Extract. Transform. Read.
Forget DE, Be An SME
How working data engineers can subtly expand their influence and how job seekers can leverage past experience.
The following short read is an excerpt from my weekly newsletter, Extract. Transform. Read. sent to 2,000+ aspiring data professionals. If you enjoy this snippet, you can sign up and receive your free project ideation guide.
A peer of mine once revealed the reason they were sleep deprived: They were up past midnight writing ad hoc SQL queries with a c-suite leader literally hovering over their shoulder.
The visibility of data analysts (like the one in the anecdote) and data scientists’ products, dashboards and ML models, means they are often the first on a Business Intelligence team to be bothered when something “looks weird.”
This deference to the other more visible data teams shouldn’t stop you, the ambitious engineer, from taking on an important but unofficial role: SME, a.k.a. Subject Matter Expert.
Being able to not only tell a stakeholder when a data source loaded (or didn’t), but also being the go-to person for questions, vendor outreach and general support, makes you an invaluable resource that goes beyond your job title and ability to “crank out code.”
In a bumpy job market, this is key to cementing yourself as a must-retain staff member.
To be a true SME you need to not only know your data, but also understand the larger business context which your work contributes to, which typically breaks down into: Resource conservation, performance optimization and revenue generation.
For a working data engineer, going from DE to SME involves stepping outside of your comfort zone by:
- Creating documentation surrounding pipelines you’ve built; for bonus points, when you have downtime, read up on seldom-used API endpoints to see if you can extract any business value
- Coordinating with your manager to determine “ownership” domain; true SMEs are focused on a few distinct projects/sources. Don’t stretch yourself thin!
- Responding to questions about data outputs and requests promptly, especially if you can provide unique insight
- Organizing or attending “learning sessions” to familiarize yourself with your stakeholders’ processes, team structures and quarterly/annual goals
If you’re not currently working in a data engineering role or are still in the job search phase, you can be an SME by narrowing your search to focus on industries or “domains” in which you have proven experience. For more information on how to apply that experience, read this guide.
Anticipating business and stakeholder needs means less late nights and, more importantly, a little breathing room.
Thanks for ingesting,
-Zach Quinn
