BigQuery Schema Design 101 — And What To Watch Out For

Understand these BigQuery SQL nuances to create table schemas that result in less errors and less headaches.

Using caution isn’t always obvious, especially in BigQuery schema design. Photo by Oscar Sutton on Unsplash.

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Schema Design: The Worst Part of Data Engineering

Let’s get this out of the way.

Schema design is my least favorite part of my data engineering job.

It is also, arguably, one of the most important parts of the pipeline building process.

Without conceiving and then generating a schema that presents data in your desired format and at your desired level of specificity, you are putting yourself at the mercy of an auto detect parameter.

Next to dumb typos in my Python and SQL scripts, auto-detecting a schema might be my most significant data engineering error source.

Which is why understanding and designing a proper schema is so important.

Unfortunately, this isn’t really a skill you’ll be taught in school, bootcamps or even online courses.