “Tik Tok” of a given subject area. Case in point for the latter: A fun app I came across called, fittingly, “Gittok.”* Like Tik Tok, Gittok feeds users an endless stream of distraction but instead of dance challenges it serves up a random GitHub repository, like...

Extract. Transform. Read. A newsletter from Pipeline For a STEM discipline, there is a lot of abstraction in data engineering, evident in everything from temporary SQL views to complex, multi-task AirFlow DAGs. Though perhaps most abstract of all is the concept of containerization, which is the process of running an application in a clean, standalone environment–which is the simplest definition I can provide. Since neither of us has all day, I won’t get too into the weeds on containerization,...

Extract. Transform. Read. A newsletter from Pipeline Hi past, present or future data professional! From 2014-2017 I lived in Phoenix, Arizona and enjoyed the state’s best resident privilege: No daylight saving time. If you’re unaware (and if you're in the other 49 US states, you’re really unaware), March 9th was daylight saving, when we spring forward an hour. If you think this messes up your microwave and oven clocks, just wait until you check on your data pipelines. Even though data teams...