What is the most valuable asset in the 21st century?
It is data.
The value of data in current times is the same as oil in the 18th century. We are in a digital economy, and anyone who knows how to extract data and use it is rewarded heavily. Data is the modern treasure you have and handling it requires experts known as big data engineers.
"Worldwide Big Data market revenues for software and services are projected to increase from $42B in 2018 to $103B in 2027, attaining a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.48% according to Wikibon." – Forbes
A big data engineer is the fastest-growing occupation in the industry. The demand for skills related to big data engineers has grown by 50%. Due to their skillset and role, they are well paid.
But what exactly is a big data engineer's salary?
Let us look at the most common questions and topics regarding big data engineers to clear the air around it.
- What is a big data engineer?
- What does a big data engineer do?
- How to become a big data engineer?
- Skills required to be a big data engineer.
- Data engineer salary.
- Big data engineer salary.
- Big data engineer salary in the US.
What Is a Big Data Engineer?
A big data engineer takes care of the design and organization of the data development. It is they who can be credited with the brains behind data collection. It can be rightly said that they are well aware of which data is stored wherein big companies.
Big data engineers offer the raw material (read data) for the data scientists to analyze and further operate upon.
What Does a Big Data Engineer Do?
Big data refers to collecting information that traditional software is not adept at. Guess who is given the responsibility of handling such big data?
None other than big data engineers.
Big data engineers hold the most crucial responsibility in modern times. They not only overcome the drawback of traditional software but also create software through coding. Their task includes, but is not limited to:
- Designing the infrastructure of big data platforms
- Maintaining data pipelines
- Organizing and structuring the data
- Easing the work of data scientists by setting up data access tools
- Performance optimization
How to Become a Big Data Engineer?
There are some basic requirements to become a big data engineer like any other job profile. If you are wondering what they are, keep reading, we have got answers to every query that vexes your mind.
Big Data Engineer Education
The first step is education. A big data engineer must have a bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, software engineering, or statistics. You can even have an advanced degree in business analysis or data analyst.
Big Data Engineer Technical Skills
We now know that big data engineers perform the relentless task of collecting and managing the data infrastructure of organizations. Therefore, they must possess some technical knowledge listed below:
- Knowledge of database architecture
- SQL, including Postgre SQL and My SQL
- Hands-on experience with data modeling tools such as Erwin data modeler and Enterprise architect
- Experience in using different operating systems
- In-depth knowledge of various programming languages such as Python, Java, C, C++, and Perl
Work Experience
A work experience exposure can always be fruitful in hunting for a job as a big data engineer. Even while acquiring some certification or degree, an internship in a related field can do wonders for you.
Certifications for Big Data Engineers
Although it is optional, having certification in the relevant field would make you stand out. It would equip you with the necessary skills to land a big data engineer job.
Some standard certifications in big data engineering courses are:
- Cloudera Certified Professional Data Engineer
- Associate big data engineer (ABDE) and Senior big data engineer(SBDE) by DASCA
- Understanding and Visualizing Data by Cornell University
- Intellipaat Big Data Hadoop Certification
- SAS Certified Data Scientist
- IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
Skills Required to Be a Big Data Engineer
Skills have become a vital part of getting your desired job. You might get the job by hook and crook but surviving and flourishing in that job requires possessing the necessary skills.
For a big data engineer, the essential skills are:
- Machine learning
- Mastering big data tools such as Yarn, MapReduce, Oozie, ZooKeeper, Hadoop, etc.
- SQL and non-SQL based technologies (Cassandra, MongoDB, Hive, and HBase)
- Knowledge of programming languages like Python, Java, C++, and Perl
- Working access to big data technologies such as Oracle or IBM
- Using Data warehousing solution/Extract Transfer Load (ETL) tools
- Data optimization and ingestion techniques
- Exemplary communication skills, both written and verbal, when dealing with a team of engineers
- Ability to multi-task
Data Engineer Salary
Often, big data engineers are confused with data engineers. There is a difference between the two, even though some of the responsibilities overlap. Big data engineers create, maintain, and test big data pipelines. Data engineers do not deal with multiple big data infrastructures.
Consequently, the salary for data engineers varies from that of big data engineers. Since data engineers are in demand, their base pay was good even during the pandemic.
With experience, the remuneration for data engineers grows exponentially. According to the salary recorded for data engineers, the base pay in the US is $107,538. In contrast, the salary range varies between $97,936 to $119,738.
Big Data Engineer Salary
Many organizations desire big data engineers. According to the statistics received by Indeed, the average salary for big data engineers varies from $94,944 to $126,138. The annual average wage base for big data engineers is $117,854 in the US, making an hourly salary of USD 56.66.
Big Data Engineer Salary in the US
Big data engineers are top-rated in the US due to their work, upon which the functioning and revenue of the company are dependent. According to Glassdoor, the average salary of a big data engineer in the US is $117,871.
According to PayScale:
In the USA, an entry-level big data engineer earns an average salary of $77,623.
- A big data engineer with an experience of 1-4 years earns about $88,438.
- A mid-senior big data engineer with 5-9 years of experience earns approximately $ 104,731.
- A senior big data engineer with an understanding of 10-19 years earns about $117,185.
Key Takeaways
Big data engineers are the champions companies need to be at the top of the competition and achieve an edge in generating revenue. The world will never run out of data. Thus, big data engineers will always be responsible for creating good business while making good earnings.
Here are some significant points that you should keep in mind for big data engineers:
- A big data engineer is responsible for designing, constructing, and storing big data frameworks.
- Big data engineers maintain data pipelines and organize, structure, and optimize data.
- To become a big data engineer, having a degree in a relevant field like Computer Science, Mathematics or Statistics is extremely important.
- Technical skills and work experience add value to a big data engineer's profile.
- A big data engineer must-have skills in handling big data tools and programming languages to easily design data structures.
- The base pay of a data engineer in the US is $107,538, while for a big data engineer is $117,854.
- In the US, the average salary of a big data engineer is $117,871, which grows with experience and expertise.
- Since big data engineers are the present and future of data engineering, the chances are high that there will be plenty of job scope with an even better pay scale than in the current times.
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